Genotype accounts for intraspecific variation in the timing and duration of multiple, sequential life-cycle events in a willow species

Amy M. Iler*, Paul J. CaraDonna, Lea K. Richardson, Elizabeth T. Wu, Jeremie B. Fant, Kelly C. Pfeiler, Grace A. Freymiller, Kimber N. Godfrey, Alexander J. Gorman, Nicholas Wilson, Malachi D. Whitford, Grant A. Edmonds, Conner Stratton, Erik S. Jules

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Premise: Phenological variation among individuals within populations is common and has a variety of ecological and evolutionary consequences, including forming the basis for population-level responses to environmental change. Although the timing of life-cycle events has genetic underpinnings, whether intraspecific variation in the duration of life-cycle events reflects genetic differences among individuals is poorly understood. Methods: We used a common garden experiment with 10 genotypes of Salix hookeriana (coastal willow) from northern California, United States to investigate the extent to which genetic variation explains intraspecific variation in the timing and duration of multiple, sequential life-cycle events: flowering, leaf budbreak, leaf expansion, fruiting, and fall leaf coloration. We used seven clones of each genotype, for a total of 70 individual trees. Results: Genotype affected each sequential life-cycle event independently and explained on average 62% of the variation in the timing and duration of vegetative and reproductive life-cycle events. All events were significantly heritable. A single genotype tended to be “early” or “late” across life-cycle events, but for event durations, there was no consistent response within genotypes. Conclusions: This research demonstrates that genetic variation can be a major component underlying intraspecific variation in the timing and duration of life-cycle events. It is often assumed that the environment affects durations, but we show that genetic factors also play a role. Because the timing and duration of events are independent of one another, our results suggest that the effects of environmental change on one event will not necessarily cascade to subsequent events.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article numbere16112
JournalAmerican Journal of Botany
Volume110
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Feb 2023

Funding

We thank Greg Crutsinger for his instrumental work helping to design this study and Matt Barbour for his earlier work on the study system and helpful discussions. Personnel at the Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge helped with the development and maintenance of the study for many years. In particular, we thank Eric Nelson, the Refuge Manager, for his help. We also thank the Iler + CaraDonna Lab Group for constructive feedback on early drafts of the manuscript. This work was partially funded by a COFUND‐Marie Curie Fellowship to AMI (AIAS‐COFUND program, Grant 609033). Finally, we thank two anonymous reviewers whose comments improved the manuscript. We thank Greg Crutsinger for his instrumental work helping to design this study and Matt Barbour for his earlier work on the study system and helpful discussions. Personnel at the Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge helped with the development and maintenance of the study for many years. In particular, we thank Eric Nelson, the Refuge Manager, for his help. We also thank the Iler + CaraDonna Lab Group for constructive feedback on early drafts of the manuscript. This work was partially funded by a COFUND-Marie Curie Fellowship to AMI (AIAS-COFUND program, Grant 609033). Finally, we thank two anonymous reviewers whose comments improved the manuscript.

Keywords

  • National Phenology Network
  • Salicaceae
  • Salix hookeriana
  • coastal willow
  • genetic variation
  • heritability
  • phenology
  • plasticity

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Genetics
  • Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
  • Plant Science

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Genotype accounts for intraspecific variation in the timing and duration of multiple, sequential life-cycle events in a willow species'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this