| 1. |
- Postma, Froukje M., 1988-
(författare)
-
Selection during Early Life Stages and Local Adaptation in Arabidopsis thaliana
- 2016
-
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Organisms are often adapted to their local environment, but the role of early life stages in adaptive differentiation among populations remains poorly known. The aim of my thesis was to investigate the contribution of early life stages to the magnitude and genetic basis of local adaptation, and to identify the underlying adaptive traits. For this, I used two natural populations of the annual plant Arabidopsis thaliana from Italy and Sweden, and a Recombinant Inbred Line (RIL) population derived from a cross between these populations. By combining greenhouse and field experiments, Quantitative Trait Loci (QTL) mapping, and path analysis, I examined (1) the genetic basis of seed dormancy, (2) the contribution of differential seedling establishment to local adaptation, (3) among-year variation in selection during seedling establishment, (4) direct and indirect effects of seed dormancy and timing of germination on fitness, and (5) the adaptive value of the seed bank.I found that both the level and the genetic basis of seed dormancy were affected by the maternal environment. One major-effect QTL was identified in all maternal environments, which overlaps with the dormancy gene DELAY OF GERMINATION 1 (DOG1).Selection through seedling establishment success contributed strongly to local adaptation and genetic tradeoffs, and varied among years. Variation in seedling establishment and overall fitness among RILs could be explained by genetically based differences in seed dormancy and timing of germination. Seed dormancy affected fitness throughout the life cycle, by affecting the proportion of germinated seeds, and indirectly via effects on timing of germination, plant size and flowering time.My results suggest that a considerable portion of A. thaliana seeds enter the seed bank. I found genetic differences in dormancy cycling behaviour between the two populations, which could contribute to local adaptation. The value of a seed bank should be higher at the Swedish study site than at the Italian study site due to lower rate of seed mortality in the soil.Overall, the results of this thesis demonstrate that early life stages contribute strongly to both the magnitude and the genetics of local adaptation.
|
|
| 2. |
- Trunschke, Judith
(författare)
-
Pollinator-mediated selection and the evolution of floral traits in orchids
- 2018
-
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- In this thesis, I combined manipulations of traits and pollination environment with analysis of phenotypic selection to examine causes of variation in strength and mode of selection on floral traits, and I conducted a reciprocal sowing experiment to test for local adaptation in germination success. I tested the following predictions (1) the opportunity for selection, and the strength of pollinator-mediated and net selection increase with increasing pollen limitation, (2) the effects of traits affecting pollinator attraction and traits affecting pollination efficiency are non-additive and this leads to pollinator-mediated correlational selection, (3) the effects of spur length on pollen removal, pollen receipt, and female fitness differ between populations with short-tongued and populations with long-tongued pollinators, and (4) local adaptation at the stage of germination contributes to the maintenance of ecotypes growing in grasslands and woodlands, respectively.A study including natural populations of 12 orchid species that varied widely in pollen limitation showed that opportunity for selection, pollinator-mediated selection and net selection were all positively related to pollen limitation, whereas non-pollinator-mediated selection was not. In the moth-pollinated orchid Platanthera bifolia, experimental reductions of plant height and spur length decreased pollen removal, pollen receipt and fruit production, but non-additive effects were not detected. Effects of plant height translated into pollinator-mediated selection for taller plants via female fitness, but there was no current pollinator-mediated selection on spur length. An experiment using artificial nectar spurs demonstrated that in P. bifolia pollen receipt saturated at shorter spur length in a population with short-tongued pollinators than in a population with a long-tongued pollinator. Effects of spur length on pollen receipt did not translate into current pollinator-mediated selection indicating that also plants with the shortest spurs for the most part received sufficient pollen for full seed set. Reciprocal sowing of seeds from grassland and woodland populations detected no evidence of local adaptation at the germination stage between ecotypes of P. bifolia.Taken together, the results illustrate how a combination of trait manipulation and analysis of strength and causes of selection can throw light on both the functional and adaptive significance of trait variation within and among natural populations.
|
|
