Biology subjects

Plunkert, M.

Publications and source records attributed to Plunkert, M..

2 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2026

Shared QTLs underlie loss of a conserved trait in replicate mapping populations of Arabidopsis thaliana

The evolutionary mechanisms leading to nonfunctional trait loss are not well understood. Some Arabidopsis thaliana populations display incomplete loss of short stamens, floral organs that do not contribute significantly to seed set in this species. In nature, short stamen number is correlated with ovule number and flowering time, suggesting that pleiotropy with these traits could drive stamen number evolution. To investigate the role of pleiotropy in short stamen number evolution, we performed QTL mapping of stamen number and ovule number and examined previously published QTL analyses of flowering time for two sets of RILs, Belm-12 x Roda-47 and Tsu-1 x Kas-1. Flowering time, ovule number, and short stamen loss were correlated in Belm-12 x Roda-47 RILs, but not Tsu-1 x Kas-1 RILs. For both stamen and ovule number, some QTLs were unique to each RIL set and others were shared. Notably, for Belm-12 x Roda-47 RILs, we mapped QTLs affecting ovule and short stamen number to a region of chromosome 5 that also affects flowering time. For Tsu-1 x Kas-1 RILs, we identified the same chromosome 5 region as a short stamen number QTL, but ovule number and flowering time QTLs map to other genomic regions. While some genetic architectures of short stamen number and traits that are correlated in nature suggest linked or pleiotropic loci on chromosome 5, other architectures allow for recombination between QTLs that affect stamen number, ovule number, and flowering time. The role of pleiotropy in short stamen number evolution is therefore context dependent.

genetics↗

bioRxiv2025

Foliar salt spray exclusion and tissue tolerance underlie local adaptation to oceanic salt spray

PremiseSurviving under oceanic salt spray is critical for plants in coastal ecosystems, yet the mechanisms of coastal plant resilience to salt spray are not well understood. We investigated mechanisms of salt spray adaptation by comparing five latitudinal pairs of yellow monkeyflower accessions locally adapted to coastal and inland habitats. MethodsWe measured sodium levels in coastal and inland leaves exposed to experimental salt spray in the lab, and compared leaf surface traits that may contribute to differences in sodium uptake between ecotypes. We assayed tissue tolerance by allowing sodium to enter leaves through wounding and recording time to necrosis for coastal and inland accessions. Key ResultsCoastal monkeyflowers take up less sodium through the leaf surface under experimental salt spray, which may contribute to local adaptation under oceanic salt spray in coastal habitats. Higher water content per unit leaf area and less water loss under salt spray further reduce sodium concentrations in salt-sprayed coastal leaves compared to inland counterparts. The coastal ecotype also shows greater tissue tolerance to sodium than the inland ecotype. ConclusionsCoastal monkeyflowers employ salt spray exclusion and tissue tolerance mechanisms for salt spray resilience. Our results suggest that plant adaptation to coastal habitats may often involve the evolution of multiple mechanisms to survive stress imposed by oceanic salt spray.

evolutionary biology↗