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Lenz AK, Bauer U, Ruxton GD. An ecological perspective on water shedding from leaves. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BOTANY 2022; 73:1176-1189. [PMID: 34727175 PMCID: PMC8866647 DOI: 10.1093/jxb/erab479] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2021] [Accepted: 10/28/2021] [Indexed: 05/13/2023]
Abstract
Water shedding from leaves is a complex process depending on multiple leaf traits interacting with rain, wind, and air humidity, and with the entire plant and surrounding vegetation. Here, we synthesize current knowledge of the physics of water shedding with implications for plant physiology and ecology. We argue that the drop retention angle is a more meaningful parameter to characterize the water-shedding capacity of leaves than the commonly measured static contact angle. The understanding of the mechanics of water shedding is largely derived from laboratory experiments on artificial rather than natural surfaces, often on individual aspects such as surface wettability or drop impacts. In contrast, field studies attempting to identify the adaptive value of leaf traits linked to water shedding are largely correlative in nature, with inconclusive results. We make a strong case for taking the hypothesis-driven experimental approach of biomechanical laboratory studies into a real-world field setting to gain a comprehensive understanding of leaf water shedding in a whole-plant ecological and evolutionary context.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anne-Kristin Lenz
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, 24 Tyndall Avenue, Bristol, UK
| | - Ulrike Bauer
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, 24 Tyndall Avenue, Bristol, UK
| | - Graeme D Ruxton
- School of Biology, University of St Andrews, Dryers Brae, Greenside Place, St Andrews, UK
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Ony M, Klingeman WE, Zobel J, Trigiano RN, Ginzel M, Nowicki M, Boggess SL, Everhart S, Hadziabdic D. Genetic diversity in North American Cercis Canadensis reveals an ancient population bottleneck that originated after the last glacial maximum. Sci Rep 2021; 11:21803. [PMID: 34750401 PMCID: PMC8576035 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-01020-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2021] [Accepted: 10/18/2021] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Understanding of the present-day genetic diversity, population structure, and evolutionary history of tree species can inform resource management and conservation activities, including response to pressures presented by a changing climate. Cercis canadensis (Eastern Redbud) is an economically valuable understory tree species native to the United States (U.S.) that is also important for forest ecosystem and wildlife health. Here, we document and explain the population genetics and evolutionary history of this deciduous tree species across its distributed range. In this study, we used twelve microsatellite markers to investigate 691 wild-type trees sampled at 74 collection sites from 23 Eastern U.S. states. High genetic diversity and limited gene flow were revealed in wild, natural stands of C. canadensis with populations that are explained by two major genetic clusters. These findings indicate that an ancient population bottleneck occurred coinciding with the last glacial maximum (LGM) in North America. The structure in current populations likely originated from an ancient population in the eastern U.S. that survived LGM and then later diverged into two contemporary clusters. Data suggests that populations have expanded since the last glaciation event from one into several post-glacial refugia that now occupy this species’ current geographic range. Our enhanced understanding benchmarks the genetic variation preserved within this species and can direct future efforts in conservation, and resource utilization of adaptively resilient populations that present the greatest genetic and structural diversity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Meher Ony
- Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, USA
| | | | - John Zobel
- Department of Forest Resources, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN, USA
| | - Robert N Trigiano
- Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, USA
| | - Matthew Ginzel
- Department of Entomology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA
| | - Marcin Nowicki
- Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, USA
| | - Sarah L Boggess
- Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, USA
| | - Sydney Everhart
- Department of Plant Pathology, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE, USA
| | - Denita Hadziabdic
- Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, USA.
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Liu W, Xie J, Zhou H, Kong H, Hao G, Fritsch PW, Gong W. Population dynamics linked to glacial cycles in Cercis chuniana F. P. Metcalf (Fabaceae) endemic to the montane regions of subtropical China. Evol Appl 2021; 14:2647-2663. [PMID: 34815745 PMCID: PMC8591333 DOI: 10.1111/eva.13301] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2020] [Revised: 08/19/2021] [Accepted: 09/01/2021] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
The mountains of subtropical China are an excellent system for investigating the processes driving the geographical distribution of biodiversity and radiation of plant populations in response to Pleistocene climate fluctuations. How the major mountain ranges in subtropical China have affected the evolution of plant species in the subtropical evergreen broadleaved forest is an issue with long-term concern. Here, we focused on Cercis chuniana, a woody species endemic to the southern mountain ranges in subtropical China, to elucidate its population dynamics. We used genotyping by sequencing (GBS) to investigate the spatial pattern of genetic variation among 11 populations. Geographical isolation was detected between the populations located in adjacent mountain ranges, thought to function as geographical barriers due to their complex physiography. Bayesian time estimation revealed that population divergence occurred in the middle Pleistocene, when populations in the Nanling Mts. separated from those to the east. The orientation and physiography of the mountain ranges of subtropical China appear to have contributed to the geographical pattern of genetic variation between the eastern and western populations of C. chuniana. Complex physiography plus long-term stable ecological conditions across glacial cycles facilitated the demographic expansion in the Nanling Mts., from which contemporary migration began. The Nanling Mts. are thus considered as a suitable area for preserving population diversity and large population sizes of C. chuniana compared with other regions. As inferred by ecological niche modeling and coalescent simulations, secondary contact occurred during the warm Lushan-Tali Interglacial period, with intensified East Asia summer monsoon and continuous habitat available for occupation. Our data support the strong influence of both climatic history and topographic characteristics on the high regional phytodiversity of the subtropical evergreen broadleaved forest in subtropical China.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wanzhen Liu
- Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, & College of Life SciencesSouth China Agricultural UniversityGuangzhouChina
| | - Jianguang Xie
- Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, & College of Life SciencesSouth China Agricultural UniversityGuangzhouChina
| | - Hui Zhou
- Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, & College of Life SciencesSouth China Agricultural UniversityGuangzhouChina
| | - Hanghui Kong
- Key Laboratory of Plant Resources Conservation and Sustainable Utilization, South China Botanical GardenChinese Academy of SciencesGuangzhouChina
- Center of Conservation BiologyCore Botanical GardensChinese Academy of SciencesGuangzhouChina
| | - Gang Hao
- Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, & College of Life SciencesSouth China Agricultural UniversityGuangzhouChina
| | | | - Wei Gong
- Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, & College of Life SciencesSouth China Agricultural UniversityGuangzhouChina
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