title: Investigation of the geographical scale of adaptive phenological variation and its underlying genetics in Arabidopsis thaliana.
abstract: Despite the increasing number of genomic tools, identifying the genetics underlying adaptive complex traits remains challenging in the model species Arabidopsis thaliana. This is due, at least in part, to the lack of data on the geographical scale of adaptive phenotypic variation. The aims of this study were (i) to tease apart the historical roles of adaptive and nonselective processes in shaping phenological variation in A. thaliana in France and (ii) to gain insights into the spatial scale of adaptive variation by identifying the putative selective agents responsible for this selection. Forty-nine natural stands from four climatically contrasted French regions were characterized (i) phenologically for six traits, (ii) genetically using 135 SNP markers and (iii) ecologically for 42 variables. Up to 63% of phenological variation could be explained by neutral genetic diversity. The remaining phenological variation displayed stronger associations with ecological variation within regions than among regions, suggesting the importance of local selective agents in shaping adaptive phenological variation. Although climatic conditions have often been suggested as the main selective agents acting on phenology in A. thaliana, both edaphic conditions and interspecific competition appear to be strong selective agents in some regions. In a first attempt to identify the genetics of phenological variation at different geographical scales, we phenotyped worldwide accessions and local polymorphic populations from the French RegMap in a genome-wide association (GWA) mapping study. The genomic regions associated with phenological variation depended upon the geographical scale considered, stressing the need to account for the scale of adaptive phenotypic variation when choosing accession panels for GWAS.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire Génétique et Evolution des Populations Végétales, UMR CNRS 8198, Université des Sciences et Technologies de Lille - Lille 1, F-59655, Villeneuve d'Ascq Cedex, France.|Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, 60637, USA.
authors.forename: Benjamin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Brachi
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire Génétique et Evolution des Populations Végétales, UMR CNRS 8198, Université des Sciences et Technologies de Lille - Lille 1, F-59655, Villeneuve d'Ascq Cedex, France.
authors.forename: Romain
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Villoutreix
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire Génétique et Evolution des Populations Végétales, UMR CNRS 8198, Université des Sciences et Technologies de Lille - Lille 1, F-59655, Villeneuve d'Ascq Cedex, France.
authors.forename: Nathalie
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Faure
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire Génétique et Evolution des Populations Végétales, UMR CNRS 8198, Université des Sciences et Technologies de Lille - Lille 1, F-59655, Villeneuve d'Ascq Cedex, France.
authors.forename: Nina
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Hautekèete
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire Génétique et Evolution des Populations Végétales, UMR CNRS 8198, Université des Sciences et Technologies de Lille - Lille 1, F-59655, Villeneuve d'Ascq Cedex, France.
authors.forename: Yves
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Piquot
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire Génétique et Evolution des Populations Végétales, UMR CNRS 8198, Université des Sciences et Technologies de Lille - Lille 1, F-59655, Villeneuve d'Ascq Cedex, France.
authors.forename: Maxime
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pauwels
authors.affiliation: INRA, Laboratoire des Interactions Plantes-Microorganismes (LIPM), UMR441, F-31326, Castanet-Tolosan, France.|CNRS, Laboratoire des Interactions Plantes-Microorganismes (LIPM), UMR2594, F-31326, Castanet-Tolosan, France.
authors.forename: Dominique
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Roby
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire Génétique et Evolution des Populations Végétales, UMR CNRS 8198, Université des Sciences et Technologies de Lille - Lille 1, F-59655, Villeneuve d'Ascq Cedex, France.
authors.forename: Joël
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cuguen
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, 60637, USA.
authors.forename: Joy
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bergelson
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire Génétique et Evolution des Populations Végétales, UMR CNRS 8198, Université des Sciences et Technologies de Lille - Lille 1, F-59655, Villeneuve d'Ascq Cedex, France.
authors.forename: Fabrice
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Roux
mesh_terms: D000222:Adaptation, Physiological / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development; D002874:Chromosome Mapping; D002980:Climate; D017753:Ecosystem; D035264:Flowers / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development; D014644:Genetic Variation; D005828:Genetics, Population; D018745:Genome, Plant; D055106:Genome-Wide Association Study; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; D012641:Selection, Genetic
keywords: Arabidopsis thaliana; adaptation; ecology; flowering time; selection