Genetic structure of the polymorphic metrosideros (Myrtaceae) complex in the Hwaiian islands using nuclear microsatellite data

Isolation of Metrosideros ('Ohi'a) Taxa on O'ahu Increases with Elevation and Extreme Environments

Species radiations should be facilitated by short generation times and limited dispersal among discontinuous populations. Hawaii's hyper-diverse, landscape-dominant tree, Metrosideros, is unique among the islands' radiations for its massive populations that occur continuously over space and time within islands, its exceptional capacity for gene flow by both pollen and seed, and its extended life span (ca. >650 years). Metrosideros shows the greatest phenotypic and microsatellite DNA diversity on O'ahu, where taxa occur in tight sympatry or parapatry in mesic and montane wet forest on 2 volcanoes. We document the nonrandom distributions of 12 taxa (including unnamed morphotypes) along elevation gradients, measure phenotypes of ~6-year-old common-garden plants of 8 taxa to verify heritability of phenotypes, and examine genotypes of 476 wild adults at 9 microsatellite loci to compare the strengths of isolation across taxa, volcanoes, and distance. All 8 taxa retained their diagnostic phenotypes in the common garden. Populations were isolated by taxon to a range of degrees (pairwise FST between taxa: 0.004-0.267), and there was no pattern of isolation by distance or by elevation; however, significant isolation between volcanoes was observed within monotypic species, suggesting limited gene flow between volcanoes. Among the infraspecific taxa of Metrosideros polymorpha, genetic diversity and isolation significantly decreased and increased, respectively, with elevation. Overall, 5 of the 6 most isolated taxa were associated with highest elevations or otherwise extreme environments. These findings suggest a principal role for selection in the origin and maintenance of the exceptional diversity that occurs within continuous Metrosideros stands on O'ahu.

Making the most of your host: the Metrosideros-feeding psyllids (Hemiptera, Psylloidea) of the Hawaiian Islands

The Hawaiian psyllids (Psylloidea, Triozidae) feeding on Metrosideros (Myrtaceae) constitute a remarkable radiation of more than 35 species. This monophyletic group has diversified on a single, highly polymorphic host plant species, Metrosiderospolymorpha. Eleven Metrosideros-feeding species included in the Insects of Hawaii by Zimmerman are redescribed, and an additional 25 new species are described. Contrary to previous classifications that placed the Metrosideros-feeders in two genera, Trioza Foerster, 1848 and Kuwayama Crawford, 1911, all 36 named species are placed in Pariaconus Enderlein, 1926; and the relationship of this genus to other Pacific taxa within the family Triozidae, and other Austro-Pacific taxa feeding on host plants in Myrtaceae is clarified. The processes of diversification in Pariaconus include shifts in galling habit, geographic isolation within and between islands, and preferences for different morphotypes of the host plant. Four species groups are recognized: the bicoloratus and minutus groups are free-living or form pit galls, and together with the kamua group (composing all of the Kauai species) form a basal assemblage; the more derived closed gall species in the ohialoha group are found on all major islands except Kauai. The diversification of Pariaconus has likely occurred over several million years. Within island diversification is exemplified in the kamua group, and within species variation in the ohialoha group, but species discovery rates suggest this radiation remains undersampled. Mitochondrial DNA barcodes are provided for 28 of the 36 species. Genetic divergence, intraspecific genetic structure, and parallel evolution of different galling biologies and morphological traits are discussed within a phylogenetic framework. Outgroup analysis for the genus Pariaconus and ancestral character state reconstruction suggest pit-galling may be the ancestral state, and the closest outgroups are Palaearctic-Australasian taxa rather than other Pacific Metrosideros-feeders.

Genome sequencing of Metrosideros polymorpha (Myrtaceae), a dominant species in various habitats in the Hawaiian Islands with remarkable phenotypic variations

Whole genome sequences, which can be provided even for non-model organisms owing to high-throughput sequencers, are valuable in enhancing the understanding of adaptive evolution. Metrosideros polymorpha, a tree species endemic to the Hawaiian Islands, occupies a wide range of ecological habitats and shows remarkable polymorphism in phenotypes among/within populations. The biological functions of genetic variations observed within this species could provide significant insights into the adaptive radiation found in a single species. Here de novo assembled genome sequences of M. polymorpha are presented to reveal basic genomic parameters about this species and to develop our knowledge of ecological divergences. The assembly yielded 304-Mbp genome sequences, half of which were covered by 19 scaffolds with >5 Mbp, and contained 30 K protein-coding genes. Demographic history inferred from the genome-wide heterozygosity indicated that this species experienced a dramatic rise and fall in the effective population size, possibly owing to past geographic or climatic changes in the Hawaiian Islands. This M. polymorpha genome assembly represents a high-quality genome resource useful for future functional analyses of both intra- and interspecies genetic variations or comparative genomics.

The transcriptional landscape of insect galls: psyllid (Hemiptera) gall formation in Hawaiian Metrosideros polymorpha (Myrtaceae)

BACKGROUND

Recent studies show that galling Hymenoptera and Diptera are able to synthesize the plant hormone indole-3-acetic acid (auxin) from tryptophan and that plant response to insect-produced auxin is implicated in gall formation. We examined the leaf transcriptome of galled and ungalled leaves of individuals of the Hawaiian endemic plant Metrosideros polymorpha (Myrtaceae) subject to infestation by psyllid (Hemiptera) gall-makers in the genus Trioza (Triozidae).

RESULTS

Transcript libraries were sequenced using Illumina technology and the reads assembled de novo into contigs. Functional identification of contigs followed a two-step procedure, first identifying contigs by comparison to the completely sequenced genome of the related Eucalyptus, followed by identifying the equivalent Arabidopsis gene using a pre-computed mapping between Eucalyptus and Arabidopsis genes. This allowed us to use the rich functional annotation of the Arabidopsis genome to assess the transcriptional landscape of galling in Metrosideros. Comparing galled and ungalled leaves, we find a highly significant enrichment of expressed genes with a gene ontology (GO) annotation to auxin response in the former. One gene consistently expressed in all galled trees examined but not detected in any libraries from ungalled leaves was the Metrosideros version of SMALL AUXIN UPREGULATED (SAUR) 67 which appears to be a marker for leaf-galling in Metrosideros.

CONCLUSIONS

We conclude that an auxin response is involved in galling by Metrosideros psyllids. The possibility should therefore be considered that psyllids (like other insects examined) are able to synthesize auxin.

The Polyploid Series of the Achillea millefolium Aggregate in the Iberian Peninsula Investigated Using Microsatellites

The Achillea millefolium aggregate is one of the most diverse polyploid complexes of the Northern hemisphere and has its western Eurasian boundary in the Iberian Peninsula. Four ploidy levels have been detected in A. millefolium, three of which have already been found in Iberia (diploid, hexaploid and octoploid), and a fourth (tetraploid) reported during the preparation of this paper. We collected a sample from 26 Iberian populations comprising all ploidy levels, and we used microsatellite markers analyzed as dominant in view of the high ploidy levels. Our goals were to quantify the genetic diversity of A. millefolium in the Iberian Peninsula, to elucidate its genetic structure, to investigate the differences in ploidy levels, and to analyse the dispersal of the species. The lack of spatial genetic structure recovered is linked to both high levels of gene flow between populations and to the fact that most genetic variability occurs within populations. This in turn suggests the existence of a huge panmictic yarrow population in the Iberian Peninsula. This is consistent with the assumption that recent colonization and rapid expansion occurred throughout this area. Likewise, the low levels of genetic variability recovered suggest that bottlenecks and/or founder events may have been involved in this process, and clonal reproduction may have played an important role in maintaining this genetic impoverishment. Indeed, the ecological and phenologic uniformity present in the A. millefolium agg. in Iberia compared to Eurasia and North America may be responsible for the low number of representatives of this complex of species present in the Iberian Peninsula. The low levels of genetic differentiation between ploidy levels recovered in our work suggest the absence of barriers between them.

Relatedness defies biogeography: the tale of two island endemics (Acacia heterophylla and A. koa)

Despite the normally strong link between geographic proximity and relatedness of recently diverged taxa, truly puzzling biogeographic anomalies to this expectation exist in nature. Using a dated phylogeny, population genetic structure and estimates of ecological niche overlap, we tested the hypothesis that two geographically very disjunct, but morphologically very similar, island endemics (Acacia heterophylla from Réunion Island and A. koa from the Hawaiian archipelago) are the result of dispersal between these two island groups, rather than independent colonization events from Australia followed by convergent evolution. Our genetic results indicated that A. heterophylla renders A. koa paraphyletic and that the former colonized the Mascarene archipelago directly from the Hawaiian Islands ≤ 1.4 million yr ago. This colonization sequence was corroborated by similar ecological niches between the two island taxa, but not between A. melanoxylon from Australia (a sister, and presumed ancestral, taxon to A. koa and A. heterophylla) and Hawaiian A. koa. It is widely accepted that the long-distance dispersal of plants occurs more frequently than previously thought. Here, however, we document one of the most exceptional examples of such dispersal. Despite c. 18 000 km separating A. heterophylla and A. koa, these two island endemics from two different oceans probably represent a single taxon as a result of recent extreme long-distance dispersal.

Primers for low-copy nuclear genes in Metrosideros and cross-amplification in Myrtaceae

PREMISE OF THE STUDY

Primers were developed to amplify low-copy nuclear genes in Hawaiian Metrosideros (Myrtaceae). •

METHODS AND RESULTS

Data from a pooled 454 Titanium run of the partial transcriptomes of four Metrosideros taxa were used to identify the loci of interest. Ten exon-primed intron-crossing (EPIC) markers were amplified and sequenced directly with success in Metrosideros, as well as in a representative selection of Myrtaceae, including Syzygium, Psidium, and Melaleuca for most of the markers. The loci amplified ranged between 500 and 1100 bp, and up to 117 polymorphic sites were observed within an individual gene alignment. Two introns contained microsatellites in some of the species. •

CONCLUSIONS

These novel primer pairs should be useful for phylogenetic analysis and population genetics of a broad range of Myrtaceae, particularly the diverse fleshy-fruited tribes Syzygieae and Myrteae.

Incipient radiation within the dominant Hawaiian tree Metrosideros polymorpha

Although trees comprise a primary component of terrestrial species richness, the drivers and temporal scale of divergence in trees remain poorly understood. We examined the landscape-dominant tree, Metrosideros polymorpha, for variation at nine microsatellite loci across 23 populations on young Hawai'i Island, sampling each of the island's five varieties throughout its full geographic range. For four varieties, principal coordinate analysis revealed strong clustering of populations by variety across the 10 430 km(2) island, indicating partitioning of the species into multiple evolutionarily significant units. The single island-endemic form, riparian var. newellii, showed especially strong differentiation from other varieties despite occurring in sympatry with other varieties and likely evolved from a bog form on the oldest volcano, Kohala, within the past 500 000 years. Along with comparable riparian forms on other Pacific Islands, var. newellii appears to represent parallel incipient ecological speciation within Metrosideros. Greater genetic distance among the more common varieties on the oldest volcano and an inverse relationship between allelic diversity and substrate age appear consistent with colonization of Hawai'i Island by older, partially diverged varieties followed by increased hybridization among varieties on younger volcanoes. This study demonstrates that broad population-level sampling is required to uncover patterns of diversification within a ubiquitous and long-lived tree species. Hawaiian Metrosideros appears to be a case of incipient radiation in trees and thus should be useful for studies of divergence and the evolution of reproductive isolating barriers at the early stages of speciation.

Fungal endophyte communities reflect environmental structuring across a Hawaiian landscape

We surveyed endophytic fungal communities in leaves of a single tree species (Metrosideros polymorpha) across wide environmental gradients (500-5,500 mm of rain/y; 10-22 °C mean annual temperature) spanning short geographic distances on Mauna Loa Volcano, Hawai'i. Using barcoded amplicon pyrosequencing at 13 sites (10 trees/site; 10 leaves/tree), we found very high levels of diversity within sites (a mean of 551 ± 134 taxonomic units per site). However, among-site diversity contributed even more than did within-site diversity to the overall richness of more than 4,200 taxonomic units observed in M. polymorpha, and this among-site variation in endophyte community composition correlated strongly with temperature and rainfall. These results are consistent with suggestions that foliar endophytic fungi are hyperdiverse. They further suggest that microbial diversity may be even greater than has been assumed and that broad-scale environmental controls such as temperature and rainfall can structure eukaryotic microbial diversity. Appropriately constrained study systems across strong environmental gradients present a useful means to understand the environmental factors that structure the diversity of microbial communities.

Evaluating multiple criteria for species delimitation: an empirical example using Hawaiian palms (Arecaceae: Pritchardia)

BACKGROUND

Robust species delimitations are fundamental for conservation, evolutionary, and systematic studies, but they can be difficult to estimate, particularly in rapid and recent radiations. The consensus that species concepts aim to identify evolutionarily distinct lineages is clear, but the criteria used to distinguish evolutionary lineages differ based on the perceived importance of the various characteristics of evolving populations. We examined three different species-delimitation criteria (monophyly, absence of genetic intermediates, and diagnosability) to determine whether currently recognized species of Hawaiian Pritchardia are distinct lineages.

RESULTS

Data from plastid and nuclear genes, microsatellite loci, and morphological characters resulted in various levels of lineage subdivision that were likely caused by differing evolutionary rates between data sources. Additionally, taxonomic entities may be confounded because of the effects of incomplete lineage sorting and/or gene flow. A coalescent species tree was largely congruent with the simultaneous analysis, consistent with the idea that incomplete lineage sorting did not mislead our results. Furthermore, gene flow among populations of sympatric lineages likely explains the admixture and lack of resolution between those groups.

CONCLUSIONS

Delimiting Hawaiian Pritchardia species remains difficult but the ability to understand the influence of the evolutionary processes of incomplete lineage sorting and hybridization allow for mechanisms driving species diversity to be inferred. These processes likely extend to speciation in other Hawaiian angiosperm groups and the biota in general and must be explicitly accounted for in species delimitation.

Asymmetrical gene flow in a hybrid zone of Hawaiian Schiedea (Caryophyllaceae) species with contrasting mating systems

Asymmetrical gene flow, which has frequently been documented in naturally occurring hybrid zones, can result from various genetic and demographic factors. Understanding these factors is important for determining the ecological conditions that permitted hybridization and the evolutionary potential inherent in hybrids. Here, we characterized morphological, nuclear, and chloroplast variation in a putative hybrid zone between Schiedea menziesii and S. salicaria, endemic Hawaiian species with contrasting breeding systems. Schiedea menziesii is hermaphroditic with moderate selfing; S. salicaria is gynodioecious and wind-pollinated, with partially selfing hermaphrodites and largely outcrossed females. We tested three hypotheses: 1) putative hybrids were derived from natural crosses between S. menziesii and S. salicaria, 2) gene flow via pollen is unidirectional from S. salicaria to S. menziesii and 3) in the hybrid zone, traits associated with wind pollination would be favored as a result of pollen-swamping by S. salicaria. Schiedea menziesii and S. salicaria have distinct morphologies and chloroplast genomes but are less differentiated at the nuclear loci. Hybrids are most similar to S. menziesii at chloroplast loci, exhibit nuclear allele frequencies in common with both parental species, and resemble S. salicaria in pollen production and pollen size, traits important to wind pollination. Additionally, unlike S. menziesii, the hybrid zone contains many females, suggesting that the nuclear gene responsible for male sterility in S. salicaria has been transferred to hybrid plants. Continued selection of nuclear genes in the hybrid zone may result in a population that resembles S. salicaria, but retains chloroplast lineage(s) of S. menziesii.