Biology subjects

Dostalek, T.

Publications and source records attributed to Dostalek, T..

4 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2022

Differential effect of climate on structural and biochemical plant traits

Exploring patterns and causes of intraspecific trait variation is crucial for a better understanding of the effects of climate change on plant populations and ecosystems. However, our current understanding of the intraspecific trait variation is mainly based on structural (morphological) traits, and we have limited knowledge on patterns and causes of variation in biochemical traits (e.g., leaf pigments), which are also crucial for plant adaptation. As a result, we also do not know how similar the climatic effects on structural versus biochemical traits are. Using plant traits from 110 genotypes representing 11 Festuca rubra populations grown in 4 different climates, we studied trait covariation among structural traits (linked to fitness, resource use, gas exchange, and reproduction) and biochemical traits (linked to photosynthesis, photoprotection, and oxidative stress). We also disentangled the relative role of the climate of origin and the climate of cultivation in the structural versus biochemical traits and tested for adaptive plasticity in the traits. We found that 1) biochemical traits did not covary with structural traits and represent independent photoharvesting - photoprotection strategy dimension of functional variation; 2) interactive effects of climate of origin and cultivation were more pronounced for biochemical than structural traits. 3) Trait plasticity was affected by the climate of origin (precipitation and temperature as well as their interaction); 4) F. rubra showed both adaptive and mal-adaptive plasticity, and adaptiveness depended upon trait type, cultivation climate, and climate of origin. Overall, our results suggest that structural and biochemical plant traits respond differentially to climate and thus the response of one group of traits cannot be predicted from the other. Responses are also strongly determined by interactions between the climate of origin and cultivation. Thus, more studies on variation in biochemical traits, their correspondence to other traits, and their variation with climate are needed.

ecology↗

bioRxiv2021

Comparative transcriptomics of seven Impatiens species

Impatiens is a genus containing more than 1000 species. Thanks to its size, it is a unique system for studying species diversification in natural populations. This study focused on the characterization of novel transcriptomes from seven Impatiens species originating from Nepal. Leave transcriptome of Impatines balsamina L., I. racemosa DC., I. bicornuta Wall, I. falcifer Hook, I. devendrae Pusalkar, I. scullyi Hook and I. scabrida DC were sequenced and compared. Reads were de novo assembled and aligned to 92 035-226 081 contigs. We identified 14 728 orthology groups shared among all the species and 3 020 which were unique to a single species. In single species, 2536-3009 orthology groups were under selection from which 767 were common for all species. Six of the seven investigated species shared 77% of gene families with I. bicornuta being the most distinct species. Specific gene families involved in response to different environmental stimuli were closely described. Impatiens bicornuta selection profile shared selection on zing finger protein structures and flowering regulation and stress response proteins with the other investigated species. Overall, the study showed substantial similarity in patterns of selections on transcribed genes across the species suggesting similar evolutionary pressures. This suggests that the species group may have evolved via adaptive radiation.

plant biology↗

bioRxiv2019

Seed mass and plant origin interact to determine species germination patterns

Ongoing changes in temperature and precipitation regime may have strong impact on vulnerable life-history stages such as germination. Differences in germination patterns among species and populations may reflect their adaptation to conditions of their origin or may be determined by the phylogenetic constrains. These two effects are, however, rarely separated. All the germination patterns may also be modified by seed mass. We studied 40 populations of 14 species of Impatiens coming from Himalayas. Germination of seeds of different origin was tested in four target temperatures, three simulating original conditions plus a warmer climate change scenario. We also studied effect of shorter stratification and warmer temperature in combination as another possible effect of climate change. Original and target climate interacted and had strong impact on total germination, but not on germination speed and seed dormancy. Interaction between seed mass and original climate indicated different germination strategies in light and heavy seeds. Only seed mass was affected by phylogenetic relationships among the species, while germination response (with exception of T50) was driven primarily by climate of origin. This study is the first to show that the effect of seed mass interacts with original climate in determining species germination patterns under changing climate. The differences in seed mass are thus likely crucial for species ability to adapt to novel conditions as seed mass, unlike seed germination patterns, is strongly phylogenetically constrained. Further studies exploring how seed mass modifies species germination under changing climate are needed to confirm generality of these findings.

ecology↗

bioRxiv2019

Effects of temperature of plant cultivation on plant palatability modify species response to novel climate

Climate warming is expected to strengthen the plant-herbivore interactions and thus increase the plant consumption rate. However, indirect impacts of temperature (acting via changes in host plant quality) on herbivore performance have only rarely been studied, and therefore, the net effect of temperature change is difficult to predict. We thus tested the effects of temperature on plant palatability and assessed whether the effects can be explained by changes in leaf traits. We conducted multi-choice feeding experiments with six species of the genus Impatiens cultivated at three different temperatures in the growth chambers and in the experimental garden and also studied changes in leaf morphology and chemistry. The leaves of Impatiens species were most eaten when cultivated in the temperature predicted by climate warming scenario. We found the traits related to leaf morphology (SLA, LDMC and leaf size) partly mediated the effects of temperature on leaf herbivore damage. Herbivores preferred smaller leaves with lower SLA and higher LDMC values. Results of our study suggested that elevated temperature will lead to change in leaf traits and increase their palatability. This will further enhance the levels of herbivory caused by increased herbivore pressure under climate warming.

ecology↗