10.5061/DRYAD.TH8B5
Rubin, Matthew J.
University of Wyoming
Brock, Marcus T.
University of Wyoming
Davis, Amanda M.
University of York
Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research
German, Zachary M.
Colorado State University
Knapp, Mary
Kansas State University
Welch, Stephen M.
Kansas State University
Harmer, Stacey L.
University of California, Davis
Maloof, Julin N.
University of California, Davis
Davis, Seth J.
University of York
Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research
Weinig, Cynthia
University of Wyoming
Data from: Circadian rhythms vary over the growing season and correlate
with fitness components
Dryad
dataset
2017
Arabidopsis thaliana
National Science Foundation
https://ror.org/021nxhr62
IOS-0923752, IOS-1025965
2017-07-26T13:23:27Z
2017-07-26T13:23:27Z
en
https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.14287
41998 bytes
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CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication
Circadian clocks have evolved independently in all three domains of life,
suggesting that internal mechanisms of time-keeping are adaptive in
contemporary populations. However, the performance consequences of either
discrete or quantitative clock variation have rarely been tested in field
settings. Clock sensitivity of diverse segregating lines to the
environment remains uncharacterized as do the statistical genetic
parameters that determine evolutionary potential. In field studies with
Arabidopsis thaliana, we found that major perturbations to circadian cycle
length (referred to as clock period) via mutation reduce both survival and
fecundity. Subtler adjustments via genomic introgression of naturally
occurring alleles indicated that clock periods slightly >24 hrs
were adaptive, consistent with prior models describing how well the timing
of biological processes is adjusted within a diurnal cycle (referred to as
phase). In segregating recombinant inbred lines (RILs), circadian phase
varied up to two hours across months of the growing season, and both
period and phase expressed significant genetic variances. Performance
metrics including developmental rate, size, and fruit set were described
by principal components (PC) analyses and circadian parameters correlated
with the first PC, such that period lengths slightly >24 hrs were
associated with improved performance in multiple RIL sets. These
experiments translate functional analyses of clock behavior performed in
controlled settings to natural ones, demonstrating that quantitative
variation in circadian phase is highly responsive to seasonally variable
abiotic factors. The results expand upon prior studies in controlled
settings, showing that discrete and quantitative variation in clock
phenotypes correlate with performance in nature.
Trait means for circadian NILs, mutants and RIL setsGenotypic means for
all traits and PCAs.Rubin et al. Molecular Ecology Data.xlsx