Novel plant–microbe interactions: Rapid evolution of a legume–rhizobium mutualism in restored prairies

Magnoli, Susan M.; Lau, Jennifer A.

doi:10.1111/1365-2745.13366

Cited by 16 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 56 publications

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“…Plant–microbe associations played an important role in the initial colonization of land by the ancestors of terrestrial plants (Wang et al, 2010) and remain critical for plant nutrition acquisition, defenses, and overall health (Smith and Read, 2010). Microbes can influence plant traits, ecology, and even the evolution of plant lineages (Osborne et al, 2018; Magnoli and Lau, 2020). Plant phenology—the timing of plant developmental events—is determined by both genotype and environmental factors (Burghardt et al, 2016; Taylor et al, 2017).…”

Section: Term Definitionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microbial effects on plant phenology and fitness

O'Brien

Ginnan

Rebolleda‐Gómez

et al. 2021

American J of Botany

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Plant development and the timing of developmental events (phenology) are tightly coupled with plant fitness. A variety of internal and external factors determine the timing and fitness consequences of these life-history transitions. Microbes interact with plants throughout their life history and impact host phenology. This review summarizes current mechanistic and theoretical knowledge surrounding microbedriven changes in plant phenology. Overall, there are examples of microbes impacting every phenological transition. While most studies have focused on flowering time, microbial effects remain important for host survival and fitness across all phenological phases. Microbe-mediated changes in nutrient acquisition and phytohormone signaling can release plants from stressful conditions and alter plant stress responses inducing shifts in developmental events. The frequency and direction of phenological effects appear to be partly determined by the lifestyle and the underlying nature of a plant-microbe interaction (i.e., mutualistic or pathogenic), in addition to the taxonomic group of the microbe (fungi vs. bacteria). Finally, we highlight biases, gaps in knowledge, and future directions. This biotic source of plasticity for plant adaptation will serve an important role in sustaining plant biodiversity and managing agriculture under the pressures of climate change.

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Section: Term Definitionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microbial effects on plant phenology and fitness

O'Brien

Ginnan

Rebolleda‐Gómez

et al. 2021

American J of Botany

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“…In restored habitats, different groups of organisms are often exposed to novel environmental conditions, which make such locations the ‘hotspots’ of eco‐evolutionary dynamics (LaRue et al., 2017). Indeed, recent evidence from restored ecosystems showed that host plants rapidly adapt to soil microbial communities in restored sites (Magnoli & Lau, 2020). However, the ability of introduced plant populations to respond to novel conditions will depend on the standing genetic variation and/or gene flow of beneficial adaptive alleles from neighbouring populations (Morente‐López et al., 2021).…”

Section: Restoration Projects As Valuable Opportunities For Testing Ecological Hypothesesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The joint effect of host plant genetic diversity and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal communities on restoration success

et al. 2021

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Drastic loss in the area and quality of natural and semi‐natural habitats over the last hundred years has placed biodiversity and related ecosystem functions under substantial threat. Restoration of degraded ecosystems is among the main solutions to counteract this trend. However, past restoration efforts have not always led to the anticipated halt of species loss, neither have they ensured sustainable provision of vital ecosystem services. It has been proposed that one of the reasons for the failure to stop biodiversity decline through ecological restoration lies in overlooking the importance of improving ecosystem complexity, including the recovery of interaction networks with co‐adapted species. In the current review, we show how simultaneously addressing these often unnoticed aspects has the potential to advance the success of ecological restoration. We focus on the relationship between the community composition of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi and the genetic diversity of the host plant population as an example. Most terrestrial plant species associate with AM fungi, which have a fundamental role in ecosystem functioning through enhancing plant nutrition and tolerance to abiotic and biotic stress. Previous studies have highlighted the significance of these symbionts in increasing the restoration success of degraded habitats. In parallel, the role of gene‐level diversity within plant populations for creating sustainable ecosystems has increasingly been acknowledged over the last years. However, considering the possible interaction of these two aspects, that is taking AM fungal communities and genetic diversity of host plant populations into account to enhance restoration success, has received no attention. Evidence suggests that the genetic diversity within a host plant population can have a significant effect on the ability of the host plant to benefit from mycorrhizal associations. We suggest that novel genomic approaches, such as community genetics and landscape genomics, should be applied to shed light on this aspect of plant–fungal interactions and be incorporated in restoration planning. Fundamental understanding of the nature of such associations can benefit from using restoration frameworks as large‐scale experimental settings. A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article.

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“…In the context of ecological restoration, first studies suggest that selection pressures at restoration sites can alter heritable phenotypic distribution of seeded species. Specifically, Kulpa & Leger (2013) detected strong selection towards smaller plant and seed size and earlier flowering in an annual grass, and Magnoli (2020) and Magnoli & Lau (2020) showed partly adaptive trait differentiation in an annual legume after seeding the same batch of seed to two restored sites. Yet, these studies focused on a single annual species each.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Rapid evolution of flower phenology and clonality in restored populations of multiple grassland species

Bucharová

Conrady

Klein-Raufhake

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Restoration of terrestrial ecosystems often requires re-introduction of plants. In restored sites, the plants often face environment that differs from the one in natural populations. This which can affect plant traits, reduce performance and impose novel selection pressures. As a response, restored populations might rapidly evolve and adapt to the novel conditions. This may enhance population survival and contribute to restoration success, but has been rarely tested so far. Here, we focused on populations of three grassland species restored 20 years ago (Galium wirtgenii, Inula salicina and Centaurea jacea) by the transfer of green hay, and compared them with populations that were source of the hay. We measured plants both in-situ, and in common garden under control and three stress conditions. In-situ, restored and natural populations differed in flowering phenology in two out of the three species. In the common garden, plants of the restored population flowered earlier (in Galium) or showed increased plasticity of clonal propagation in response to clipping (Inula). Both these traits suggest rapid adaptation to the contrasting mowing regimes in restored in comparison to the natural donor sites. In Centaurea, we detected no differentiation, neither in-situ, nor in the common garden. Rapid evolution in two out of three species indicates that evolution in restoration may be rather common, yet not ubiquitous across species.

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Novel plant–microbe interactions: Rapid evolution of a legume–rhizobium mutualism in restored prairies

Abstract: While much work has focused on the ecological effects of these interactions (Mitchell et al., 2006), mutualists, enemies and competitors also may act as strong agents of natural selection on colonizing populations (e.g. Lambrinos, 2004).

Cited by 16 publications

References 56 publications

Microbial effects on plant phenology and fitness

Microbial effects on plant phenology and fitness

The joint effect of host plant genetic diversity and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal communities on restoration success

Rapid evolution of flower phenology and clonality in restored populations of multiple grassland species

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