Background and Aims Recent global changes, particularly warming drought, have had worldwide repercussions on the timing of flowering events for many plant species. Phenological shifts also been reported in alpine environments, where short growing seasons low temperatures make reproduction challenging, requiring fine-tuning to environmental cues. However, it remains unclear if species from such habitats, with their specific adaptations, harbour same potential phenological plasticity as less...

As climate changes at unprecedented rates, understanding population responses is a major challenge. Resurrection studies can provide crucial insights into the contemporary evolution of species to change. We used seed collection two Californian populations annual plant Brassica rapa made over decades dramatic precipitation fluctuations, including increasingly severe droughts. compared flowering phenology, other drought response traits, and production among four generations, grown under...

Abstract There is now abundant evidence of rapid evolution in natural populations, but the genetic mechanisms these changes remain unclear. One possible route to through expression genes that influence traits under selection. We examined contemporary evolutionary gene plant populations responding environmental fluctuations. compared genome‐wide expression, using RNA‐seq, two Brassica rapa collected over four time points between 1997 and 2014, during which precipitation southern California...

Effects of climate change, especially changes in temperatures and precipitation patterns, are particularly pronounced alpine regions. In response, plants may exhibit phenotypic plasticity key functional traits allowing short-term adjustment to novel conditions. However, little is known about the degree high elevation species relative mid congeners. We transplanted 14 herbaceous perennial from into two common gardens (1050 2000 m.a.s.l.) Swiss Alps, we examined plastic responses temperature...

Summary In the alpine landscape, characterized by high spatiotemporal heterogeneity and barriers, divergent selection is likely to lead local adaptation of plant populations either through adaptive genetic differentiation or phenotypic plasticity. The relative importance these processes has rarely been investigated in relation spatial scale environmental heterogeneity. this study, we used reciprocal transplantation experiments across nearby distant field sites shed light on complementary...

Abstract Accurately predicting responses to selection is a major goal in biology and important for successful crop breeding changing environments. However, evolutionary can be constrained by such factors as genetic cross‐environment correlations, linkage, pleiotropy, our understanding of the extent impact constraints still developing. Here, we conducted field experiment investigate potential drought resistance rice ( Oryza sativa ) using phenotypic analysis quantitative genetics. We found...

Wetlands are impacted by changes in hydrological regimes that can lead to periods of low water levels. During these periods, aquatic plants experience a drastic change the mechanical conditions they encounter, from gravitational and tensile hydrodynamic forces when exposed flow under conditions, high bending terrestrial conditions. The objective this study was test capacity produce self-supporting growth forms growing aerial assessing their resistance associated morpho-anatomical changes....

Investment in current reproduction can reduce future fitness by depleting resources needed for maintenance, particularly under environmental stress. These trade-offs influence life-history evolution. We tested whether climate change alters the future-fitness costs of a large-scale field experiment Boechera stricta (Brassicaceae). Over 6 years, we simulated along an elevational gradient Rocky Mountains through snow removal, which accelerates snowmelt and reduces soil water availability. Costs...

Climate change is driving evolutionary and plastic responses in populations, but predicting these remains challenging. Studies that combine experimental evolution with ancestor-descendant comparisons allow assessment of the causes, parallelism, adaptive nature responses, although such studies remain rare, particularly a climate context. Here, we created populations Brassica rapa derived from same natural population exposed replicated to drought or watered conditions for four generations. We...

Abstract Gene expression can be highly plastic in response to environmental variation. However, we know little about how plasticity is shaped by natural selection and evolves wild domesticated species. We used genotypic analysis characterize on drought‐induced of over 7,500 leaf transcripts 118 rice accessions (genotypes) from different conditions grown a field experiment. was neutral for most gradually transcripts, but with discrete patterns showed stronger plasticity. Whether adaptive...

The Alpine landscape is characterized by high spatiotemporal heterogeneity in environmental variables, such as climate and soil characteristics. This may lead to divergent selection pressures across plant populations local adaptation. Geum reptans, a widespread high-alpine clonal herb, has been the subject of several studies investigating phenotypic variation Swiss Alps, yet so far, there only little knowledge about adaptation this species from reciprocal transplantations original field...

• Premise of the study: New microsatellite primers were developed for diploid herb Anthyllis vulneraria . These will be used in upcoming studies focusing on random genetic variation, local adaptation, and phenotypic plasticity alpine plants. Methods Results: The new adjusted to separate PCR amplicons (70 170 bp) precast Spreadex gels using horizontal gel electrophoresis. No capillary sequencer was needed. Three twelve alleles found per locus depending population studied. Conclusions: Our...

Changes in climate can impose selection on populations and may lead to rapid evolution. One such climatic stress is drought, which plant respond with escape (rapid growth early flowering) or avoidance (slow efficient water-use). However, it unclear if drought would be a viable strategy for that already flower from prior selection.In an experimental evolution study, we subjected rapid-cycling Brassica rapa (RCBr), was previously selected flowering, four generations of watered conditions. We...

ABSTRACT Plant-herbivore interactions have evolved in response to co-evolutionary dynamics, along with selection driven by abiotic conditions. We examine how factors influence trait expression both plants and herbivores evaluate climate change will alter this long-standing interaction. The paleontological record documents increased herbivory during periods of global warming the deep past. In phylogenetically-corrected meta-analyses, we find that elevated temperatures, CO 2 concentration,...

Abstract Genome-wide gene expression changes in response to environmental variability have been widely documented, but we lack detailed and comprehensive understanding of the interplay between this form phenotypic plasticity natural selection. Selection on may be limited by environment-specific costs, turn affect selection baseline levels. Here, address fundamental issue measuring drought-induced leaf transcripts field-grown rice populations. disfavored switching off housekeeping genes under...

• Premise of the study: Geum reptans reproduces by outcrossing or formation stolons. Sexual and clonal reproduction are not exclusive occur mostly simultaneously. We developed novel microsatellite primers for this species, which will be used in a study about local adaptation, phenotypic plasticity, random molecular divergence alpine plants. Methods Results: Twelve primer sets were G. , nine polymorphic. Initially, forward had an M13 tail, allelic signals each locus amplified using single...

Contemporary climate change is exposing plant populations to novel combinations of temperatures, drought stress, [CO2] and other abiotic biotic conditions. These changes are rapidly disrupting the evolutionary dynamics plants. Despite multifactorial nature change, most studies typically manipulate only one climatic factor. In this opinion piece, we seek explore how factors interact with each pressures alter processes. We first ramifications for key life history stages (germination, growth...