scholarly journals Leaf economics guides slow-fast adaptation across the geographic range of A. thaliana

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin Sartori ◽  
François Vasseur ◽  
Cyrille Violle ◽  
Etienne Baron ◽  
Marianne Gerard ◽  
...  

SummaryThe slow-fast continuum describes how resource allocation constrains life-history strategies in many organisms. In plants, it is reflected by a trade-off at the leaf level between the rate of carbon assimilation and lifespan, the so-called Leaf Economics Spectrum (LES). However, it is still unclear how the LES is connected to the slow-fast syndrome, and reflects adaptation to climate. Here, we measured growth, morpho-physiological and life-history traits at both leaf and whole-plant levels in 384 natural accessions of Arabidopsis thaliana. We examined the extent to which the LES continuum parallels the slow-fast continuum, and compared trait variation to neutral genetic differentiation between lineages. We found that the LES is tightly linked to variation in whole-plant functioning, relative growth rate and life history. A genetic analysis further suggested that phenotypic differentiation is linked to the evolution of different slow-fast strategies in contrasted climates. Together, our findings shed light on the physiological bases of the slow-fast continuum, and its role for plant adaptation to climate.

AoB Plants ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. plv049 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin Blonder ◽  
François Vasseur ◽  
Cyrille Violle ◽  
Bill Shipley ◽  
Brian J. Enquist ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
D Israel ◽  
S Khan ◽  
C R Warren ◽  
J J Zwiazek ◽  
T M Robson

Abstract The roles of different plasma membrane aquaporins (PIPs) in leaf-level gas exchange of Arabidopsis thaliana were examined using knockout mutants. Since multiple Arabidopsis PIPs are implicated in CO2 transport across cell membranes, we focused on identifying the effects of the knockout mutations on photosynthesis, and whether they are mediated through the control of stomatal conductance of water vapour (gs), mesophyll conductance of CO2 (gm) or both. We grew Arabidopsis plants in low and high humidity environments and found that the contribution of PIPs to gs was larger under low air humidity when the evaporative demand was high, whereas any effect of lacking PIP function was minimal under higher humidity. The pip2;4 knockout mutant had 44% higher gs than the wild type plants under low humidity, which in turn resulted in an increased net photosynthetic rate (Anet). We also observed a 23% increase in whole-plant transpiration (E) for this knockout mutant. The lack of functional AtPIP2;5 did not affect gs or E, but resulted in homeostasis of gm despite changes of humidity, indicating a possible role in regulating CO2 membrane permeability. CO2 transport measurements in yeast expressing AtPIP2;5 confirmed that this aquaporin is indeed permeable to CO2.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jae Young Choi ◽  
Liliia R Abdulkina ◽  
Jun Yin ◽  
Inna B Chastukhina ◽  
John T Lovell ◽  
...  

Abstract Telomeres are highly repetitive DNA sequences found at the ends of chromosomes that protect the chromosomes from deterioration during cell division. Here, using whole genome re-sequencing and terminal restriction fragment assays, we found substantial natural intraspecific variation in telomere length in Arabidopsis thaliana, rice (Oryza sativa), and maize (Zea mays). Genome-wide association study (GWAS) mapping in A. thaliana identified 13 regions with GWAS-significant associations underlying telomere length variation, including a region that harbors the telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) gene. Population genomic analysis provided evidence for a selective sweep at the TERT region associated with longer telomeres. We found that telomere length is negatively correlated with flowering time variation not only in A. thaliana, but also in maize and rice, indicating a link between life history traits and chromosome integrity. Our results point to several possible reasons for this correlation, including the possibility that longer telomeres may be more adaptive in plants that have faster developmental rates (and therefore flower earlier). Our work suggests that chromosomal structure itself might be an adaptive trait associated with plant life history strategies.


2012 ◽  
Vol 26 (6) ◽  
pp. 1311-1329 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chiara Benvenuto ◽  
Sandrine Cheyppe-Buchmann ◽  
Gérald Bermond ◽  
Nicolas Ris ◽  
Xavier Fauvergue

2008 ◽  
Vol 18 (5) ◽  
pp. 363-367 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benoît Facon ◽  
Jean-Pierre Pointier ◽  
Philippe Jarne ◽  
Violette Sarda ◽  
Patrice David

2008 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 245-256 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carissa Jones ◽  
Isaac Rojas-González ◽  
Julio Lemos-Espinal ◽  
Jaime Zúñiga-Vega

Abstract There appears to be variation in life-history strategies even between populations of the same species. For ectothermic organisms such as lizards, it has been predicted that demographic and life-history traits should differ consistently between temperate and tropical populations. This study compares the demographic strategies of a temperate and a tropical population of the lizard Xenosaurus platyceps. Population growth rates in both types of environments indicated populations in numerical equilibrium. Of the two populations, we found that the temperate population experiences lower adult mortality. The relative importance (estimated as the relative contribution to population growth rate) of permanence and of the adult/reproductive size classes is higher in the temperate population. In contrast, the relative importance for average fitness of fecundity and growth is higher in the tropical population. These results are consistent with the theoretical frameworks about life-historical differences among tropical and temperate lizard populations.


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