By Animal, Water, or Wind: Can Dispersal Mode Predict Genetic Connectivity in Riverine Plant Species?

Frontiers in Plant Science

Lúcia G. Lohmann¹  Alison G. Nazareno²  L. Lacey Knowles²  Christopher W. Dick⁴ 

[1] Departamentos de Botânica, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil;Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States;Department of Genetics, Ecology and Evolution, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil;Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama City, Panama;

关键词: Amazon basin;    gene flow;    ddRADseq;    genetic structure;    single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs);   

DOI  :  10.3389/fpls.2021.626405

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Seed dispersal is crucial to gene flow among plant populations. Although the effects of geographic distance and barriers to gene flow are well studied in many systems, it is unclear how seed dispersal mediates gene flow in conjunction with interacting effects of geographic distance and barriers. To test whether distinct seed dispersal modes (i.e., hydrochory, anemochory, and zoochory) have a consistent effect on the level of genetic connectivity (i.e., gene flow) among populations of riverine plant species, we used unlinked single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) for eight co-distributed plant species sampled across the Rio Branco, a putative biogeographic barrier in the Amazon basin. We found that animal-dispersed plant species exhibited higher levels of genetic diversity and lack of inbreeding as a result of the stronger genetic connectivity than plant species whose seeds are dispersed by water or wind. Interestingly, our results also indicated that the Rio Branco facilitates gene dispersal for all plant species analyzed, irrespective of their mode of dispersal. Even at a small spatial scale, our findings suggest that ecology rather than geography play a key role in shaping the evolutionary history of plants in the Amazon basin. These results may help improve conservation and management policies in Amazonian riparian forests, where degradation and deforestation rates are high.

【 授权许可】

Unknown