Biology subjects

Verheyen, J.

Publications and source records attributed to Verheyen, J..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2024

High-throughput phenotyping reveals multiple drought responses of wild and cultivated Phaseolinae beans

Crop production worldwide is increasingly affected by drought stress. Although drought tolerance of a plant may be achieved through morphological, structural, physiological, cellular, and molecular adaptations, most studies remain limited to quantifying the effect of drought on biomass yield. Using a high-throughput phenotypic imaging system, we evaluated the drought tolerance of 151 bean accessions (Phaseolinae; Fabaceae) by quantifying five different traits simultaneously: biomass, water use efficiency, relative water content, chlorophyll content, and root/shoot ratio. Since crop wild relatives are important resources for breeding programmes, both wild and cultivated accessions were analyzed, the majority never evaluated for drought tolerance before. We demonstrate that the five traits are affected very differently by drought in the studied accessions, although a cluster analysis grouped the accessions into five distinct clusters with similar responses. We correlated the results for each accession to local climate variables at their original collection sites. Except for the root/shoot ratio, the results of all indicators were related to precipitation data, confirming that drought tolerant accessions grow in arid environments. This broader knowledge on the complex responses of plants to drought stress may prove an invaluable resource for future crop production. HighlightThis study presents an innovative approach for the fast evaluation of different drought tolerance traits of legumes. Multiple responses to drought were observed in the economically important Phaseolinae beans.

plant biology↗

bioRxiv2024

First evidence of a causal link between genetic variation and thermal adaptation in a schistosome host snail

Freshwater snails are pivotal in transmitting schistosomiasis, a tropical parasitic disease affecting over 150 million people. The adaptive potential of these snails is a critical factor in determining how climate change and other environmental factors influence disease transmission dynamics, yet it has remained unexplored. Bulinus truncatus is the schistosome intermediate host snail with the widest geographic distribution and therefore plays a pivotal role in determining the maximum range of urogenital schistosomiasis. In this study, we assessed the local adaptation capacity of B. truncatus to temperature through an integrative approach encompassing phenotypic, ecophysiological, and genomic data. Ten snail populations from diverse thermal environments were collected in three countries, with eight populations reared in a common garden. The F2 generation (total N= 2592) was exposed to eight chronic temperature treatments and various life-history traits were recorded for over 14 weeks. Subsequently, ecophysiological analyses were conducted on the ten last surviving snails per population. Genotyping the parental generation collected in the field using a genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS) approach, revealed 12,875 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), of which 4.91 % were potentially under selection. We observed a significant association between these outlier SNPs, temperature, and precipitation. Thermal adaptations in life-history traits were evident, with lower survival rates at high temperatures of warm- origin snails compensated for by higher reproduction rates. Cold-origin snails, on the other hand, exhibited higher growth rates adapted to a shorter growing season. Ecophysiological adaptations included elevated sugar and haemoglobin contents in cold-adapted snails. In contrast, warm-adapted snails displayed increased protein levels but also more oxidative damage. Furthermore, heightened phenoloxidase levels indicated a more robust immune response in snails from parasite-rich regions. The substantial local adaptation capacity of B. truncatus holds profound implications for its response to climate change, future schistosomiasis risk, and the effectiveness of schistosomiasis control measures. HighlightsO_LILocal adaptation influences species responses to climate change C_LIO_LIThe snail Bulinus truncatus showed a high thermal local adaptation (LA) potential C_LIO_LILA is apparent through variations in life history and ecophysiological traits C_LIO_LIWe identified a significant genetic basis underlying this LA C_LIO_LILA of the hosts could sustain schistosomiasis transmission under global warming C_LI

ecology↗

bioRxiv2023

Synergistic survival-related effects of larval exposure to an aquatic pollutant and food stress get stronger during and especially after metamorphosis and shape fitness of terrestrial adults

To improve the ecological risk assessment of aquatic pollutants it is needed to study their effects not only in the aquatic larval stage, but also in the terrestrial adult stage of the many animals with a complex life cycle. This remains understudied, especially with regard to interactive effects between aquatic pollutants and natural abiotic stressors. We studied effects of exposure to the pesticide DNP (2,4-Dinitrophenol) and how these were modulated by limited food availability in the aquatic larvae, and the possible delayed effects in the terrestrial adults of the damselfly Lestes viridis. Our results revealed that DNP and low food each had large negative effects on the life history, behaviour and to a lesser extent on the physiology of not only the larvae, but also the adults. Food limitation magnified the negative effects of DNP as seen by a strong decline in larval survival, metamorphosis success and adult lifespan. Notably, the synergism between the aquatic pollutant and food limitation for survival-related traits was stronger in the non-exposed adults than in the exposed larvae, likely because metamorphosis is stressful itself. Our results highlight that identifying effects of aquatic pollutants and synergisms with natural abiotic stressors, not only in the aquatic larval but also in the terrestrial adult stage, is crucial to fully assess the ecological impact of aquatic pollutants and to reveal the impact on the receiving terrestrial ecosystem through a changed aquatic-terrestrial subsidy.

ecology↗