title: Altitudinal and climatic associations of seed dormancy and flowering traits evidence adaptation of annual life cycle timing in Arabidopsis thaliana.
abstract: The temporal control or timing of the life cycle of annual plants is presumed to provide adaptive strategies to escape harsh environments for survival and reproduction. This is mainly determined by the timing of germination, which is controlled by the level of seed dormancy, and of flowering initiation. However, the environmental factors driving the evolution of plant life cycles remain largely unknown. To address this question we have analysed nine quantitative life history traits, in a native regional collection of 300 wild accessions of Arabidopsis thaliana. Seed dormancy and flowering time were negatively correlated, indicating that these traits have coevolved. In addition, environmental-phenotypic analyses detected strong altitudinal and climatic clines for most life history traits. Overall, accessions showing life cycles with early flowering, small seeds, high seed dormancy and slow germination rate were associated with locations exposed to high temperature, low summer precipitation and high radiation. Furthermore, we analysed the expression level of the positive regulator of seed dormancy DELAY OF GERMINATION 1 (DOG1), finding similar but weaker altitudinal and climatic patterns than seed dormancy. Therefore, DOG1 regulatory mutations are likely to provide a quantitative molecular mechanism for the adaptation of A. thaliana life cycle to altitude and climate.
authors.affiliation: Wageningen Seed Lab, Laboratory of Plant Physiology, Wageningen University, 6708 PB, Wageningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Deborah S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Vidigal
authors.affiliation: Wageningen Seed Lab, Laboratory of Plant Physiology, Wageningen University, 6708 PB, Wageningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Alexandre C S S
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Marques
authors.affiliation: Wageningen Seed Lab, Laboratory of Plant Physiology, Wageningen University, 6708 PB, Wageningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Leo A J
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Willems
authors.affiliation: Wageningen Seed Lab, Laboratory of Plant Physiology, Wageningen University, 6708 PB, Wageningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Gonda
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Buijs
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Genética Molecular de Plantas, Centro Nacional de Biotecnología (CNB), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Madrid, 28049, Spain.
authors.forename: Belén
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Méndez-Vigo
authors.affiliation: Wageningen Seed Lab, Laboratory of Plant Physiology, Wageningen University, 6708 PB, Wageningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Henk W M
authors.initials: HW
authors.lastname: Hilhorst
authors.affiliation: Wageningen Seed Lab, Laboratory of Plant Physiology, Wageningen University, 6708 PB, Wageningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Leónie
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bentsink
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Ecología Integrativa, Estación Biológica de Doñana (EBD), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Sevilla, 41092, Spain.
authors.forename: F Xavier
authors.initials: FX
authors.lastname: Picó
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Genética Molecular de Plantas, Centro Nacional de Biotecnología (CNB), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Madrid, 28049, Spain.
authors.forename: Carlos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Alonso-Blanco
mesh_terms: D000220:Adaptation, Biological; D000531:Altitude; D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development*; D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D005075:Biological Evolution; D002980:Climate; D035264:Flowers / Q000502:physiology*; D018525:Germination; D008018:Life Cycle Stages; D057445:Plant Dormancy
chemical_list: D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins; C532384:DOG1 protein, Arabidopsis
keywords: DELAY OF GERMINATION 1 (DOG1); cis-regulation; climate; flowering time; natural variation