5
views
0
recommends
+1 Recommend
0 collections
    0
    shares
      • Record: found
      • Abstract: not found
      • Article: not found

      Species differentiation in the genusChara(Charophyceae): considerable phenotypic plasticity occurs within homogenous genetic groups

      , , ,
      European Journal of Phycology
      Informa UK Limited

      Read this article at

      ScienceOpenPublisher
      Bookmark
          There is no author summary for this article yet. Authors can add summaries to their articles on ScienceOpen to make them more accessible to a non-specialist audience.

          Related collections

          Most cited references41

          • Record: found
          • Abstract: found
          • Article: not found

          A DNA barcode for land plants.

          DNA barcoding involves sequencing a standard region of DNA as a tool for species identification. However, there has been no agreement on which region(s) should be used for barcoding land plants. To provide a community recommendation on a standard plant barcode, we have compared the performance of 7 leading candidate plastid DNA regions (atpF-atpH spacer, matK gene, rbcL gene, rpoB gene, rpoC1 gene, psbK-psbI spacer, and trnH-psbA spacer). Based on assessments of recoverability, sequence quality, and levels of species discrimination, we recommend the 2-locus combination of rbcL+matK as the plant barcode. This core 2-locus barcode will provide a universal framework for the routine use of DNA sequence data to identify specimens and contribute toward the discovery of overlooked species of land plants.
            Bookmark
            • Record: found
            • Abstract: found
            • Article: not found

            An epigenetic mutation responsible for natural variation in floral symmetry.

            Although there have been many molecular studies of morphological mutants generated in the laboratory, it is unclear how these are related to mutants in natural populations, where the constraints of natural selection and breeding structure are quite different. Here we characterize a naturally occurring mutant of Linaria vulgaris, originally described more than 250 years ago by Linnaeus, in which the fundamental symmetry of the flower is changed from bilateral to radial. We show that the mutant carries a defect in Lcyc, a homologue of the cycloidea gene which controls dorsoventral asymmetry in Antirrhinum. The Lcyc gene is extensively methylated and transcriptionally silent in the mutant. This modification is heritable and co-segregates with the mutant phenotype. Occasionally the mutant reverts phenotypically during somatic development, correlating with demethylation of Lcyc and restoration of gene expression. It is surprising that the first natural morphological mutant to be characterized should trace to methylation, given the rarity of this mutational mechanism in the laboratory. This indicates that epigenetic mutations may play a more significant role in evolution than has hitherto been suspected.
              Bookmark
              • Record: found
              • Abstract: found
              • Article: not found

              Epigenetic variation creates potential for evolution of plant phenotypic plasticity.

              Heritable variation in plant phenotypes, and thus potential for evolutionary change, can in principle not only be caused by variation in DNA sequence, but also by underlying epigenetic variation. However, the potential scope of such phenotypic effects and their evolutionary significance are largely unexplored. Here, we conducted a glasshouse experiment in which we tested the response of a large number of epigenetic recombinant inbred lines (epiRILs) of Arabidopsis thaliana--lines that are nearly isogenic but highly variable at the level of DNA methylation--to drought and increased nutrient conditions. We found significant heritable variation among epiRILs both in the means of several ecologically important plant traits and in their plasticities to drought and nutrients. Significant selection gradients, that is, fitness correlations, of several mean traits and plasticities suggest that selection could act on this epigenetically based phenotypic variation. Our study provides evidence that variation in DNA methylation can cause substantial heritable variation of ecologically important plant traits, including root allocation, drought tolerance and nutrient plasticity, and that rapid evolution based on epigenetic variation alone should thus be possible. © 2012 The Authors New Phytologist © 2012 New Phytologist Trust.
                Bookmark

                Author and article information

                Journal
                European Journal of Phycology
                European Journal of Phycology
                Informa UK Limited
                0967-0262
                1469-4433
                April 26 2016
                July 02 2016
                March 30 2016
                July 02 2016
                : 51
                : 3
                : 282-293
                Article
                10.1080/09670262.2016.1147085
                cf23be23-9d67-49e5-b2fc-86eafa3bedaa
                © 2016
                History

                Comments

                Comment on this article