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Published (Version of record)CC BY V4.0, Open Access
Published (Version of record)CC BY V4.0, Open
Journal article
Genomic consequences and selection efficacy in sympatric sexual versus asexual kelps
Frontiers in Marine Science, Vol.9, pp.1-16
01/10/2022
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Source: InCites
Abstract
Genetic diversity can influence resilience and adaptative capacity of organisms to environmental change. Genetic diversity within populations is largely structured by reproduction, with the prevalence of asexual versus sexual reproduction often underpinning important diversity metrics that determine selection efficacy. Asexual or clonal reproduction is expected to reduce genotypic diversity and slow down adaptation through reduced selection efficacy, yet the evolutionary consequences of clonal reproduction remain unclear for many natural populations. Here, we examine the genomic consequences of sympatric sexual (haplodiplontic) and clonal morphs of the kelp Ecklonia radiata that occur interspersed on reefs in Hamelin Bay, Western Australia. Using genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphisms, we confirm significant asexual reproduction for the clonal populations, indicated by a significantly lower number of multi-locus lineages and higher intra-individual diversity patterns (individual multi-locus heterozygosity, MLH). Nevertheless, co-ancestry analysis and breeding experiments confirmed that sexual reproduction by the clonal morph and interbreeding between the two morphs is still possible, but varies among populations. One clonal population with long-term asexuality showed trends of decreased selection efficacy (increased ratio non- vs. synonymous gene diversities). Yet, all clonal populations showed distinct patterns of putative local adaptation relative to the sexual morph, possibly indicating maladaptation to local environmental conditions and high vulnerability of this unique clonal morph to environmental stress.
Details
- Title
- Genomic consequences and selection efficacy in sympatric sexual versus asexual kelps
- Creators
- Sofie Vranken - University of Western AustraliaArmin Scheben - University of Western AustraliaJacqueline Batley - University of Western AustraliaThomas Wernberg - University of Western AustraliaMelinda Ann Coleman - University of Western Australia
- Publication Details
- Frontiers in Marine Science, Vol.9, pp.1-16
- Publisher
- Frontiers Research Foundation
- Grant note
- This research was supported by the Australian Research Council through DP160100114 and DP200100201 granted to TW and MC and by a Holsworth Wildlife Research Endowment Grant of The Ecological Society of Australia granted to SV. SV and AS were supported by IPRS and RTP scholarships awarded by the Australian Government
- Identifiers
- 991013055019902368
- Copyright
- © 2022 Vranken, Scheben, Batley, Wernberg and Coleman. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
- Academic Unit
- Faculty of Science and Engineering; National Marine Science Centre
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article