Directional and stabilizing selection shaped morphological, reproductive, and physiological traits of the invader Solidago canadensis
Abstract Trait evolution in invasive plant species is important because it can impact demographic parameters key to invasion success. Invasive plant species often show phenotypic clines along geographic and climatic gradients. However, the relative contributions of natural selection and neutral evol...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2023-08-01
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| Series: | Ecology and Evolution |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.10410 |
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| author | Leshan Du Ayub M. O. Oduor Wei Zuo Haiyan Liu Jun‐Min Li |
| author_facet | Leshan Du Ayub M. O. Oduor Wei Zuo Haiyan Liu Jun‐Min Li |
| author_sort | Leshan Du |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Trait evolution in invasive plant species is important because it can impact demographic parameters key to invasion success. Invasive plant species often show phenotypic clines along geographic and climatic gradients. However, the relative contributions of natural selection and neutral evolutionary processes to phenotypic trait variation among populations of invasive plants remain unclear. A common method to assess whether a trait has been shaped by natural selection or neutral evolutionary processes is to compare the geographical pattern for the trait of interest to the divergence in neutral genetic loci (i.e., QST–FST comparisons). Subsequently, a redundancy analysis (RDA) can facilitate identification of putative agents of natural selection on the trait. Here, we employed both a QST–FST comparisons approach and RDA to infer whether natural selection shaped traits of invasive populations of Solidago canadensis in China and identify the potential environmental drivers of natural selection. We addressed two questions: (1) Did natural selection drive phenotypic trait variation among S. canadensis populations? (2) Did climatic, latitudinal, longitudinal, and altitudinal gradients drive patterns of genetic variation among S. canadensis populations? We found significant directional selection for several morphological and reproductive traits (i.e., QST > FST) and stabilizing selection for physiological traits (i.e., QST < FST). The RDA showed that stem biomass of S. canadensis was strongly positively correlated with longitude, while leaf width ratio and specific leaf area were significantly positively correlated with the mean diurnal range. Stem biomass had a strong negative correlation with annual precipitation. Moreover, height of S. canadensis individuals was strongly positively correlated with altitude and precipitation of the wettest quarter. A longitudinal shift in precipitation seasonality likely selected for larger stem biomass in S. canadensis. Overall, these results suggest that longitudinal and altitudinal clines in climate exerted strong selection pressures that shaped the phenotypic traits of S. canadensis. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T12:18:11Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-eb6fc0f3db5d47069404e0d2cfda5556 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2045-7758 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T12:18:11Z |
| publishDate | 2023-08-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Ecology and Evolution |
| spelling | doaj.art-eb6fc0f3db5d47069404e0d2cfda55562023-08-30T06:50:40ZengWileyEcology and Evolution2045-77582023-08-01138n/an/a10.1002/ece3.10410Directional and stabilizing selection shaped morphological, reproductive, and physiological traits of the invader Solidago canadensisLeshan Du0Ayub M. O. Oduor1Wei Zuo2Haiyan Liu3Jun‐Min Li4State Key Laboratory of Environmental Criteria and Risk Assessment Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences Beijing ChinaZhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Evolutionary Ecology and Conservation Taizhou University Taizhou ChinaZhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Evolutionary Ecology and Conservation Taizhou University Taizhou ChinaState Key Laboratory of Environmental Criteria and Risk Assessment Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences Beijing ChinaZhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Evolutionary Ecology and Conservation Taizhou University Taizhou ChinaAbstract Trait evolution in invasive plant species is important because it can impact demographic parameters key to invasion success. Invasive plant species often show phenotypic clines along geographic and climatic gradients. However, the relative contributions of natural selection and neutral evolutionary processes to phenotypic trait variation among populations of invasive plants remain unclear. A common method to assess whether a trait has been shaped by natural selection or neutral evolutionary processes is to compare the geographical pattern for the trait of interest to the divergence in neutral genetic loci (i.e., QST–FST comparisons). Subsequently, a redundancy analysis (RDA) can facilitate identification of putative agents of natural selection on the trait. Here, we employed both a QST–FST comparisons approach and RDA to infer whether natural selection shaped traits of invasive populations of Solidago canadensis in China and identify the potential environmental drivers of natural selection. We addressed two questions: (1) Did natural selection drive phenotypic trait variation among S. canadensis populations? (2) Did climatic, latitudinal, longitudinal, and altitudinal gradients drive patterns of genetic variation among S. canadensis populations? We found significant directional selection for several morphological and reproductive traits (i.e., QST > FST) and stabilizing selection for physiological traits (i.e., QST < FST). The RDA showed that stem biomass of S. canadensis was strongly positively correlated with longitude, while leaf width ratio and specific leaf area were significantly positively correlated with the mean diurnal range. Stem biomass had a strong negative correlation with annual precipitation. Moreover, height of S. canadensis individuals was strongly positively correlated with altitude and precipitation of the wettest quarter. A longitudinal shift in precipitation seasonality likely selected for larger stem biomass in S. canadensis. Overall, these results suggest that longitudinal and altitudinal clines in climate exerted strong selection pressures that shaped the phenotypic traits of S. canadensis.https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.10410common gardengenetic differentiationinvasion ecologylocal adaptationnatural selectionphenotypic differentiation |
| spellingShingle | Leshan Du Ayub M. O. Oduor Wei Zuo Haiyan Liu Jun‐Min Li Directional and stabilizing selection shaped morphological, reproductive, and physiological traits of the invader Solidago canadensis Ecology and Evolution common garden genetic differentiation invasion ecology local adaptation natural selection phenotypic differentiation |
| title | Directional and stabilizing selection shaped morphological, reproductive, and physiological traits of the invader Solidago canadensis |
| title_full | Directional and stabilizing selection shaped morphological, reproductive, and physiological traits of the invader Solidago canadensis |
| title_fullStr | Directional and stabilizing selection shaped morphological, reproductive, and physiological traits of the invader Solidago canadensis |
| title_full_unstemmed | Directional and stabilizing selection shaped morphological, reproductive, and physiological traits of the invader Solidago canadensis |
| title_short | Directional and stabilizing selection shaped morphological, reproductive, and physiological traits of the invader Solidago canadensis |
| title_sort | directional and stabilizing selection shaped morphological reproductive and physiological traits of the invader solidago canadensis |
| topic | common garden genetic differentiation invasion ecology local adaptation natural selection phenotypic differentiation |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.10410 |
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