Does speciation between Arabidopsis halleri and Arabidopsis lyrata coincide with major changes in a molecular target of adaptation?

Details

Serval ID
serval:BIB_95213CE70D2B
Type
Article: article from journal or magazin.
Collection
Publications
Title
Does speciation between Arabidopsis halleri and Arabidopsis lyrata coincide with major changes in a molecular target of adaptation?
Journal
PLoS One
Author(s)
Roux C., Castric V., Pauwels M., Wright S.I., Saumitou-Laprade P., Vekemans X.
ISSN
1932-6203 (Electronic)
ISSN-L
1932-6203
Publication state
Published
Issued date
2011
Volume
6
Number
11
Pages
e26872
Language
english
Abstract
Ever since Darwin proposed natural selection as the driving force for the origin of species, the role of adaptive processes in speciation has remained controversial. In particular, a largely unsolved issue is whether key divergent ecological adaptations are associated with speciation events or evolve secondarily within sister species after the split. The plant Arabidopsis halleri is one of the few species able to colonize soils highly enriched in zinc and cadmium. Recent advances in the molecular genetics of adaptation show that the physiology of this derived ecological trait involves copy number expansions of the AhHMA4 gene, for which orthologs are found in single copy in the closely related A. lyrata and the outgroup A. thaliana. To gain insight into the speciation process, we ask whether adaptive molecular changes at this candidate gene were contemporary with important stages of the speciation process. We first inferred the scenario and timescale of speciation by comparing patterns of variation across the genomic backgrounds of A. halleri and A. lyrata. Then, we estimated the timing of the first duplication of AhHMA4 in A. halleri. Our analysis suggests that the historical split between the two species closely coincides with major changes in this molecular target of adaptation in the A. halleri lineage. These results clearly indicate that these changes evolved in A. halleri well before industrial activities fostered the spread of Zn- and Cd-polluted areas, and suggest that adaptive processes related to heavy-metal homeostasis played a major role in the speciation process.
Keywords
Adaptation, Physiological, Adenosine Triphosphatases/genetics, Arabidopsis/genetics, Arabidopsis/growth & development, Arabidopsis Proteins/genetics, Cadmium/metabolism, DNA, Plant/genetics, Evolution, Molecular, Gene Dosage, Genetic Variation, Population Density, Species Specificity, Zinc/metabolism
Pubmed
Web of science
Open Access
Yes
Create date
20/02/2013 18:44
Last modification date
20/08/2019 14:57
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