Evolvability and trait function predict phenotypic divergence of plant populations.

Understanding the causes and limits of population divergence in phenotypic traits is a fundamental aim of evolutionary biology, with the potential to yield predictions of adaptation to environmental change. Reciprocal transplant experiments and the evaluation of optimality models suggest that local adaptation is common but not universal, and some studies suggest that trait divergence is highly constrained by genetic variances and covariances of complex phenotypes. We analyze a large database of population divergence in plants and evaluate whether evolutionary divergence scales positively with standing genetic variation within populations (evolvability), as expected if genetic constraints are evolutionarily important.

Whole-genome sequencing elucidates the species-wide diversity and evolution of fungicide resistance in the early blight pathogen .

Early blight of potato is caused by the fungal pathogen  and is an increasing problem worldwide. The primary strategy to control the disease is applying fungicides such as succinate dehydrogenase inhibitors (SDHI). SDHI-resistant strains, showing reduced sensitivity to treatments, appeared in Germany in 2013, shortly after the introduction of SDHIs.

Leaf Apoplast of Field-Grown Potato Analyzed by Quantitative Proteomics and Activity-Based Protein Profiling.

Multiple biotic and abiotic stresses challenge plants growing in agricultural fields. Most molecular studies have aimed to understand plant responses to challenges under controlled conditions. However, studies on field-grown plants are scarce, limiting application of the findings in agricultural conditions.

Direct and indirect selection on mate choice during pollen competition: Effects of male and female sexual traits on offspring performance following two-donor crosses.

Mate choice in plants is poorly understood, in particular its indirect genetic benefits, but also the direct benefits of avoiding harmful matings. In the herb Collinsia heterophylla, delayed stigma receptivity has been suggested to enhance pollen competition, potentially functioning as a female mate choice trait. Previous studies show that this trait can mitigate the cost of early fertilization caused by pollen, thus providing a direct benefit.

Making sense of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) in the light of evolution.

Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is a holistic approach to combat pests (including herbivores, pathogens, and weeds) using a combination of preventive and curative actions, and only applying synthetic pesticides when there is an urgent need. Just as the recent recognition that an evolutionary perspective is useful in medicine to understand and predict interactions between hosts, diseases, and medical treatments, we argue that it is crucial to integrate an evolutionary framework in IPM to develop efficient and reliable crop protection strategies that do not lead to resistance development in herbivores, pathogens, and weeds. Such a framework would not only delay resistance evolution in pests, but also optimize each element of the management and increase the synergies between them.

Phosphite Integrated in Late Blight Treatment Strategies in Starch Potato Does Not Cause Residues in the Starch Product.

Currently available fungicides against potato late blight are effective but there are concerns about the sustainability of frequent applications and the risks of fungicide resistance. Therefore, we investigated how potassium phosphite can be integrated into late blight control programs with reduced fungicides in field trials. Phosphite was somewhat less effective than the conventional fungicides at suppressing late blight in the foliage, and the tubers contained less starch.

Characterization of olfactory sensory neurons in the red clover seed weevil, Protapion trifolii (Coleoptera: Brentidae) and comparison to the closely related species P. fulvipes.

Protapion trifolii and P. fulvipes (Coleoptera: Brentidae) are major pests in European clover seed production. Previous studies have reported a high host plant fidelity of these weevils for red and white clover species, respectively, driven by host plant olfactory cues.

Tolerance and overcompensation to infection by in the wild perennial climber .

Studies of infection by -the causal agent of potato late blight-in wild species can provide novel insights into plant defense responses, and indicate how wild plants might be influenced by recurrent epidemics in agricultural fields. In the present study, our aim was to investigate if different clones of (a relative of potato) collected in the wild differ in resistance and tolerance to infection by a common European isolate of . We performed infection experiments with six genotypes (clones) both in the laboratory and in the field and measured the degree of infection and plant performance traits.

Plant immunity in natural populations and agricultural fields: Low presence of pathogenesis-related proteins in Solanum leaves.

Plant immunity has mainly been studied under controlled conditions, limiting our knowledge regarding the regulation of immunity under natural conditions where plants grow in association with multiple microorganisms. Plant pathology theory, based on laboratory data, predicts complex biochemical plant-pathogen interactions leading to coevolution of pathogen infectivity vs. plant recognition of microbes in multiple layers over time.

Variable pollen viability and effects of pollen load size on components of seed set in cultivars and feral populations of oilseed rape.

Pollination success is important for crop yield, but may be cultivar dependent. Less is known about which floral traits influence pollination success. Floral traits, e.

Late Blight Resistance Screening of Major Wild Swedish Solanum Species: S. dulcamara, S. nigrum, and S. physalifolium.

To understand the contribution of wild Solanum species to the epidemiology of potato late blight in Sweden, we characterized the resistance of the three putative alternative hosts: S. physalifolium, S. nigrum, and S.

Sexually antagonistic evolution caused by male-male competition in the pistil.

Although sexual selection and sexual conflict are important evolutionary forces in animals, their significance in plants is uncertain. In hermaphroditic organisms, such as many plants, sexual conflict may occur both between mating partners (interlocus conflict) and between male and female sex roles within an individual (intralocus conflict). We performed experimental evolution, involving lines that were crossed with either one or two pollen donors (monogamous or polyandrous lines), in the hermaphroditic plant (Collinsia heterophylla) where early fertilizations are associated with female fitness costs (reduced seed set).

Earlier occurrence and increased explanatory power of climate for the first incidence of potato late blight caused by Phytophthora infestans in Fennoscandia.

Background: Late blight (caused by Phytophthora infestans) is a devastating potato disease that has been found to occur earlier in the season over the last decades in Fennoscandia. Up until now the reasons for this change have not been investigated. Possible explanations for this change are climate alterations, changes in potato production or changes in pathogen biology, such as increased fitness or changes in gene flow within P.

Plant Resistance Inducers against Pathogens in Solanaceae Species-From Molecular Mechanisms to Field Application.

This review provides a current summary of plant resistance inducers (PRIs) that have been successfully used in the plant family to protect against pathogens by activating the plant's own defence. Solanaceous species include many important crops such as potato and tomato. We also present findings regarding the molecular processes after application of PRIs, even if the number of such studies still remains limited in this plant family.

Differential selection on pollen and pistil traits in relation to pollen competition in the context of a sexual conflict over timing of stigma receptivity.

Sexual conflict and its evolutionary consequences are understudied in plants, but the theory of sexual conflict may help explain how selection generates and maintains variability. Here, we investigated selection on pollen and pistil traits when pollen arrives sequentially to partially receptive pistils in relation to pollen competition and a sexual conflict over timing of stigma receptivity in the mixed-mating annual Collinsia heterophylla (Plantaginaceae). In this species the conflict is generated by early fertilizing pollen that reduces seed production, which is counteracted by delaying receptivity in the recipient.

Nongenetic Inheritance of Induced Resistance in a Wild Annual Plant.

Nongenetic inheritance (e.g., transgenerational epigenetic effects) has received increasing interest in recent years, particularly in plants.

Selection on pollen and pistil traits during pollen competition is affected by both sexual conflict and mixed mating in a self-compatible herb.

Premise Of The Study: Although much attention has focused on the diversity of plant mating systems, only a few studies have considered the joint effects of mating system and sexual conflict in plant evolution. In mixed-mating Collinsia heterophylla, a sexual conflict over timing of stigma receptivity is proposed: pollen with a capacity to induce early onset of stigma receptivity secures paternity for early-arriving pollen (at the expense of reduced maternal seed set), whereas late onset of stigma receptivity mitigates the negative effects of early-arriving pollen. Here we investigated whether selection on pollen and pistil traits involved in sexual conflict is affected by the presence of both outcross- and self-pollen (mixed mating) during pollen competition.

Field Abundance Patterns and Odor-Mediated Host Choice by Clover Seed Weevils, Apion fulvipes and Apion trifolii (Coleoptera: Apionidae).

The clover seed weevils Apion fulvipes Geoffroy, 1785 and Apion trifolii L., 1768 (Coleoptera: Apionidae) cause major losses to seed production of white clover (Trifolium repens L.) and red clover (Trifolium pratense L.

A novel workflow correlating RNA-seq data to Phythophthora infestans resistance levels in wild Solanum species and potato clones.

Comparative transcriptomics between species can provide valuable understanding of plant-pathogen interactions. Here, we focus on wild Solanum species and potato clones with varying degree of resistance against Phytophthora infestans, which causes the devastating late blight disease in potato. The transcriptomes of three wild Solanum species native to Southern Sweden, Solanum dulcamara, Solanum nigrum, and Solanum physalifolium were compared to three potato clones, Desiree (cv.

Using theories of sexual selection and sexual conflict to improve our understanding of plant ecology and evolution.

Today it is accepted that the theories of sexual selection and sexual conflict are general and can be applied to both animals and plants. However, potentially due to a controversial history, plant studies investigating sexual selection and sexual conflict are relatively rare. Moreover, these theories and concepts are seldom implemented in research fields investigating related aspects of plant ecology and evolution.

Characterization of olfactory sensory neurons in the white clover seed weevil, Apion fulvipes (Coleoptera: Apionidae).

Seed-eating Apion weevils (Coleoptera: Apionidae) cause large economic losses in white and red clover seed production across Europe. Monitoring and control of clover weevils would be facilitated by semiochemical-based methods. Until now, however, nothing was known about physiological or behavioral responses to semiochemicals in this insect group.

Estimation of heritability, evolvability and genetic correlations of two pollen and pistil traits involved in a sexual conflict over timing of stigma receptivity in Collinsia heterophylla (Plantaginaceae).

Background And Aims: Heritable genetic variation is crucial for selection to operate, yet there is a paucity of studies quantifying such variation in interactive male/female sexual traits, especially those of plants. Previous work on the annual plant Collinsia heterophylla, a mixed-mating species, suggests that delayed stigma receptivity is involved in a sexual conflict: pollen from certain donors fertilize ovules earlier than others at the expense of reduced maternal seed set and lower levels of pollen competition.

Methods: Parent-offspring regressions and sib analyses were performed to test for heritable genetic variation and co-variation in male and female interactive traits related to the sexual conflict.

Enhancing pollen competition by delaying stigma receptivity: pollen deposition schedules affect siring ability, paternal diversity, and seed production in Collinsia heterophylla (Plantaginaceae).

Premise Of The Study: Even though pollen deposition schedules may have profound effects on the evolutionary outcome of pollen competition, few studies have investigated such effects in relation to pistil traits such as delayed stigma receptivity that enhance pollen competition. In Collinsia heterophylla, a largely outcrossing species with delayed stigma receptivity, we performed a series of controlled crosses involving several donors to understand how timing of pollen deposition influences siring ability, paternal diversity, and offspring fitness.

Methods: Pollen was applied to fully receptive stigmas either as mixtures or consecutively with or without a time lag to mimic cases with early or delayed stigma receptivity.

Upper petal lip colour polymorphism in Collinsia heterophylla (Plantaginaceae): genetic basis within a population and its use as a genetic marker.

Understanding the genetics of a polymorphic trait is important to predict its likely evolution. In Collinsia heterophylla, the upper petal lip colour can be either be white or white with a purple band, while the lower petal lip colour is invariably purple. Because the corolla is only partly polymorphic, the polymorphism can not have evolved due to a mutation where a pigment was lost in the entire plant, which is common in other polymorphic species.

How does breeding system variation modulate sexual antagonism?

The study of sexually antagonistic (SA) traits remains largely limited to dioecious (separate sex), mobile animals. However, the occurrence of sexual conflict is restricted neither by breeding system (the mode of sexual reproduction, e.g.