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PMID: 21550682 Published · ppublish English Journal Article Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S. Review

Evolutionary genetics of plant adaptation.

Trends in genetics : TIG ·Vol. 27 ·No. 7 ·2011-07-00 ·Pages 258-66

Anderson JT, Willis JH, Mitchell-Olds T

Abstract

Plants provide unique opportunities to study the mechanistic basis and evolutionary processes of adaptation to diverse environmental conditions. Complementary laboratory and field experiments are important for testing hypotheses reflecting long-term ecological and evolutionary history. For example, these approaches can infer whether local adaptation results from genetic tradeoffs (antagonistic pleiotropy), where native alleles are best adapted to local conditions, or if local adaptation is caused by conditional neutrality at many loci, where alleles show fitness differences in one environment, but not in a contrasting environment. Ecological genetics in natural populations of perennial or outcrossing plants can also differ substantially from model systems. In this review of the evolutionary genetics of plant adaptation, we emphasize the importance of field studies for understanding the evolutionary dynamics of model and nonmodel systems, highlight a key life history trait (flowering time) and discuss emerging conservation issues.

MeSH Terms
Adaptation, Physiological Animals Biological Evolution Genetic Fitness Genotype Humans Models, Genetic Phenotype
Authors & Affiliations
3 authors, click to expand affiliations / ORCID
Anderson Jill T
Institute for Genome Sciences and Policy, Department of Biology, Duke University, P.O. Box 90338, Durham, NC 27708, USA.
Willis John H
Mitchell-Olds Thomas
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Article Info
Journal
Trends in genetics : TIG
Abbr.
Trends Genet
ISSN
0168-9525
DOI
10.1016/j.tig.2011.04.001
Published
2011-07-00
Pages
258-66
Language
English
Region
England
NLM ID
8507085
PMCID
PMC3123387
Subset
IM
Grants
NIGMS NIH HHS · R01 GM073990 · United States
NIGMS NIH HHS · R01 GM086496-03 · United States
NIGMS NIH HHS · R01 GM086496-02S1 · United States
NIGMS NIH HHS · R01 GM086496 · United States
NIGMS NIH HHS · GM073990 · United States
External Links
PubMed source DOI: 10.1016/j.tig.2011.04.001 PMC Full Text View journal details
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