Biology subjects

Estarague, A.

Publications and source records attributed to Estarague, A..

4 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2024

Adaptation to climate in the native and introduced ranges of a cosmopolitan plant

Climate change and the global spread of non-native species are two of the most significant threats to biodiversity and ecosystem function. Both these phenomena subject populations to novel conditions, either in space (species introductions) or in time (climate change), yet the role of adaptation in how populations respond to these rapid environmental shifts is poorly understood. We conducted a large-scale trans-continental common garden experiment using white clover (Trifolium repens, Fabaceae) to test whether adaptive evolution to spatiotemporal variation in climate could contribute to the ecological success of one of the most widespread plant species in the world. Individuals from 96 populations of Trifolium repens (white clover) from both its native (Europe) and introduced (North America) ranges were planted into four experimental common gardens located in northern (Uppsala, Sweden) and southern (Montpellier, France) Europe, and northern (Mississauga, Canada) and southern (Lafayette, USA) North America. We recorded plant sexual and clonal fitness in each common garden and assessed whether the strength of local adaptation differed between the native and introduced ranges and whether populations are rapidly adapting to climate change. Results show that local adaptation was only evident when populations were transplanted into common gardens located in the same range (native or introduced) from which they originated and was driven by stronger selection (due to climatic factors rather than herbivory) at lower latitudes in both ranges. Our results indicate rapid local adaptation across a large latitudinal gradient in introduced T. repens populations, along with an associated adaptation cost when transplanted back into the native range. We also find evidence of an adaptation lag in the northern common garden in the introduced range, with plants from historically warmer climates exhibiting the greatest fitness. These findings support two major conclusions: 1) white clover can rapidly adapt to spatial variation in climate in its introduced range as well as the native range, and 2) despite rapid adaptation to novel environments, introduced white clover populations are not keeping pace with rapid climate change. Overall, our results provide insight into the role of adaptation in facilitating the ecological success of non-native species in a rapidly changing world. Open Research StatementData are provided for peer review. All data involved in this study is available on the GitHub page for LJA (https://github.com/ljalbano/transcontinental_common_garden).

evolutionary biology↗

bioRxiv2022

Ecological and genetic trade-offs drive Arabidopsis thaliana range expansion in Europe

How trade-offs between traits constrain adaptation to contrasted environments is critical to understand the distribution range of a given species. In Arabidopsis thaliana, genetic analyses recently revealed that a group of genotypes successfully recolonized Europe from its center after the last glaciation, outcompeting older lineages and leaving them only at the distribution margins, where environmental conditions are more stressing. However, whether trade-offs between traits related to dispersal, competition, and stress tolerance explain the success and persistence of different lineages across the species geographic range remains an open question. Here, we compared the genetic and phenotypic differentiation between 72 ecotypes originating from three geographical groups in Europe (North, South and Center). We measured key traits related to fecundity, dispersal ability, competition tolerance, and stress tolerance, and used genomic data to infer the effect of selection on these traits. We showed that a trade-off between plant fecundity and seed mass constrains the diversification of A. thaliana in Europe. In particular, the success of the cosmopolitan genotypes that recolonized Europe can be explained by their higher dispersal ability at the expense of their competitive ability and stress tolerance. Inversely, peripheral ecotypes exhibited the opposite trait syndrome: high competition and stress tolerance but low dispersal ability. Moreover, peripheral genotypes tend to differentiate from central ones at genes involved in dispersal and competitive traits such as seed mass. Combining ecological and genomic approaches, our study demonstrated the role of key ecological trade-offs as evolutionary drivers of the distribution of plant populations along a geographic gradient. SignificanceAcross geographic gradients, differential adaptive phenotypes among populations can reduce the risk of local extinctions and favor niche dynamics. However, a phenotypic advantage often comes at a cost. For instance, the competition-colonization trade-off is proposed as an important driver of plant interspecific diversity, but its role for local adaptation at the intraspecific level is still unclear. Using the broadly-distributed species Arabidopsis thaliana, we evaluate how ecological trade-offs have shaped the demography and evolution of central and peripheral populations in its native geographic gradient. Our study demonstrates that the competition-colonization trade-off is responsible of the spatially-structured phenotypic variation of A. thaliana across its geographical range. Our study highlights seed mass as a key trait for plant adaptation across environmental conditions.

ecology↗

bioRxiv2022

Plant-herbivore interactions: experimental demonstration of genetic variability in plant-plant signaling

O_LIPlant-herbivore interactions mediated by plant-plant signaling were documented in different species. Here, we tested if herbivore foraging activity on plants was influenced by plants prior contact with a damaged plant and if the effect of such plant-plant signaling was variable across genotypes. C_LIO_LIWe filmed snails during one hour on two plants differing only in a prior contact with a damaged plant or not. We replicated eight times the experiment on 113 natural genotypes of Arabidopsis thaliana. We recorded snails first choice, and measured its first duration on a plant, the proportion of time spent on both plants and leaf consumption. C_LIO_LIOn average, snails spent more time on plants that experienced a prior contact with a damaged plant, and consumed them more. However, plant-plant signaling effect on snail behavior was variable across genotypes. Genome-wide association studies revealed that a small number of genetic polymorphisms related to stress coping ability and jasmonate pathway explained this variation. C_LIO_LIPlant-plant signaling modified the foraging activity of herbivores in A. thaliana. Depending on the plant genotype, plant-plant signaling made undamaged plants more repulsive or attractive to snails. This finding questions the theoretical basement of the evolution of plant-herbivore interactions mediated by plant-plant signaling. C_LI HighlightPlant-plant signaling differently affects snail foraging activity depending on genetic variations in A.thaliana. These findings question the theoretical basement of the evolution of plant-herbivore interactions mediated by plant-plant signaling.

plant biology↗

bioRxiv2021

Into the range: a latitudinal gradient or a center-margins differentiation of ecological strategies in Arabidopsis thaliana?

Background and AimsDetermining within-species large-scale variation in phenotypic traits is central to elucidate the drivers of species ranges. Intraspecific comparisons offer the opportunity to understand how trade-offs and biogeographical history constrain adaptation to contrasted environmental conditions. Here we test whether functional traits, ecological strategies and phenotypic plasticity in response to abiotic stress vary along a latitudinal or a center-margins gradient within the native range of Arabidopsis thaliana. MethodsThe phenotypic outcomes of plant adaptation at the center and margins of its geographic range were experimentally examined in 30 accessions from southern, central and northern Europe. The variation of traits related to stress tolerance, resource use, colonization ability as well as survival and fecundity was determined in response to high temperature (34{degrees}C) or frost (- 6{degrees}C), in combination with response to water deficit. Key ResultsBoth evidence for a latitudinal and a center-margins differentiation was found. Traits related to the acquisitive/conservative strategy trade-off varied along a latitudinal gradient. Northern accessions presented a greater survival to stress than central and southern accessions. Traits related to a colonization-competition trade-off followed a center-margin differentiation. Central accessions presented a higher phenotypic plasticity and trait values associated with a higher colonization ability than northern and southern accessions which instead had a higher competition ability. ConclusionsIntraspecific phenotypic variation helps us understand how the distribution range has evolved in Arabidopsis thaliana, which is shaped both by climate and the population migratory history. We advocate to consider intraspecific trait variation in species range studies instead of species means only as classically done in macroecology.

ecology↗