Genome size variation in Deschampsia cespitosa sensu lato (Poaceae) in Eurasia

Abstract

The grass Deschampsia cespitosa is a variable taxon out of which many varieties, subspecies and endemic species have been separated. In this paper, the variation in genome size (GS) and ploidy of this grass including several of its subspecies and two related species in Eurasia was investigated by flow cytometric (FCM) measurements. GS and ploidy data were also related to specific environments and reproduction mode. Ploidy levels found by FCM were confirmed by chromosome counts of diploid (2n = 28) and tetraploid (2n = 52) samples. Seminiferous (seed bearing) D. cespitosa was mainly diploid (GS between 3.754 and 5.438 pg/1C). GS variation in diploids showed a geographic pattern with a significant difference (H = 41,441, P < 0.001) between European (median = 4.377 pg) and Asian (median = 4.881 pg) accessions. Genome size (1C) in tetraploids ranged from 7.9426 to 9.0399 pg. Tetraploid seminiferous D. cespitosa was found mostly in disturbed habitats in western and southern Europe, while tetraploids in Asia were registered in wet Arctic habitats. Genome size (1C between 8.3278 and 8.8603 pg) of the pseudoviviparous plants (spikelets produce plantlets asexually) of wet habitats in central and northern Europe indicated tetraploidy. A putative triploid (GS 6.6817 pg) was detected in Iceland. Summing up, we found a high variation in GS on the geographic scale with significant regional differences in diploid D. cespitosa. Among the tetraploids, the asexually reproducing plants were bound to specific habitats, while the seminiferous plants showed a habitat preference similar to the diploids.

The global distribution of angiosperm genome size is shaped by climate

“…Latitudinal gradients encompass gradients of climatic and other environmental variables that could be important factors contributing to genome size variation. These factors include temperature, precipitation, aridity, seasonality, ultraviolet-B radiation (UVB), or length of the growing season (e.g., Bennett, 1976; Bennett et al ., 1982; Grime & Mowforth, 1982; Rayburn & Auger, 1990; MacGillivray & Grime, 1995; Bottini et al ., 2000; Knight & Ackerly, 2002; Grotkopp et al ., 2004; Dušková et al ., 2010; Díez et al, 2013; Kang et al ., 2014; Du et al ., 2017; Bilinski et al ., 2018; Souza et al ., 2019; Becher et al ., 2021; Cacho et al ., 2021; Greimler et al ., 2022; Sklenář et al ., 2022). Studies of climatically-mediated (latitudinal or altitudinal) genome size distribution have found positive, negative, mixed, or quadratic responses of genome size to climatic gradients (reviewed in Cacho et al ., 2021), which may be explained by their narrow geographic and taxonomic scopes (Knight & Ackerly, 2002; Greilhuber & Leitch, 2013).…”

A study of the chromosome number and genome size of the rare species Rhododendron keiskei var. hypoglaucum in Korea

“…The changes in chromosome number such as polyploidy and dysploidy play an important role in plant evolution, diversification, and eventually speciation (Lysak et al, 2006;Schubert, 2007;Soltis and Soltis, 2009). To date, chromosome numbers have been reported for approximately 25-30% of flowering plants (Weiss-Schneeweiss and Schneeweiss, 2013;Rice et al, 2015) and, along with molecular phylogenetic data (Pessoa et al, 2022) and genome size data (Choi et al, 2020;Mitrenina et al, 2021;Greimler et al, 2022), are still widely used in systematics.…”

Effect of Drought on the Development of Deschampsia caespitosa (L.) and Selected Soil Parameters during a Three-Year Lysimetric Experiment

“…The highest biomass yield was always recorded in Variant V2 (no drought stress) and Variant V4 (drought stress), where 84 kg N/ha was applied ( Table 4 ). The positive response of grass stands to the supplementation of N min in the sense of increased plant biomass production is generally known and properly characterized [ 16 , 18 , 40 ]. The finding was therefore not surprising.…”

“…Deschampsia caespitosa L. is one of the species frequently occurring in natural grass ecosystems in the EU [ 40 , 41 ] and this is why it was chosen as a model plant for the determination of drought impact on its development and microbial community in its root system. Based among other things related to the wide range of habitats of its occurrence (spring areas, pastures, meadows, etc.…”