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Signatures of local adaptation in candidate genes of oaks ( Quercus spp.) with respect to present and future climatic conditions
Author(s) -
Rellstab Christian,
Zoller Stefan,
Walthert Lorenz,
Lesur Isabelle,
Pluess Andrea R.,
Graf René,
Bodénès Catherine,
Sperisen Christoph,
Kremer Antoine,
Gugerli Felix
Publication year - 2016
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.13889
Subject(s) - biology , local adaptation , adaptation (eye) , abiotic component , gene flow , ecology , quercus robur , single nucleotide polymorphism , evolutionary biology , allele frequency , allele , genetic variation , genetics , gene , population , genotype , demography , neuroscience , sociology
Testing how populations are locally adapted and predicting their response to their future environment is of key importance in view of climate change. Landscape genomics is a powerful approach to investigate genes and environmental factors involved in local adaptation. In a pooled amplicon sequencing approach of 94 genes in 71 populations, we tested whether >3500 single nucleotide polymorphisms ( SNP s) in the three most common oak species in Switzerland ( Quercus petraea, Q. pubescens, Q. robur ) show an association with abiotic factors related to local topography, historical climate and soil characteristics. In the analysis including all species, the most frequently associated environmental factors were those best describing the habitats of the species. In the species‐specific analyses, the most important environmental factors and associated SNP s greatly differed among species. However, we identified one SNP and seven genes that were associated with the same environmental factor across all species. We finally used regressions of allele frequencies of the most strongly associated SNP s along environmental gradients to predict the risk of nonadaptedness ( RONA ), which represents the average change in allele frequency at climate‐associated loci theoretically required to match future climatic conditions. RONA is considerable for some populations and species (up to 48% in single populations) and strongly differs among species. Given the long generation time of oaks, some of the required allele frequency changes might not be realistic to achieve based on standing genetic variation. Hence, future adaptedness requires gene flow or planting of individuals carrying beneficial alleles from habitats currently matching future climatic conditions.