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Are adaptive loci transferable across genomes of related species? Outlier and environmental association analyses in A lpine B rassicaceae species
Author(s) -
Zulliger Deborah,
Schnyder Elvira,
Gugerli Felix
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
molecular ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.619
H-Index - 225
eISSN - 1365-294X
pISSN - 0962-1083
DOI - 10.1111/mec.12199
Subject(s) - biology , local adaptation , locus (genetics) , amplified fragment length polymorphism , adaptation (eye) , single nucleotide polymorphism , evolutionary biology , brassicaceae , genetics , ecology , population , gene , genetic diversity , genotype , demography , neuroscience , sociology
Local adaptation is one possible response of organisms to survive in a changing environment. However, the genetic basis of adaptation is not well understood, especially in nonmodel species. To infer recurrent patterns of local adaptation, we investigated whether the same putative adaptive loci reoccur in related species. We performed genome scans using amplified fragment length polymorphism ( AFLP ) markers on populations of five A lpine B rassicaceae species sampled across a wide range of environmental conditions. To identify markers potentially under directional selection, we performed outlier and environmental association analyses using a set of topo‐climatic variables available as GIS layers. Several AFLP loci showed signatures of adaptation, of which one, found in C ardamine resedifolia ( C re_P1_212.5), was associated with precipitation. We sequence‐characterized this candidate locus and genotyped single nucleotide polymorphisms ( SNP s) found within this locus for all species. Testing for environmental associations of SNP s revealed the same association of this locus in A rabis alpina but not in other study species. Cumulative statistical evidence indicates that locus C re_P1_212.5 is environmentally relevant or is linked to a gene under selection in our study range. Furthermore, the locus shows an association to the same potentially selective factor in at least one other related species. These findings help to identify trends in plant adaptation in A lpine ecosystems in response to particular environmental parameters.