Can a flower color ancestral polymorphism transcend speciation?
Polymorphisms are common in nature, but they are rarely shared among closely related species. They could originate through convergence, ancestral polymorphism, or introgression. Although shared neutral genomic variation is commonplace, very few examples of shared functional traits exist. The blue-orange petal color polymorphisms in two closely related species, Lysimachia monelli and L. arvensis were investigated with UV-vis reflectance spectra, flavonoid biochemistry, and transcriptome comparisons followed by climate niche analysis. The similarities in reflectance spectra, biochemistry, and transcriptomes suggest a single shift from blue-to-orange shared by both lineages is possible. Transcriptome comparisons reveal two orange-specific genes are directly involved in both blue-orange color polymorphisms: DFR-2 specificity redirects flux from the malvidin to the pelargonidin while BZ1-2 stabilizes the pelargonidin with glucose, producing the orange pelargonidin 3-glucoside. The climate niches for each color morph are the same between the two species for three temperature characteristics but differ for four precipitation variables. We suggest that this persistent flower color polymorphism may represent an ancestrally polymorphic trait that has transcended speciation with some unique ecological effects.