Transgenerational plasticity in clonal plants

• DOI: 10.1007/s10682-010-9385-2
• Publication Date: 2010-04-27T18:49:04Z
• Authors: Vít Latzel; Jitka Klimešová
• Keywords: Transgenerational epigenetics; Animal ecology; Asexual reproduction

Transgenerational plasticity has recently been recognized as a mechanism allowing phenotypic adjustments to local conditions to be passed onto sexually produced offspring. Although thus far it has been studied mainly in non-clonal plants, the present paper proposes that transgenerational plasticity is also applicable to asexually generated progeny, and that it can have multiple consequences for clonal plants. Indeed, in clonal plants, local phenotypic adjustment transferred to the next generation—whether produced sexually or asexually—can provide a mechanism that assists the population better exploit spatial heterogeneity. Moreover, this concept provides a framework allowing investigation of how long environmental heterogeneity will affect growth of asexually as well as sexually generated progeny.