Abstract
Quercus variabilis Blume is one of the most ecologically valuable tree species in China and is known to have adaptive mechanisms to climate change. Our objective was to quantify the variation pattern in the fruit morphology of Q. variabilis. Fruit samples were collected from 43 natural populations in autumn of 2019. Our results indicated that the coefficient of variation (CV) of the fruit length (FL) and fruit width (FW) were 10.08% and 11.21%, respectively. There were significant differences in the FL, FW, and fruit length-to-width ratios (FL/FW) among the studied populations. Also, there was a significant positive correlation between the FW and FL. The FL decreased with increasing precipitation in the wettest quarter (PWQ). A concave trend was observed in the variations in FL with the equivalent latitude (ELAT), longitude (LON), annual mean air temperature (MAT), and annual precipitation (AP). A similar concave trend was observed for the FL/FW with LON, MAT, and AP. A positive correlation was observed between the FW, FL and FL/FW, and the ELAT. The cluster analysis revealed five groups of the 43 natural populations. Our study findings suggests that Q. variabilis has high levels of phenotypic plasticity for geographical and climatic factors.
Highlights
Phenotypic variation among a population of the same species usually reflects the plant’s response to different environmental pressures [1,2]
To understand the morphological variation of Q. variabilis fruits due to environmental influences, we asked: what is the degree of fruit phenotypic diversity within and among populations of Q. variabilis? What are the factors playing key roles in the fruit morphological variation of the Q. variabilis population? the aim of this study was to quantify the phenotypic diversity of Q. variabilis fruits and the response to climate factors
We revealed that there was a significant correlation between Q. variabilis fruit width and fruit length of Q. variabilis (R2 = 0.17, p ≤ 0.0001) (Figure S2)
Summary
Phenotypic variation among a population of the same species usually reflects the plant’s response to different environmental pressures [1,2]. The phenotypic diversitycommonly refers to leaf, flower, fruit, and seed morphology [3,4,5,6,7,8]. Seed phenotype is malleable to changes in the environment that allow the plant to be better fitted to environmental conditions [1]. Studying the variation pattern of seed morphology and its relationship with environmental factors helps in the understanding of plant plasticity in response to changes in environmental factors and reveals the role of genetics and the environment in plant ecological adaptation [12]. The diversity of fruit morphology often indicates adaptation to different dispersal modes [13]. Wu et al [20] indicated that fruit size (length and width) decreased with longitude from west to east. Populations from forests of mesophilic character were characterized with larger fruits [23]
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