COVER MAY 2024 & Special Issue

Submitted by editor on 14 May 2024.Get the paper!

SPECIAL ISSUE: The role of whole genome duplication in evolutionary ecology
 

Polyploid organisms are common and can be found across the tree of life. A key question is to understand how and why these polyploid lineages become established and persist in populations, particularly since they are predicted to have a low probability of success. While the collection of papers in this special issue addresses broad questions on the evolutionary ecology of polyploids, ultimately, these studies also highlight the myriad ways that we are examining what drives the success of polyploid lineages. In this paper, we consider where we’ve been and the challenges that we face, and then propose several directions that will allow us to continue to propel the field towards our ultimate goal of understanding the rules that govern the establishment and persistence of polyploid populations. We conclude that developing this rule set will require a combination of model systems for which we have detailed knowledge of the phylogenetic and population genetic history, expanding our perspective beyond plants to include greater taxonomic breadth, and conducting studies in ecologically relevant settings. Additionally, we argue that future research on the evolutionary ecology of polyploidy should focus on integrating theory and empirical research, providing mechanistic linkages between the effects of whole genome duplication and population demography, and build a predictive framework to understand how anthropogenic change will impact polyploid organisms.

Keywords: niche divergence, phenotype, polyploidy, population establishment, species interactions, whole genome duplication

 

Read the editorial → https://doi.org/10.1111/oik.10804

Take a look at the papers IN this special issue:

  • Divergence in cold tolerance promotes niche differentiation between diploid and polyploid kiwifruits along an altitudinal gradient in Southwest China by Yang et al. 2024 → https://doi.org/10.1111/oik.10181
  • Adaptive differentiation on serpentine soil in diploid versus autotetraploid populations of Biscutella laevigata (Brassicaceae) by Bürki et al. 2023 → https://doi.org/10.1111/oik.09834 #OpenAccess
  • Polyploidy-induced floral changes lead to unexpected pollinator behavior in Arabidopsis arenosa by Schmikl et al. 2024 → https://doi.org/10.1111/oik.10267 #OpenAccess
  • Investigating the effects of whole genome duplication on phenotypic plasticity: implications for the invasion success of giant goldenrod Solidago gigantea by Walczyc et al. 2023 → https://doi.org/10.1111/oik.09990
  • Differences in pathogen resistance between diploid and polyploid plants: a systematic review and meta-analysis by Hagen and Mason 2023 → https://doi.org/10.1111/oik.09908
  • Competitive ability, neopolyploid establishment and current distribution of a diploid–tetraploid plant complex by Castro et al. 2023 → https://doi.org/10.1111/oik.09949

  • Differentiation of rhizosphere fungal assemblages by host ploidy level in mixed-ploidy Larrea tridentata populations by Gerstner et al. 2023 → https://doi.org/10.1111/oik.09856

 

Categories: 
General

Comments