10.5061/DRYAD.391DJ
Couceiro, Lucía
Sorbonne University
Le Gac, Mickael
Sorbonne University
Hunsperger, Heather M.
University of Washington
Sorbonne University
Mauger, Stéphane
Sorbonne University
Destombe, Christophe
Sorbonne University
Cock, J. Mark
Sorbonne University
Ahmed, Sophia
University of Leeds
Sorbonne University
Coelho, Susana M.
Sorbonne University
Valero, Myriam
Sorbonne University
Peters, Akira F.
Bezhin Rosko; 29250 Santec France
Data from: Evolution and maintenance of haploid-diploid life cycles in
natural populations: the case of the marine brown alga Ectocarpus
Dryad
dataset
2015
Ectocarpus siliculosus
reproductive strategies
Sex
Ectocarpus crouaniorum
2015-06-08T16:42:40Z
2015-06-08T16:42:40Z
en
https://doi.org/10.1111/evo.12702
324417 bytes
1
CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication
The evolutionary stability of haploid-diploid life cycles is still
controversial. Mathematical models indicate that niche differences between
ploidy phases may be a necessary condition for the evolution and
maintenance of these life cycles. Nevertheless, experimental support for
this prediction remains elusive. In the present work, we explored this
hypothesis in natural populations of the brown alga Ectocarpus. Consistent
with the life cycle described in culture, E. crouaniorum in NW France and
E. siliculosus in SW Italy exhibited an alternation between haploid
gametophytes and diploid sporophytes. Our field data invalidated, however,
the long-standing view of an isomorphic alternation of generations.
Gametophytes and sporophytes displayed marked differences in size and,
conforming to theoretical predictions, occupied different spatio-temporal
niches. Gametophytes were found almost exclusively on the alga Scytosiphon
lomentaria during spring while sporophytes were present year-round on
abiotic substrata. Paradoxically, E. siliculosus in NW France exhibited
similar habitat usage despite the absence of alternation of ploidy phases.
Diploid sporophytes grew both epilithically and epiphytically, and this
mainly-asexual population gained the same ecological advantage postulated
for haploid-diploid populations. Consequently, an ecological
interpretation of the niche differences between haploid and diploid
individuals does not seem to satisfactorily explain the evolution of the
Ectocarpus life cycle.
Dataset Couceiro et al. 2015
SW Italy
Naples
NW France
Roscoff