title: Natural genetic variation in Arabidopsis thaliana defense metabolism genes modulates field fitness.
abstract: Natural populations persist in complex environments, where biotic stressors, such as pathogen and insect communities, fluctuate temporally and spatially. These shifting biotic pressures generate heterogeneous selective forces that can maintain standing natural variation within a species. To directly test if genes containing causal variation for the Arabidopsis thaliana defensive compounds, glucosinolates (GSL) control field fitness and are therefore subject to natural selection, we conducted a multi-year field trial using lines that vary in only specific causal genes. Interestingly, we found that variation in these naturally polymorphic GSL genes affected fitness in each of our environments but the pattern fluctuated such that highly fit genotypes in one trial displayed lower fitness in another and that no GSL genotype or genotypes consistently out-performed the others. This was true both across locations and within the same location across years. These results indicate that environmental heterogeneity may contribute to the maintenance of GSL variation observed within Arabidopsis thaliana.
authors: Department of Plant Sciences, University of California, Davis, Davis, United States.
authors: Rachel
authors: R
authors: Kerwin
authors: Department of Plant Sciences, University of California, Davis, Davis, United States.
authors: Julie
authors: J
authors: Feusier
authors: Department of Plant Sciences, University of California, Davis, Davis, United States.
authors: Jason
authors: J
authors: Corwin
authors: Department of Botany, University of Wyoming, Laramie, United States.
authors: Matthew
authors: M
authors: Rubin
authors: Department of Plant Sciences, University of California, Davis, Davis, United States.
authors: Catherine
authors: C
authors: Lin
authors: Department of Plant Sciences, University of California, Davis, Davis, United States.
authors: Alise
authors: A
authors: Muok
authors: Department of Plant Sciences, University of California, Davis, Davis, United States.
authors: Brandon
authors: B
authors: Larson
authors: Department of Plant Sciences, University of California, Davis, Davis, United States.
authors: Baohua
authors: B
authors: Li
authors: Department of Plant Sciences, University of California, Davis, Davis, United States.
authors: Bindu
authors: B
authors: Joseph
authors: Department of Plant Sciences, University of California, Davis, Davis, United States.
authors: Marta
authors: M
authors: Francisco
authors: Department of Plant Sciences, University of California, Davis, Davis, United States.
authors: Daniel
authors: D
authors: Copeland
authors: Department of Genetics, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, United States.
authors: Cynthia
authors: C
authors: Weinig
authors: Department of Plant Sciences, University of California, Davis, Davis, United States.
authors: Daniel J
authors: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5759-3175
authors: DJ
authors: Kliebenstein
mesh_terms: D000483:Alleles; D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D060146:Ecotype; D004777:Environment; D035264:Flowers / Q000235:genetics; D059647:Gene-Environment Interaction; D017343:Genes, Plant; D056084:Genetic Fitness; D056426:Genetic Loci; D058685:Genetic Pleiotropy; D014644:Genetic Variation; D005961:Glucosinolates / Q000096:biosynthesis; D006239:Haplotypes / Q000235:genetics; D010641:Phenotype; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000235:genetics; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D025341:Principal Component Analysis; D019655:Quantitative Trait, Heritable
chemical_list: D005961:Glucosinolates
keywords: arabidopsis; ecology; evolutionary biology; fitness; genomics; glucosinolates; herbivory; natural variation; plant defense