Does genetic variation in controlled experiments predict phenology of wild plants?
Data files
Nov 21, 2025 version files 162.29 KB
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README.md
2.47 KB
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TableS2_FloweringExperimentData.2.1.csv
31.56 KB
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TableS3_PhenologyGermData.2.csv
128.26 KB
Abstract
Phenology and the timing of development are often under selection. However, the relative contributions of genotype, environment, and prior developmental transitions to variance in the phenology of wild plants is largely unknown. Individual components of phenology (e.g., germination) might be loosely related with the timing of maturation due to variation in prior developmental transitions. Given widespread evidence that genetic variation in life history is adaptive, we investigated to what degree experimentally measured genetic variation in Arabidopsis phenology predicts phenology of plants in the wild. As a proxy of phenology, we obtained collection dates from nature of 227 naturally inbred Arabidopsis thaliana accessions from across Eurasia. We compared this phenology in nature with experimental data on the descendant inbred lines that we synthesized from two new and 155 published controlled experiments. We tested whether the genetic variation in flowering and germination timing from experiments predicted the phenology of the same lines in nature. We found that genetic variation in phenology from controlled experiments significantly predicts day of collection from wild individuals, as a proxy for date of flowering, across Eurasia. However, local variation in collection dates within a region was not explained by genetic variance in phenology in experiments, suggesting high plasticity across small-scale environmental gradients or complex interactions between the timing of different developmental transitions. While experiments have shown phenology is under selection, understanding the subtle environmental and stochastic effects on phenology may help to clarify the heritability and evolution of phenological traits in nature.
Dataset DOI: 10.5061/dryad.612jm64k2
Description of the data and file structure
These tables represent data from flowering time and seed germination experiments on a set of diverse Arabidopsis ecotypes.
Files and variables
File: TableS2_FloweringExperimentData.2.1.csv
Description: Flowering time data on diverse Arabidopsis ecotypes.
Variables
- Ecotype: the text name of the natural inbred line.
- Line: the stock center number of the natural inbred line.
- Rep: the replicate plant
- Tray: tray where planted
- Stratification_Date: date seeds stratified
- Planting_Date: date seeds sown
- Covers_Off: when humidity domes were removed
- RandomizedThinned: when pots positions were randomized and seedlings thinned.
- NewPosition: when positions were shifted again.
- Germinated1.24.18: if germinated on this date.
- SickDead1.24.18: if sick or dead on this date.
- Alive3.1.18: if alive on this date.
- Bolting: date when bolting recorded.
- Petals: date when petals visible.
- SeedsFinished: date when seeds done maturing.
- Harvested: date when seeds harvested.
- BoltJulday: julian day of bolting.
- PetalJulday: julian day of petal emergence.
- Latitude: latitude of ecotype collection.
- Longitude: longitude of ecotype collection.
- Elevation: elevation of ecotype collection.
File: TableS3_PhenologyGermData.2.csv
Description: Germination data on diverse Arabidopsis ecotypes.
Variables
- CSID: stock center ID of natural inbred line.
- Ecotype: the text name of the natural inbred line.
- Maternal: the maternal plant within ecotype from which seed was collected.
- Rep: the replicate dish.
- Treatment: the cold stratification treatment received.
- Shelf: shelf where positioned in growth chamber.
- Column: column where positioned on shelf.
- Row: row where positioned on shelf.
- Day1: number germinated on day 1.
- notes: notes on day 1.
- Day3: number germinated on day 3.
- notes: notes on day 3.
- Day5: number germinated on day 5.
- notes: notes on day 5.
- Day10: number germinated on day 10.
- notes: notes on day 10.
- Day14: number germinated on day 14.
- notes: notes on day 14.
- Day21: number germinated on day 21.
- notes: notes on day 21.
- Day28: number germinated on day 28.
- notes: notes on day 28.
- totalseed: total seeds on dish.
- totalgerm: total germinated.