Variability in Functional Traits along an Environmental Gradient in the South African Resurrection Plant Myrothamnus flabellifolia

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dc.contributor.authorMarks, Rose A
dc.contributor.authorMbobe, Mpho
dc.contributor.authorGreyling, Marilize
dc.contributor.authorPretorius, Jennie
dc.contributor.authorMcLetchie, David Nicholas
dc.contributor.authorVanBuren, Robert
dc.contributor.authorFarrant, Jill M
dc.date.accessioned2022-08-31T20:23:43Z
dc.date.available2022-08-31T20:23:43Z
dc.date.issued2022-05-18
dc.date.updated2022-05-27T13:37:13Z
dc.description.abstractMany desiccation-tolerant plants are widely distributed and exposed to substantial environmental variation across their native range. These environmental differences generate site-specific selective pressures that could drive natural variation in desiccation tolerance across populations. If identified, such natural variation can be used to target tolerance-enhancing characteristics and identify trait associations within a common genetic background. Here, we tested for natural variation in desiccation tolerance across wild populations of the South African resurrection plant <i>Myrothamnus flabellifolia</i>. We surveyed a suite of functional traits related to desiccation tolerance, leaf economics, and reproductive allocation in <i>M. flabellifolia</i> to test for trait associations and tradeoffs. Despite considerable environmental variation across the study area, <i>M. flabellifolia</i> plants were extremely desiccation tolerant at all sites, suggesting that tolerance is either maintained by selection or fixed in these populations. However, we detected notable associations between environmental variation, population characteristics, and fitness traits. Relative to mesic sites, plants in xeric sites were more abundant and larger, but were slower growing and less reproductive. The negative association between growth and reproduction with plant size and abundance pointed towards a potential growth&ndash;abundance tradeoff. The finding that <i>M. flabellifolia</i> is more common in xeric sites despite reductions in growth rate and reproduction suggests that these plants thrive in extreme aridity.en_US
dc.identifierdoi: 10.3390/plants11101332
dc.identifier.apacitationMarks, R. A., Mbobe, M., Greyling, M., Pretorius, J., McLetchie, D. N., VanBuren, R., & Farrant, J. M. (2022). Variability in Functional Traits along an Environmental Gradient in the South African Resurrection Plant Myrothamnus flabellifolia. <i>Plants</i>, 11(10), 1332. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/36788en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationMarks, Rose A, Mpho Mbobe, Marilize Greyling, Jennie Pretorius, David Nicholas McLetchie, Robert VanBuren, and Jill M Farrant "Variability in Functional Traits along an Environmental Gradient in the South African Resurrection Plant Myrothamnus flabellifolia." <i>Plants</i> 11, 10. (2022): 1332. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/36788en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationMarks, R.A., Mbobe, M., Greyling, M., Pretorius, J., McLetchie, D.N., VanBuren, R. & Farrant, J.M. 2022. Variability in Functional Traits along an Environmental Gradient in the South African Resurrection Plant Myrothamnus flabellifolia. <i>Plants.</i> 11(10):1332. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/36788en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Journal Article AU - Marks, Rose A AU - Mbobe, Mpho AU - Greyling, Marilize AU - Pretorius, Jennie AU - McLetchie, David Nicholas AU - VanBuren, Robert AU - Farrant, Jill M AB - Many desiccation-tolerant plants are widely distributed and exposed to substantial environmental variation across their native range. These environmental differences generate site-specific selective pressures that could drive natural variation in desiccation tolerance across populations. If identified, such natural variation can be used to target tolerance-enhancing characteristics and identify trait associations within a common genetic background. Here, we tested for natural variation in desiccation tolerance across wild populations of the South African resurrection plant <i>Myrothamnus flabellifolia</i>. We surveyed a suite of functional traits related to desiccation tolerance, leaf economics, and reproductive allocation in <i>M. flabellifolia</i> to test for trait associations and tradeoffs. Despite considerable environmental variation across the study area, <i>M. flabellifolia</i> plants were extremely desiccation tolerant at all sites, suggesting that tolerance is either maintained by selection or fixed in these populations. However, we detected notable associations between environmental variation, population characteristics, and fitness traits. Relative to mesic sites, plants in xeric sites were more abundant and larger, but were slower growing and less reproductive. The negative association between growth and reproduction with plant size and abundance pointed towards a potential growth&ndash;abundance tradeoff. The finding that <i>M. flabellifolia</i> is more common in xeric sites despite reductions in growth rate and reproduction suggests that these plants thrive in extreme aridity. DA - 2022-05-18 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town IS - 10 J1 - Plants LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PY - 2022 T1 - Variability in Functional Traits along an Environmental Gradient in the South African Resurrection Plant Myrothamnus flabellifolia TI - Variability in Functional Traits along an Environmental Gradient in the South African Resurrection Plant Myrothamnus flabellifolia UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/36788 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/36788
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationMarks RA, Mbobe M, Greyling M, Pretorius J, McLetchie DN, VanBuren R, et al. Variability in Functional Traits along an Environmental Gradient in the South African Resurrection Plant Myrothamnus flabellifolia. Plants. 2022;11(10):1332. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/36788.en_ZA
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.publisher.departmentDepartment of Molecular and Cell Biologyen_US
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Scienceen_US
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/en_US
dc.sourcePlantsen_US
dc.source.journalissue10en_US
dc.source.journalvolume11en_US
dc.source.pagination1332en_US
dc.source.urihttps://www.mdpi.com/journal/plants
dc.titleVariability in Functional Traits along an Environmental Gradient in the South African Resurrection Plant Myrothamnus flabellifoliaen_US
dc.typeJournal Articleen_US
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