Abstract Detail

The Botany of Invasions

Sutherland, Brittany [1], Beck, James [2], Sigel, Erin [3].

Comparative genomics of the heterosporous aquatic ferns Salvinia molesta and S. minima in the southeastern United States invasive range.

Species that share similar niches and evolutionary histories may nevertheless exhibit different patterns of invasibility. This is the case in the southeastern United States, where the invasive aquatic ferns Salvinia molesta and Salvinia minima have spread rampantly in many slow flowing swamps and marshes. Sympatric in both their native range in South America and their invasive range in the southeastern United States, both species are polyploids-S. molesta is of putative hybrid origin-and both have a largely clonal reproductive strategy facilitated by fragmentation. Despite these similarities, S. molesta and S. minima have very different histories of and tendencies toward invasion. Salvinia molesta has established widespread invasive ranges in all continents except Antarctica, and its invasion of the United States has progressed quickly since its introduction in the 1990s.   Salvinia molesta is now among the IUCN's list of 100 most invasive species. By contrast, S. minima was introduced to the United States approximately 50-70 years earlier but has a much smaller invasive range and is considered a noxious weed in only a handful of states along the Gulf of Mexico. Interestingly, individuals with putatively intermediate phenotypes have been identified, raising the possibility of introgression between these taxa in their invasive range. To better understand the differences in their histories of invasion and to detect putative interspecific gene flow between S. molesta and S. minima, we have developed two species-specific sets of hybridization capture by restriction-site associated DNA sequencing (i.e., hyRAD) probes for reduced-representation sequencing. To date, we have sequenced S. molesta and S. minima individuals sampled from sympatric populations in Texas and Louisiana. These probe sets will facilitate population genomics and comparative genomics studies of the two species, ultimately yielding insights into the evolutionary forces driving their patterns of invasion.

Related Links:
Consortium for Plant Invasion Genomics

1 - University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Biology, Billeaud Hall, Rm. 108, 410 E. St. Mary Blvd., Lafayette, LA, 70503, USA
2 - Wichita State University, Department of Biological Sciences, 537 Hubbard Hall, Campus Box 26, 1845 Fairmount St., Wichita, KS, 67260, USA
3 - University of New Hampshire, Department of Biological Sciences, Spaulding Hall, 38 Academic Way, Durham, NH, 03824, USA

Keywords:
none specified

Presentation Type: Symposium Presentation
Session: SY2, The Botany of Invasions
Location: /
Date: Monday, July 19th, 2021
Time: 12:30 PM(EDT)
Number: SY2006
Abstract ID:977
Candidate for Awards:None