Geographic parthenogenesis and plant-enemy interactions in the common dandelion

BMC Evolutionary Biology

Research Article

Koen JF Verhoeven¹  Arjen Biere¹ 

[1] Department of Terrestrial Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), Droevendaalsesteeg 10, 6708, Wageningen, PB, The Netherlands;

关键词: Red Queen;    Taraxacum;    Plant-insect interactions;    Plant-pathogen interactions;    Soil feedback;   

DOI  :  10.1186/1471-2148-13-23

 received in 2012-06-26, accepted in 2013-01-16,  发布年份 2013

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundMany species with sexual and asexual variants show a pattern of geographic parthenogenesis where asexuals have broader and higher-latitude distribution than sexuals. Because sexual reproduction is often considered a costly evolutionary strategy that is advantageous in the face of selection by coevolving pests and pathogens, one possible explanation for geographic parthenogenesis is that populations at higher latitudes are exposed to fewer pests and pathogens. We tested this hypothesis in the common dandelion (Taraxacum officinale), a species with well-established geographic parthenogenesis, by screening prevalence and effects of several specialized pests and pathogens in natural dandelion populations.ResultsWe did a population survey of 18 dandelion populations along a geographic transect that ranged from the area where sexual and asexual dandelions co-occur northward into the area where only asexuals occur. In addition we used four southern and four northern populations in a 8x8 cross-inoculation greenhouse experiment in which plants were exposed experimentally to each other’s natural field soil microbial communities. The cross-inoculation experiment indicated a higher pathogenicity of soil microbial communities from the southern, mostly sexual, populations compared to soil microbial communities from the northern asexual populations. Northern dandelion populations also showed reduced infestation by a specialized seed-eating weevil. A similar trend of reduced rust fungus infection in northern populations was observed but this trend was not statistically significant.ConclusionsThe prevalence of pests and pathogens decreased along the south-to-north axis of geographic parthenogenesis. This highlights the potential of biotic interactions in shaping patterns of geographic parthenogenesis.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© Verhoeven and Biere; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. 2013