Wild sunflower goes viral: Citizen science and comparative genomics allow tracking the origin and establishment of invasive sunflower in the Levant

Abstract

Globalization and intensified volume of trade and transport around the world are accelerating the rate of biological invasions. It is therefore increasingly important to understand the processes through which invasive species colonize new habitats, often to the detriment of native flora. The initial steps of an invasion are particularly critical, as the introduced species relies on limited genetic diversity to adapt to a new environment. However, our understanding of this critical stage of the invasion is currently limited. We used a citizen science approach and social media to survey the distribution of invasive sunflower in Israel. We then sampled and sequenced a representative collection and compared it with available genomic data sets of North American wild sunflower, landraces and cultivars. We show that invasive wild sunflower is rapidly establishing throughout Israel, probably from a single, recent introduction from Texas, while maintaining high genetic diversity through ongoing gene flow. Since its introduction, invasive sunflower has spread quickly to most regions, and differentiation was detected despite extensive gene flow between clusters. Our findings suggest that rapid spread followed by continuous gene flow between diverging populations can serve as an efficient mechanism for maintaining sufficient genetic diversity at the early stages of invasion, promoting rapid adaptation and establishment in the new territory.

Utilizing Molecular Epidemiology and Citizen Science for the Surveillance of Lagoviruses in Australia

“…Furthermore, we were able to accurately determine and monitor the molecular epidemiology of circulating lagoviruses in Australia. Altogether, consistent with numerous studies in the literature involving citizen science [32][33][34][35][36], the implementation of the rabbit and lagovirus surveillance program has demonstrated that it is a valuable resource to reliably obtain robust data to determine and monitor the genomic epidemiology and diversity of lagoviruses. It is therefore critical to sustain such programs for the long term to monitor the emergence of new RHDV incursions and/or recombinant variants which may affect wild and domestic rabbit populations.…”

“…Citizen science is now regularly employed in multiple disciplines, such as biological conservation [31], invasive species management [32][33][34][35][36], and education [37], substantially impacting data collection. It has enabled researchers to obtain large datasets with sample numbers ranging from the tens to the millions, depending on the scale of the population and geography by which the citizen science program is implemented.…”

Agricultural weeds: the contribution of domesticated species to the origin and evolution of feral weeds

“…annuus ) in eastern North America 155 and currently grows worldwide as an oilseed crop 156 . Wild sunflower is native to North America and has been introduced in many areas, including southern 111 and eastern Europe, 157 Australia, 158 Israel, 159 and central Argentina 160 . In the introduced areas, it typically grows as a ruderal species on roadsides, field margins, and ditches, although weedy populations have also been reported 51,111,157 .…”

The establishment of plants following long-distance dispersal

“…Therefore, if just one propagule is needed to establish a population, variation in propagule pressure might linearly predict, albeit with substantial uncertainty, the probability of a successful colonization event. However, establishment from one propagule involves a severe founder effect, while genetic diversity may be correlated with successful establishment [13]. High propagule pressure generated by propagules arriving from multiple parts of a species range, in contrast, would promote genetic diversity and enhance establishment.…”