Ecological trade-offs drive phenotypic and genetic differentiation of Arabidopsis thaliana in Europe
Journal
Nature Communications
Series/Report No.
Nature Communications
Journal Volume
15
Journal Issue
1
Start Page
Article number 5185
ISSN
2041-1723
Date Issued
2024-06-18
Author(s)
Cristina C. Bastias
Aurélien Estarague
Denis Vile
Elza Gaignon
Moises Exposito-Alonso
Cyrille Violle
François Vasseur
DOI
10.1038/s41467-024-49267-0
Abstract
Plant diversity is shaped by trade-offs between traits related to competitive ability, propagule dispersal, and stress resistance. However, we still lack a clear understanding of how these trade-offs influence species distribution and population dynamics. In Arabidopsis thaliana, recent genetic analyses revealed a group of cosmopolitan genotypes that successfully recolonized Europe from its center after the last glaciation, excluding older (relict) lineages from the distribution except for their north and south margins. Here, we tested the hypothesis that cosmopolitans expanded due to higher colonization ability, while relicts persisted at the margins due to higher tolerance to competition and/or stress. We compared the phenotypic and genetic differentiation between 71 European genotypes originating from the center, and the south and north margins. We showed that a trade-off between plant fecundity and seed mass shapes the differentiation of A. thaliana in Europe, suggesting that the success of the cosmopolitan groups could be explained by their high dispersal ability. However, at both north and south margins, we found evidence of selection for alleles conferring low dispersal but highly competitive and stress-resistance abilities. This study sheds light on the role of ecological trade-offs as evolutionary drivers of the distribution and dynamics of plant populations.
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Type
journal article