Allele Surfing and Holocene Expansion of an Australian Fig (Ficus—Moraceae)

Abstract

The creek sandpaper fig of southeastern Australia, Ficus coronata Spin, is culturally significant to Australian traditional owners who made use of the leaves to smooth timber and ate the fruit. The species is thought to have a long history on the continent, with some suggesting a Gondwanan origin. However, distributional patterns and overall ecology suggest a recent expansion across suitable habitats. We used landscape genomic techniques and environmental niche modelling to reconstruct its history and explore whether the species underwent a recent and rapid expansion along the east coast of New South Wales. Genomic analysis of 178 specimens collected from 32 populations throughout the species’ New South Wales distribution revealed a lack of genetic diversity and population structure. Some populations at the species’ southern and western range limits displayed unexpected diversity, which appears to be the result of allele surfing. Field work and genetic evidence suggest a Holocene expansion which may have increased since European colonisation. We also present a novel method for detecting allele surfing—MAHF (minor allele at highest frequency).

Pushed waves, trailing edges, and extreme events: Eco‐evolutionary dynamics of a geographic range shift in the owl limpet, Lottia gigantea

“…This analysis assumes that populations with higher diversity at nonsynonymous sites are experiencing purifying selection and have lower genetic load. To characterize the extent of allele surfing or genetic drift, we calculated the minor allele in the highest frequency (MAHF; Wilde et al., 2021). This metric consisted of the count of minor alleles that exist at their highest frequency in each population.…”

Comparative Phylogeography of Mexican Rock Fig (Ficus petiolaris) and its Fig Wasp Pollinator: Effects of Abiotic Versus Biotic Factors

“…These observed phylogeographic patterns are not unique to our system. The absence of IBD and the lack of spatial genetic structure over extensive geographical ranges are seen in other Ficus host-pollinator pairs [Molbo et al, 2004;Zavodna et al, 2005;Yu et al, 2010;Kobmoo et al, 2010;Lin et al, 2008;Yu and Nason, 2013;Tian et al, 2015;Heer et al, 2015;Bain et al, 2016;Honorio Coronado et al, 2019;Wilde et al, 2021].…”

“…Consequently, monoecious figs tend to exhibit limited or no genetic structure across their species distribution [Kobmoo et al, 2010;Bain et al, 2016;Honorio Coronado et al, 2019;Wilde et al, 2021].…”

Exploring the complex pre-adaptations of invasive plants to anthropogenic disturbance: a call for integration of archaeobotanical approaches

“…Although the events that lead to the pre-adaptation of plant species to anthropogenic disturbance in sense of the AIAI and NPIH mainly happened thousands of years ago, the suggested and implemented experimental approaches towards this issue focus exclusively on trait comparisons in contemporary plant populations (see Section 3.1). However, the phenotypic traits of these populations result from a plethora of mutually non-exclusive adaptive and stochastic (e.g., random sampling of genetic lineages, founder effects, allele surfing, population admixture) evolutionary processes, the relative importance of which varies across both a temporal and spatial scale (Keller and Taylor, 2008;Liao et al, 2020;Sherpa and Despreś, 2021;Wilde et al, 2021;Kreiner et al, 2022). All these selective and neutral processes shape species traits and the underlying (epi)-genetics from the moment of introduction right until the present.…”