Evolution of shade tolerance is associated with attenuation of shade avoidance and reduced phenotypic plasticity in North American milkweeds

Coverdale, Tyler C.; Agrawal, Anurag A.

doi:10.1002/ajb2.1732

Cited by 6 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 50 publications

(98 reference statements)

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“…2B,C). Plants adapt to different light conditions by changing their external shape and plasticity (Zhou et al 2017, Coverdale andAgrawal 2021). The overall morphology of S. trilobata decreased, while that of the other two Sphagneticola species increased.…”

Section: S Trilobata Optimizes Resource Allocation and Reduces Change...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Adaptive photosynthetic strategies of the invasive plant Sphagneticola trilobata and its hybrid to a low-light environment

Ke¹,

Pan²,

CHEN³

et al. 2022

Photosynt.

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In stressful environments, invasive plants acclimate more efficiently than native plants and hybridization mainly contributes to this process. We examined changes in the morphological characteristics, photosynthetic characteristics, and antioxidant capacity of Sphagneticola trilobata and its hybrids in a low-light environment to explore their invasiveness, with Sphagneticola calendulacea serving as the control. The morphological plasticity of S. trilobata was not dominant, the maximal photochemical efficiency of PSII, actual quantum yield of PSII, and electron transport rate of PSⅡ increased and nonphotochemical quenching decreased, while S. calendulacea and the hybrid produced opposite results. S. trilobata showed fewer spots stained for reactive oxygen species in tissues, with an increase in superoxide dismutase activity. Although S. trilobata is a heliophilous plant, we found that the shade tolerance of S. trilobata and the hybrid were stronger than that of S. calendulacea, which may be one important mechanism of invasion. Highlights• Shading promoted the plant height but decreased the stem length of Sphagneticola trilobata • S. calendulacea has the strong photosynthetic capacity and antioxidant activity in the shade • Shade tolerance of the hybrid is more efficient than that of S. calendulacea

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Section: S Trilobata Optimizes Resource Allocation and Reduces Change...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Adaptive photosynthetic strategies of the invasive plant Sphagneticola trilobata and its hybrid to a low-light environment

Ke¹,

Pan²,

CHEN³

et al. 2022

Photosynt.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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Herbivore regulation of savanna vegetation: Structural complexity, diversity, and the complexity–diversity relationship

Coverdale,

Boucher,

Singh

et al. 2024

Ecological Monographs

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Large mammalian herbivores exert strong top‐down control on plants, which in turn influence most ecological processes. Accordingly, the decline, displacement, or extinction of wild large herbivores in African savannas is expected to alter the physical structure of vegetation, the diversity of plant communities, and downstream ecosystem functions. However, herbivore impacts on vegetation comprise both direct and indirect effects and often depend on herbivore body size and plant type. Understanding how herbivores affect savanna vegetation requires disaggregating the effects of different herbivores and the responses of different plants, as well as accounting for both the structural complexity and composition of plant assemblages. We combined high‐resolution Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) with field measurements from size‐selective herbivore exclosures in Kenya to determine how herbivores affect the diversity and physical structure of vegetation, how these impacts vary with body size and plant type, and whether there are predictable associations between plant diversity and structural complexity. Herbivores generally reduced the diversity and abundance of both overstory and understory plants, though the magnitude of these impacts varied substantially as a function of body size and plant type: only megaherbivores (elephants and giraffes) affected tree cover, whereas medium‐ and small‐bodied herbivores had stronger effects on herbaceous diversity and abundance. We also found evidence that herbivores altered the strength and direction of interactions between trees and herbaceous plants, with signatures of facilitation in the presence of herbivores and of competition in their absence. While megaherbivores uniquely affected tree structure, medium‐ and small‐bodied species had stronger (and complementary) effects on metrics of herbaceous vegetation structure. Plant structural responses to herbivore exclusion were species‐specific: of five dominant tree species, just three exhibited significant individual morphological variation across exclosure treatments, and the size class of herbivores responsible for these effects varied across species. Irrespective of exclosure treatment, more species‐rich plant communities were more structurally complex. We conclude that the diversity and architecture of savanna vegetation depend on consumptive and nonconsumptive plant–herbivore interactions; the roles of herbivore diversity, body size, and plant traits in mediating those interactions; and a positive feedback between plant diversity and structural complexity.

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Pith cell responses to low red: far-red light in dicot stems

Li,

van de Kaa,

van der Krabben

et al. 2024

Preprint

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In dense canopies light becomes a limiting factor for plant growth. Many plants respond to neighbor cues by growing taller to improve light capture, a phenomenon known as the shade avoidance syndrome (SAS). The major neighbor detection is via enrichment of far-red (FR) light that leads to a low red: far-red light ratio (R:FR), suppressing phytochrome activity. In tomato, low R:FR induces elongation of the internodes, but study into the role of different cell types in this response has remained limited. We characterized changes in cellular anatomy of the tomato internode in response to low R:FR, and its accompanying changes in gene expression. We observed changes to the pith traits, including increases in pith layer number, pith cell diameter and longitudinal cell length. We profiled the transcriptome in the entire internodes and in the hand-dissected pith in the central cylinder of the internode in response to low R:FR treatment and identified transcription factors (TFs) of interest that were upregulated in the central cylinder, mostly GATA, TCP, and bZIPs. We then characterized FR-responses in eight dicotyledonous species. Significant pith elongation was observed in species that exhibited a strong internode elongation response. The FR-responsive expression of homologs of target GATA, TCP and bZIP TFs in the central cylinder was conserved within the Solanaceae family. Overall, we discovered central cylinder gene expression patterns in SAS that are distinct from those of the entire internode, suggesting that some responses are unique and likely specific to vascular cell types such as pith. These patterns were conserved with close relatives of tomato but not in other dicot families we sampled, indicating that different molecular mechanisms drive FR responses in different dicots.

show abstract

Evolution of shade tolerance is associated with attenuation of shade avoidance and reduced phenotypic plasticity in North American milkweeds

Cited by 6 publications

References 50 publications

Adaptive photosynthetic strategies of the invasive plant Sphagneticola trilobata and its hybrid to a low-light environment

Adaptive photosynthetic strategies of the invasive plant Sphagneticola trilobata and its hybrid to a low-light environment

Herbivore regulation of savanna vegetation: Structural complexity, diversity, and the complexity–diversity relationship

Pith cell responses to low red: far-red light in dicot stems

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