title: Genotypic and environmental variation in specific leaf area in a widespread Alpine plant after transplantation to different altitudes.
abstract: Specific leaf area (SLA) is an important plant functional trait as it is an indicator of ecophysiological characteristics like relative growth rate, stress tolerance and leaf longevity. Substantial intraspecific variation in SLA is common and usually correlates with environmental conditions. For instance, SLA decreases with increasing altitude, which is understood as adjustment to temperature. It is generally assumed that intraspecific variation is mostly the result of environmentally induced phenotypic plasticity, but genetic effects may also be present, due to local adaptation or genetic drift. In this study, genotypic and environmental effects on SLA were experimentally separated for the widespread Alpine bell flower Campanula thyrsoides by transplanting plants to three common gardens at contrasting altitudes (600, 1,235 and 1,850 m a.s.l.). Seeds were sampled from 18 populations in four phylogeographic regions within the European Alps. A strong plastic response was observed: SLA decreased with increasing altitude of the common gardens (22.0% of variation). The phylogeographic regions were differentiated in SLA in the common gardens (10.1% of variation), indicating that SLA is at least partly genetically determined. Plants from the six easternmost populations experienced a submediterranean climate and showed decreased SLA values in the three common gardens compared to populations to the west, which may be explained as adaptation to drought. Within these submediterranean populations, SLA decreased with altitude of origin in two out of three common gardens. Concluding, SLA shows strong phenotypic plasticity as well as substantial genetic effects, the latter probably being the result of adaptation to local conditions rather than genetic drift.
authors.affiliation: Section of Plant Ecology, Institute of Botany, University of Basel, Schönbeinstrasse 6, 4056, Basel, Switzerland. jf.scheepens@unibas.ch
authors.forename: J F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Scheepens
authors.forename: Eva S
authors.initials: ES
authors.lastname: Frei
authors.forename: Jürg
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Stöcklin
mesh_terms: D000220:Adaptation, Biological; D000531:Altitude; D029422:Campanulaceae / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development; D040961:Genetic Drift; D005838:Genotype; D010641:Phenotype; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000254:growth & development*
references.citation: Oecologia. 2009 Mar;159(2):305-15
references.pmid: 19034526
references.citation: Am Nat. 2003 Jan;161(1):68-82
references.pmid: 12650463
references.citation: Ann Bot. 2009 Dec;104(7):1313-22
references.pmid: 19797423
references.citation: Evolution. 1991 Aug;45(5):1218-1228
references.pmid: 28564181
references.citation: Proc Biol Sci. 2003 Jul 22;270(1523):1433-40
references.pmid: 12965006
references.citation: Mol Ecol Resour. 2010 May;10(3):556-7
references.pmid: 21565057
references.citation: Trends Plant Sci. 2000 Dec;5(12):537-42
references.pmid: 11120476
references.citation: Oecologia. 2005 Aug;145(1):21-31
references.pmid: 15868165
references.citation: New Phytol. 2009;182(3):565-588
references.pmid: 19434804
references.citation: Evolution. 2005 Aug;59(8):1633-8
references.pmid: 16329237
references.citation: Genetics. 1993 Oct;135(2):367-74
references.pmid: 8244001
references.citation: Mol Ecol. 2005 Oct;14(11):3547-55
references.pmid: 16156822
references.citation: Oecologia. 1998 Jan;113(2):188-196
references.pmid: 28308196
references.citation: Nature. 2004 Apr 22;428(6985):821-7
references.pmid: 15103368
references.citation: Cancer Res. 1967 Feb;27(2):209-20
references.pmid: 6018555
references.citation: J Exp Bot. 2006;57(2):267-81
references.pmid: 16371402
references.citation: Trends Ecol Evol. 2006 May;21(5):261-8
references.pmid: 16697912