How did a grass reach Antarctica? The Patagonian connection of Deschampsia antarctica (Poaceae)

Fasanella, Mariana; Premoli, Andrea C.; Urdampilleta, Juan Domingo; González, María Laura; Chiapella, Jorge Oscar

doi:10.1093/botlinnean/box070

Cited by 22 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 76 publications

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“…These mechanisms include physiological and morphological attributes [13,14]. Study of genetical aspects has revealed that there is low genetic variation [15] and that Antarctic populations originated from populations in Patagonia [16]. Other studies on D. antarctica have included the search of genes expressed under cold stress [17], the later development of cold resistant transgenic rice plants [18] and the resistance to oxidative stress after exposure to UVB radiation [19].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Plastid Genome of Deschampsia cespitosa (Poaceae)

et al. 2019

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Plastid genome analysis of non-model organisms provides valuable information for basic research e.g., molecular evolutionary genomics, phylogeny and phylogeography. Deschampsia cespitosa is the most widespread species of the genus and it is a common grass that is found across Eurasia and North America. Scattered populations in regions of appropriate ecological conditions are also found in Australia, New Zealand and southern South America, where it is sympatric with D. antarctica. We analyzed the plastid genome of a sample of Deschampsia cespitosa of the Austrian Alps using high-throughput sequencing. The plastid (cp) genome shows the typical quadripartite structure with a length of 135,340 bp, comprising a large single-copy (LSC) region of 79,992 bp, a small single-copy (SSC) region of 12,572 bp and two inverted repeats (IR) regions of 21,388 bp each. It contains 115 genes, including 85 protein-coding genes, four ribosomal RNA genes and 30 transfer RNA genes. The GC content (%), number of repeats and microsatellites, RNA editing sites and codon usage were highly similar to those of D. antarctica. The results of this present study highlight the extremely conserved nature of the cp genome in this group, since the comparison involved individuals separated by about 13,000 km, from the Alps to Antarctica.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Plastid Genome of Deschampsia cespitosa (Poaceae)

et al. 2019

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“…(LGM) 6 , except via anthropogenic dispersal 7 . Phylogenetic analyses indicate that the Southern Ocean has, in the millions of years since the breakup of Gondwana, occasionally been traversed by marine (for example, refs [8][9][10] ) and terrestrial taxa (for example, refs 11,12 ), but no natural colonizations are known to have occurred since the LGM, except by elephant seals 13 . Benthic crabs reported to have invaded the Antarctic slope in recent decades are now thought to have been in Antarctic waters for millions of years 14 .…”

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Antarctica’s ecological isolation will be broken by storm-driven dispersal and warming

et al. 2018

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Antarctica has long been considered biologically isolated 1 . Global warming will make parts of Antarctica more habitable for invasive taxa, yet presumed barriers to dispersal-especially the Southern Ocean's strong, circumpolar winds, ocean currents and fronts-have been thought to protect the region from non-anthropogenic colonizations from the north 1,2 . We combine molecular and oceanographic tools to directly test for biological dispersal across the Southern Ocean. Genomic analyses reveal that rafting keystone kelps recently travelled > 20,000 km and crossed several ocean-front 'barriers' to reach Antarctica from mid-latitude source populations. High-resolution ocean circulation models, incorporating both mesoscale eddies and wave-driven Stokes drift, indicate that such Antarctic incursions are remarkably frequent and rapid. Our results demonstrate that storm-forced surface waves and ocean eddies can dramatically enhance oceanographic connectivity for drift particles in surface layers, and show that Antarctica is not biologically isolated. We infer that Antarctica's long-standing ecological differences have been the result of environmental extremes that have precluded the establishment of temperate-adapted taxa, but that such taxa nonetheless frequently disperse to the region. Global warming thus has the potential to allow the establishment of diverse new species-including keystone kelps that would drastically alter ecosystem dynamics-even without anthropogenic introductions.Antarctica broke from its last Gondwanan connection (South America) over 40 million years ago 3 , and has long been considered biologically isolated from the rest of the world 1 . Antarctica's terrestrial and marine ecosystems have high levels of endemism 4 , and the Southern Ocean's strong, circumpolar winds and ocean currents have been inferred to preclude passive southward dispersal of organisms into the Antarctic 1,2 . The onset of deep-reaching flow of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) created a barrier to poleward heat transport across the Southern Ocean 5 , and the strong, circumpolar thermal fronts have also been inferred to represent an impenetrable physical barrier for most organisms. Indeed, there has been almost no evidence of biological movement into the Antarctic from lower latitudes since the Last Glacial Maximum

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“…is one of two flowering plants native to the Antarctic, and therefore it was intensively studied for decades. Most studies were concerned with D. antarctica adaptations to the harsh conditions of the Antarctic and its genetic and molecular aspects (Gidekel et al, 2003;Chwedorzewska et al, 2008;Parnikoza, 2019), phylogeography and evolution (Fowbert & Lewis Smith, 1994;Chiapella, 2007;Fasanella et al, 2017), in vitro conservation (Cuba-Díaz et al, 2020). D. antarctica is a perennial plant with origin not clearly known yet; however, most of the studies conclude that Antarctic vascular plant…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Content of biogenic and toxic elements in the leaves of Deschampsia antarctica (Poaceae) species have reached the Antarctic on a recent (mid to late Pleistocene) timescale (Parnikoza et al, 2011;Fasanella et al, 2017;Biersma et al, 2020). Populations of this species inhabit territories with diverse conditions, both with poor soils and fertile soils near the colonies of birds and mammals.…”

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confidence: 99%

Content of biogenic and toxic elements in the leaves of Deschampsia antarctica É. Desv. (Poaceae): a preliminary study

Bedernichek¹,

Loya²,

Parnikoza³

2020

Plant. Introd.

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The Antarctic hairgrass (Deschampsia antarctica É. Desv.) is one of two flowering plants native to the Antarctic and therefore it was intensively studied for decades. However, there is still limited information available about the content of biogenic and toxic elements in the leaves of this plant. While being an important component of the Antarctic terrestrial ecosystems, the content of nutrients like K, P, and S in the plants of D. antarctica may significantly affect soil properties, especially in such hot spots like rhizosphere and detritosphere. Moreover, the content of toxic elements and trace metals in particular in the plant is an important criterion to evaluate its indicative role, whether or not D. antarctica may be used as a bio-indicator to monitor the Antarctica environmental state. In this study, we report the preliminary results about the content of K, P, Ca, S, Mg, Na, Si, Fe, Zn, Al, Sr, Mn, Cu, B, Cr, Ba, V, Pb, Cd, and Co in the leaves of D. antarctica from the natural habitats of the maritime Antarctіс. Dry leaves were digested in nitric acid (closed-vessel microwave digestion). Elemental concentration was measured by ICP-OES technique. It was found that differences between the samples taken from one location were far less notable than between samples from different locations. Among the biogenic elements, the content of potassium was the most variable – from 12.2 mg·g-1 on Galindez Island to 28.7 mg·g-1 on the Cape Tuxen (Antarctic Peninsula). The content of trace metals also varied greatly between the samples from different locations. The results of this preliminary study suggest that due to the high content of nutrients, leaves of D. antarctica should be considered as an important precursor of soil organic matter, as well as a possible bioindicator. However, future studies are needed to confirm these preliminary results and hypotheses.

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How did a grass reach Antarctica? The Patagonian connection of Deschampsia antarctica (Poaceae)

Cited by 22 publications

References 76 publications

The Plastid Genome of Deschampsia cespitosa (Poaceae)

The Plastid Genome of Deschampsia cespitosa (Poaceae)

Antarctica’s ecological isolation will be broken by storm-driven dispersal and warming

Content of biogenic and toxic elements in the leaves of Deschampsia antarctica É. Desv. (Poaceae): a preliminary study

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