Adaptation and evolution along latitudinal cline of circumpolar element plants

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

Photoreceptors such as phytochromes and cryptochromes regulate germination and flowering via light signals, and play essential roles for plants by sensing surrounding environments and being able to present appropriate responses are essential for both survival and reproductive success of plants. We investigated PHYE alleles in Japanese endemic Cardamine nipponica and its sister taxon, C. bellidifolia, in higher latitude. PHYE alleles of C. nipponica from Northern Japan formed a robust clade with those of C. bellidifolia, while C. nipponica in central Japanese harbored isolated PHYE gene alleles. This study demonstrates that persistence of ancestral alleles can be attributed to the intraspecific variation in PHYE, representing a notable evolutionary process of phytochromes according to the environment factors in each latitude. These studies were conducted under collaboration between the Russian Academy of Sciences and/or Oslo University.