Extra chromosome sets help invasive plants spread farther
Guo Q, Qian H, Qian S
Invasive Species
The aggressive weed choking out your garden bed or the invasive vine swallowing the fence line down the street may owe its unstoppable spread to a genetic quirk: extra copies of its entire chromosome set.
Researchers looked at chromosome counts for 1,804 plant species that arrived in North America from elsewhere and found that 54% of them carry duplicated sets of chromosomes, a condition called polyploidy. Plants with more chromosome sets tended to spread across bigger ranges, and herbaceous plants like weeds and grasses were far more likely to have multiple ploidy levels than trees and shrubs. This helps explain why some introduced plants become widespread pests while others stay put.
Key Findings
54% of 1,804 non-native plant species studied were polyploid (carrying extra chromosome sets)
Herbaceous species had a much higher proportion of multiple ploidy levels than woody species like trees and shrubs
Higher ploidy levels correlated with larger geographic range size, and seed size varied clearly across ploidy levels though not with raw chromosome number
chevron_right Technical Summary
Scientists studying nearly 1,800 non-native plant species in North America found that over half are polyploid (carry extra sets of chromosomes), and those with more chromosome sets tend to spread over larger areas, suggesting polyploidy helps plants become successful invaders.
Abstract Preview
Original paper
Links of ploidy with other traits and distributions of non-native plants in North America.
Polyploidization is becoming an increasingly important subject in ecology and invasion biology. To date, the role of polyploidy in the success of species invasions remains unclear. Here, we explore...
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