Invasive weed's offspring adapt differently depending on parent population
Malka S, Distelfeld A, Matzrafi M
Invasive Species
If you've noticed an aggressive weed popping up earlier each year in a field or roadside, this research shows some invasive plants can literally program their offspring's timing based on what the parent experienced, making them frustratingly hard to predict and control.
Scientists studied five populations of a nasty invasive weed called Parthenium hysterophorus growing across Israel, comparing wild-collected seeds to seeds grown from those plants in a greenhouse. One population, from a brutally dry area, changed how fast its seeds sprouted and grew 25% bigger when grown in gentler greenhouse conditions, essentially prepping its offspring based on what mom experienced. Another population barely changed at all, sticking to a fixed developmental script no matter what. This tells us the weed uses different playbooks in different places to keep spreading successfully.
Key Findings
Five Parthenium hysterophorus populations in northern Israel showed significant phenological differences in emergence, bolting, flowering, height, and biomass over a three-year study.
The Tirat Zvi population (from an arid environment, the earliest known Israeli introduction) showed transgenerational shifts in emergence timing and a 25% biomass increase under greenhouse conditions, while keeping flowering timing fixed.
The Ha'Hotrim population showed minimal transgenerational plasticity, with only bolting timing changing significantly, suggesting reliance on fixed developmental programming instead of maternal environmental cues.
chevron_right Technical Summary
A highly invasive weed spreading across Israel has evolved different survival strategies in different populations: some adjust their offspring's growth timing based on the parent's environment, while others stay rigidly fixed regardless of conditions. This flexibility helps explain how the plant so successfully invades new territory.
Abstract Preview
Original paper
Uncovering transgenerational phenotypic variation in Parthenium hysterophorus populations in Israel.
Invasive Parthenium hysterophorus achieves rapid colonization via phenological divergence and population-specific transgenerational plasticity, balancing maternal environmental effects with rigid d...
open_in_new Read full abstractAbstract copyright held by the original publisher.
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Parthenium hysterophorus is a herbaceous, flowering weed species in the family Asteraceae. It is one of the most common weeds across the globe. It is best known as Santa Maria feverfew, but is also referred to as Santa-Maria, whitetop weed, famine weed and congress grass. It is native to the Amer...