Phenotypic plasticity in diaspore production of a amphi-basicarpic cold desert annual that produces polymorphic diaspores

Lu Gan,Juanjuan Lu,Jerry M Baskin,Dunyan Tan,Carol C Baskin

doi:10.1038/s41598-020-67380-0

Lu Gan, Juanjuan Lu + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-67380-0

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Abstract

Phenotypic plasticity has been studied in diaspore-dimorphic species, but no such study has been done on a diaspore-polymorphic species. Our aim was to determine the effects of abiotic and biotic factors on phenotypic plasticity of the diaspore-polymorphic cold desert annual Ceratocarpus arenarius. Plants produced from dispersal units near the soil surface (a, basicarps) and at the middle (c) and upper (f) parts of the plant canopy were subjected to different levels of soil moisture, nutrient supply and intramorph and intermorph densities. Different levels of these biotic and abiotic factors resulted in significant variation in total plant mass, diaspore mass, mass allocation to stem and reproductive organs and total number and proportion of morphs a, c and f on an individual. The effect of stress on number and mass of a dispersal unit morph varied by treatment, with dispersal unit f having the highest CV and dispersal unit a the lowest. The success of this diaspore polymorphic species in its rainfall-unpredictable environment likely is enhanced by plasticity in production of the different types of diaspores.

Highlights

Phenotypic plasticity has been studied in diaspore-dimorphic species, but no such study has been done on a diaspore-polymorphic species
Total plant dry mass and mass of reproductive organs were significantly affected by different levels of all treatments in all harvested plants, except D1 (Fig. 2A) for plants derived from dispersal unit morph c, D 2(a:c) and D 2(a:f) (Fig. 2B) for plants from all dispersal unit morphs and D 3 (Fig. 2C) for plants derived from dispersal unit morph c (Fig. 3)
In the nutrient supply treatment, the highest allocation to reproductive organs occurred in different nutrient levels for plants derived from the three dispersal unit morphs (Fig. 4B)

Summary

Introduction

Phenotypic plasticity has been studied in diaspore-dimorphic species, but no such study has been done on a diaspore-polymorphic species. Plants produced from dispersal units near the soil surface (a, basicarps) and at the middle (c) and upper (f) parts of the plant canopy were subjected to different levels of soil moisture, nutrient supply and intramorph and intermorph densities Different levels of these biotic and abiotic factors resulted in significant variation in total plant mass, diaspore mass, mass allocation to stem and reproductive organs and total number and proportion of morphs a, c and f on an individual. The effect of stress on number and mass of a dispersal unit morph varied by treatment, with dispersal unit f having the highest CV and dispersal unit a the lowest The success of this diaspore polymorphic species in its rainfall-unpredictable environment likely is enhanced by plasticity in production of the different types of diaspores.

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