After a catastrophe, a little bit of sex is better than nothing: Genetic consequences of a major earthquake on asexual and sexual populations
Abstract Catastrophic events can have profound effects on the demography of a population and consequently on genetic diversity. The dynamics of postcatastrophic recovery and the role of sexual versus asexual reproduction in buffering the effects of massive perturbations remain poorly understood, in...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2020-09-01
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| Series: | Evolutionary Applications |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1111/eva.12967 |
| _version_ | 1818557948604973056 |
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| author | Ronan Becheler Marie‐Laure Guillemin Solenn Stoeckel Stéphane Mauger Alice Saunier Antonio Brante Christophe Destombe Myriam Valero |
| author_facet | Ronan Becheler Marie‐Laure Guillemin Solenn Stoeckel Stéphane Mauger Alice Saunier Antonio Brante Christophe Destombe Myriam Valero |
| author_sort | Ronan Becheler |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Catastrophic events can have profound effects on the demography of a population and consequently on genetic diversity. The dynamics of postcatastrophic recovery and the role of sexual versus asexual reproduction in buffering the effects of massive perturbations remain poorly understood, in part because the opportunity to document genetic diversity before and after such events is rare. Six natural (purely sexual) and seven cultivated (mainly clonal due to farming practices) populations of the red alga Agarophyton chilense were surveyed along the Chilean coast before, in the days after and 2 years after the 8.8 magnitude earthquake in 2010. The genetic diversity of sexual populations appeared sensitive to this massive perturbation, notably through the loss of rare alleles immediately after the earthquake. By 2012, the levels of diversity returned to those observed before the catastrophe, probably due to migration. In contrast, enhanced rates of clonality in cultivated populations conferred a surprising ability to buffer the instantaneous loss of diversity. After the earthquake, farmers increased the already high rate of clonality to maintain the few surviving beds, but most of them collapsed rapidly. Contrasting fates between sexual and clonal populations suggest that betting on strict clonality to sustain production is risky, probably because this extreme strategy hampered adaptation to the brutal environmental perturbation induced by the catastrophe. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-14T00:06:23Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-fc1bf293e4934f10927a4dbf4ae8b0c3 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1752-4571 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-14T00:06:23Z |
| publishDate | 2020-09-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Evolutionary Applications |
| spelling | doaj.art-fc1bf293e4934f10927a4dbf4ae8b0c32022-12-21T23:26:01ZengWileyEvolutionary Applications1752-45712020-09-011382086210010.1111/eva.12967After a catastrophe, a little bit of sex is better than nothing: Genetic consequences of a major earthquake on asexual and sexual populationsRonan Becheler0Marie‐Laure Guillemin1Solenn Stoeckel2Stéphane Mauger3Alice Saunier4Antonio Brante5Christophe Destombe6Myriam Valero7Centro de Conservación Marina Departamento de Ecología Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile Casilla ChileUMI 3614 Evolutionary Biology and Ecology of Algae CNRS Sorbonne Université Universidad Austral de Chile Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile Roscoff FranceUMR1349 Institute for Genetics, Environment and Plant Protection INRA Le Rheu FranceUMI 3614 Evolutionary Biology and Ecology of Algae CNRS Sorbonne Université Universidad Austral de Chile Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile Roscoff FranceUMI 3614 Evolutionary Biology and Ecology of Algae CNRS Sorbonne Université Universidad Austral de Chile Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile Roscoff FranceDepartamento de Ecología Facultad de Ciencias Universidad Católica de la Santísima Concepción (UCSC) Concepción ChileUMI 3614 Evolutionary Biology and Ecology of Algae CNRS Sorbonne Université Universidad Austral de Chile Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile Roscoff FranceUMI 3614 Evolutionary Biology and Ecology of Algae CNRS Sorbonne Université Universidad Austral de Chile Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile Roscoff FranceAbstract Catastrophic events can have profound effects on the demography of a population and consequently on genetic diversity. The dynamics of postcatastrophic recovery and the role of sexual versus asexual reproduction in buffering the effects of massive perturbations remain poorly understood, in part because the opportunity to document genetic diversity before and after such events is rare. Six natural (purely sexual) and seven cultivated (mainly clonal due to farming practices) populations of the red alga Agarophyton chilense were surveyed along the Chilean coast before, in the days after and 2 years after the 8.8 magnitude earthquake in 2010. The genetic diversity of sexual populations appeared sensitive to this massive perturbation, notably through the loss of rare alleles immediately after the earthquake. By 2012, the levels of diversity returned to those observed before the catastrophe, probably due to migration. In contrast, enhanced rates of clonality in cultivated populations conferred a surprising ability to buffer the instantaneous loss of diversity. After the earthquake, farmers increased the already high rate of clonality to maintain the few surviving beds, but most of them collapsed rapidly. Contrasting fates between sexual and clonal populations suggest that betting on strict clonality to sustain production is risky, probably because this extreme strategy hampered adaptation to the brutal environmental perturbation induced by the catastrophe.https://doi.org/10.1111/eva.12967aquacultureconservation geneticsempirical population geneticsevolution of sexhabitat degradation |
| spellingShingle | Ronan Becheler Marie‐Laure Guillemin Solenn Stoeckel Stéphane Mauger Alice Saunier Antonio Brante Christophe Destombe Myriam Valero After a catastrophe, a little bit of sex is better than nothing: Genetic consequences of a major earthquake on asexual and sexual populations Evolutionary Applications aquaculture conservation genetics empirical population genetics evolution of sex habitat degradation |
| title | After a catastrophe, a little bit of sex is better than nothing: Genetic consequences of a major earthquake on asexual and sexual populations |
| title_full | After a catastrophe, a little bit of sex is better than nothing: Genetic consequences of a major earthquake on asexual and sexual populations |
| title_fullStr | After a catastrophe, a little bit of sex is better than nothing: Genetic consequences of a major earthquake on asexual and sexual populations |
| title_full_unstemmed | After a catastrophe, a little bit of sex is better than nothing: Genetic consequences of a major earthquake on asexual and sexual populations |
| title_short | After a catastrophe, a little bit of sex is better than nothing: Genetic consequences of a major earthquake on asexual and sexual populations |
| title_sort | after a catastrophe a little bit of sex is better than nothing genetic consequences of a major earthquake on asexual and sexual populations |
| topic | aquaculture conservation genetics empirical population genetics evolution of sex habitat degradation |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1111/eva.12967 |
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