Premium
Strong ecological but weak evolutionary effects of elevated CO 2 on a recombinant inbred population of Arabidopsis thaliana
Author(s) -
Lau Jennifer A.,
Shaw Ruth G.,
Reich Peter B.,
Shaw Frank H.,
Tiffin Peter
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
new phytologist
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.742
H-Index - 244
eISSN - 1469-8137
pISSN - 0028-646X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1469-8137.2007.02108.x
Subject(s) - biology , selection (genetic algorithm) , natural selection , genetic variation , heritability , ecological genetics , arabidopsis thaliana , population , directional selection , stabilizing selection , quantitative genetics , biomass (ecology) , evolutionary ecology , natural population growth , evolutionary biology , ecology , genetics , gene , demography , host (biology) , artificial intelligence , sociology , computer science , mutant
Summary• Increases in atmospheric CO 2 concentration have an impact on plant communities by influencing plant growth and morphology, species interactions, and ecosystem processes. These ecological effects may be accompanied by evolutionary change if elevated CO 2 (eCO 2 ) alters patterns of natural selection or expression of genetic variation. • Here, a statistically powerful quantitative genetic experiment and manipulations of CO 2 concentrations in a field setting were used to investigate how eCO 2 impacts patterns of selection on ecologically important traits in Arabidopsis thaliana ; heritabilities, which influence the rate of response to selection; and genetic covariances between traits, which may constrain responses to selection. • CO 2 had strong phenotypic effects; plants grown in eCO 2 were taller and produced more biomass and fruits. Also, significant directional selection was observed on many traits and significant genetic variation was observed for all traits. However, no evolutionary effect of eCO 2 was detected; patterns of selection, heritabilities and genetic correlations corresponded closely in ambient and elevated CO 2 environments. • The data suggest that patterns of natural selection and the quantitative genetic parameters of this A. thaliana population are robust to increases in CO 2 concentration and that responses to eCO 2 will be primarily ecological.