Speaker
Description
Contemporary evolution is a common occurrence where plant species colonize non-native ranges and encounter novel interaction partners. However, our understanding of contemporary evolution is limited because most native vs. non-native range comparisons overlook within-range variation among populations and lack interdisciplinary frameworks utilizing multi-omics approaches. The integrative network iCONNECT addresses these research gaps. Here, we introduce the framework and present results from an initial study conducted within iCONNECT.
We performed a greenhouse experiment with 108 native and 176 non-native Conyza canadensis populations, collected across broad spatio-environmental gradients in both ranges. The populations were exposed to a competition × drought treatment combination. The samples from this experiment were analyzed in a coherent manner to study their 1) phenotype (competitive ability under dry and mesic conditions), 2) eco-metabolomics (mass spectrometry analyses of root exudates), 3) root-fungal interactions (amplicon sequencing), and 4) population genomics (ddRADseq).
1) Interspecific competition had more detrimental effects on native than non-native populations and experimental drought exacerbated the effects of competition. 2) Drought led to increased metabolomic diversity in non-native but not in native populations. 3) Drought altered the composition of root-colonizing fungal communities in non-native but not in native populations, and these changes correlated with the effects of drought on plant performance in the non-native populations. 4) Bayesian clustering revealed significant correlation of the population genetic structure with spatio-environmental gradients and with the phenotypic and eco-metabolomic traits measured in the greenhouse.
Integrating multi-omics data can help unraveling how belowground mechanisms determine contemporary evolution in complex biotic interactions. Future research may focus on identifying metabolites and genomic regions associated with competitive ability and root-fungi interactions under dry and mesic conditions. We encourage collaboration with interested researchers who want to use our sampled populations in order to perform add-on studies that investigate drivers of contemporary evolution in diverse biotic interaction traits.
| Status Group | Postdoctoral Researcher |
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