Landscape genomics analysis of Achyranthes bidentata reveal adaptive genetic variations are driven by environmental variations relating to ecological habit

Abstract

Knowledge on adaptive genetic variation in response to environmental variation is the key to understanding the adaptive evolution potential of species. China’s warm-temperate zone is an important climatic zone, but only a few landscape genomics studies have been conducted to understand the adaptive evolution of regional vegetation. In this study, natural populations of Achyranthes bidentata Blume were sampled in China’s warm-temperate zone to infer its adaptive evolution using landscape genomics methods. Four SCoT primers were used to investigate the adaptive evolution of A. bidentata in response to environmental variation across the warm-temperate zone of China. A total of 126 individuals from fifteen natural populations were successfully scored, and 202 unambiguous fragments were obtained. Twenty-three outlier loci were identified, eighteen outlier loci were significantly associated with environmental variables. Redundancy analytical results suggested that four environmental variables related to temperature and precipitation remarkably influenced the distribution of loci. The results provide empirical evidence that molecular markers with bias toward candidate functional genes might be suitable for landscape genomics studies. Temperature and precipitation jointly drive the adaptive evolution of A. bidentata. The key driving environmental factors identified in this study are mostly related to the ecological habit of A. bidentata. The species personality, i.e., ecological habit, seems to play an important role in the adaptive differentiation on A. bidentata.