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The emergence of the hyperinvasive vine, Mikania micrantha (Asteraceae), via admixture and founder events inferred from population transcriptomics
Author(s) -
Yang Ming,
He Ziwen,
Huang Yelin,
Lu Lu,
Yan Yubin,
Hong Lan,
Shen Hao,
Liu Ying,
Guo Qiang,
Jiang Lu,
Zhang Yanwu,
Greenberg Anthony J.,
Zhou Renchao,
Ge Xuejun,
Wu ChungI.,
Shi Suhua
Publication year - 2017
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.14124
Subject(s) - biology , mikania micrantha , invasive species , population , adaptation (eye) , vine , ecology , introduced species , founder effect , evolutionary biology , genetic structure , genetic variation , allele , gene , genetics , demography , neuroscience , sociology , haplotype
Biological invasions that involve well‐documented rapid adaptations to new environments provide unequalled opportunities for testing evolutionary hypotheses. Mikania micrantha Kunth (Asteraceae), a perennial herbaceous vine native to tropical Central and South America, successfully invaded tropical Asia in the early 20th century. It is regarded as one of the most aggressive weeds in the world. To elucidate the molecular and evolutionary processes underlying this invasion, we extensively sampled this weed throughout its invaded range in South‐East and South Asia and surveyed its genetic structure using variants detected from population transcriptomics. Clustering results suggest that more than one source population contributed to this invasion. Computer simulations using genomewide genetic variation support a scenario of admixture and founder events during invasion. The genes differentially expressed between native and invasive populations were found to be involved in oxidative and high light intensity stress responses, pointing to a possible ecological mechanism of adaptation. Our results provide a foundation for further detailed mechanistic and population studies of this ecologically and economically important invasion. This line of research promises to provide new mitigation strategies for invasive species as well as insights into mechanisms of adaptation.