Plant traits have been widely used to characterize different aspects of the ecology of plant species. Despite its wide distribution and its proven significance at the level of individuals, communities, and populations, the ability to form mycorrhizal associations has been largely neglected in these studies so far. Analyzing plant traits associated with the occurrence of mycorrhizas in plants can therefore enhance our understanding of plant strategies and distributions. Using a comparative approach, we tested for associations between mycorrhizal status and habitat characteristics, life history traits, and plant distribution patterns in 1752 species of the German flora (a major part of the Central European flora). Data were analyzed using log-linear models or generalized linear models, both accounting for phylogenetic relationships. Obligatorily mycorrhizal (OM) species tended to be positively associated with higher temperature, drier habitats, and higher pH; and negatively associated with moist, acidic, and fertile soils. Competitive species were more frequently OM, and stress tolerators were non-mycorrhizal (NM), while ruderal species did not show any preference. Facultatively mycorrhizal (FM) species showed the widest geographic and ecological amplitude. Indigenous species were more frequently FM and neophytes (recent aliens) more frequently OM than expected. FM species differed markedly from OM and NM species in almost all analyzed traits. Specifically, they showed a wider geographic distribution and ecological niche. Our study of the relationships between mycorrhizal status and other plant traits provides a comprehensive test of existing hypotheses and reveals novel patterns. The clear distinction between FM and OM + NM species in terms of their ecology opens up a new field of research in plant-mycorrhizal ecology.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1890/12-1700.1 | DOI Listing |
Front Plant Sci
December 2024
Division of Entomology, ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, India.
In recent years, the fall armyworm, has rapidly emerged as a global invasive pest, challenging the maize production and leading to considerable economic losses. Developing resistant hybrids is essential for sustainable maize cultivation, which requires a comprehensive understanding of resistance traits and the underlying mechanisms in parental lines. To address this need, the present study aimed to identify the sources of resistance, age and stage-specific effects and role of phytochemicals in plant defense against in thirty diverse maize parental lines [17 female (A) and 13 male (R) lines].
View Article and Find Full Text PDFVirus Evol
December 2024
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, 165 Prospect Street, New Haven, CT 06511, United States.
Different theoretical frameworks have been invoked to guide the study of virus evolution. Three of the more prominent ones are (i) the evolution of virulence, (ii) life history theory, and (iii) the generalism-specialism dichotomy. All involve purported tradeoffs between traits that define the evolvability and constraint of virus-associated phenotypes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFData Brief
December 2024
Departamento Académico de Ingeniería Forestal y Medio Ambiente, Universidad Nacional Amazónica de Madre Dios, Av. Jorge Chavez 1160, Puerto Maldonado 17001, Peru.
Anthropogenic activities (e.g., logging, gold-mining, agriculture, and uncontrolled urban expansion) threaten the forests in the southeast of the Peruvian Amazon, one of the most diverse ecosystems worldwide.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAm J Bot
December 2024
ETH-Zürich, Institute for Integrative Biology, Plant Ecology Group, Zürich, Switzerland.
Premise: Tree structure and function are constrained by and acclimate to climatic conditions. Drought limits plant growth and carbon acquisition and can result in "legacy" effects that last beyond the period of water stress. Leaf and twig-level legacy effects of past water abundance, such as that experienced by trees that established under wetter conditions are unknown.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBMC Plant Biol
December 2024
Institute of Industrial Crops, Shandong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Jinan, Shandong, 250100, China.
Background: Early-maturity cotton varieties have the potential to be cultivated in a wider geographical area, extending as far north as 46 °N in China, and confer to address the issue of competition for land between grain and cotton by reducing their whole growth period (WGP). Therefore, it is of great importance to develop cotton varieties with comprehensive early maturity and high yield following investigating the regulatory mechanism underlying early maturity and identifying early maturity-related genes.
Results: In this study, 'SCRC19' and 'SCRC21', two excellent cultivars with significantly different WGP, along with their recombinant inbred lines (RILs) consisting of 150 individuals were re-sequenced, yielding 4,092,677 high-quality single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and 794 bin markers across 26 chromosomes.
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