Maurizio Rossetto_Floristic and functional turnover across elevation gradients
1. Floristic, genomic and
functional turnover across
elevation gradients
Marlien van der Merwe
Hannah McPherson
Maurizio Rossetto
NATIONAL HERBARIUM OF NSW
Andrew Lowe
UNIVERSITY OF ADELAIDE
Australian Transect Network
2. Scope
• Conservation efforts that aim to improve
climate adaptation outcomes need to
consider evolutionary drivers that maximise
adaptive potential, as well as floristic and
genetic variation
• Use a multi-species, landscape-level
approach to measure floristic and genetic
turn-over along an environmental gradient
3. Aims
1. Species diversity and turn-over:
– a plot based approach
1. Neutral genetic diversity and turn-over:
– a multi-species landscape level approach
1. Transcriptomic variation:
– variation in expressed genes between
climatic extremes
1. Functional diversity and turn-over:
– a multi-trait approach
4. Approach
• Finer scale: investigate climatic gradients
across one soil type representing similar
floristic assemblages
• Biodiversity and Adaptation Transect Sydney
(BATS)
• Biodiversity and Adaptation Transect Northern
NSW (BATN)
• Plus a range of satellite projects
5. BATS (Sydney sandstone)
Highly diverse floristically on similar substrate, and
strong gradients within a relatively small area
Mean temperature in coldest quarter Annual precipitation
7. BATS: plot sampling
1600
• 50 x 50 m plots 1200 DF P WH
Rainfall
•
Annual rainfall
Current: 24; aim: 28 LV MM
CR GH C
TN PR GW NJ
BM MT
PF KC
MW
BF WR
• Herbarium voucher and DNA
800 AP
AM GS BI GD
voucher for every woody 400
species
• Measure of abundance
0
0 5 10 15 20 25
plot
• Temperature loggers at each
plot 1200
NJ GW
TN
BF
AP
• 400+ species across all plots 800
MW
• Species per plot: 40-70 Altitude
altitude
GD
GS
CR MT
BI GH
• Genera per plot: 28-50 400
BM
PF AM PR
• Families per plot:15-27 WH KC DF
P LV WR MM C
0
0 5 10 15 20 25
plot number
8. BATS: plot sampling
• 50 x 50 m plots
• Current: 24; aim: 28
• Herbarium voucher and DNA
voucher for every woody
species
• Measure of abundance
• Temperature loggers at each
plot
• 400+ species across all plots
• Species per plot: 40-70
• Genera per plot: 28-50
• Families per plot:15-27
9. Differentiation along the gradient:
Telopea speciosissima
The NSW Waratah
Rossetto et al. (2011) BMC Evol Biol 11:126
McIntosh et al. (2013) Ann Bot
10. BATS: multi-species population study
• Investigate relative magnitude of gradient-
level variations in genetic diversity
• Investigate landscape-level associations
between climatic gradients and genetic
diversity, richness and functional diversity
Hannah McPherson
11. BATS: multi-species population study
• Within-species turn-over for
species occurring across the
gradient Isopogon anemonifolius
• Sample genetic diversity for
species distributed across the
gradient and place into overall
distributional context Petrophile pulchella
• Use genomic (NGS reduction-
based) methods to assess
distribution of diversity, and
current vs. historical dynamics
• Inform transcriptome studies on
same species Leptospermum trinervium
12. Adaptive capacity of coastal vs.
upland Telopea populations
Rymer et al (in prep)
13. BATS: genetic adaptation along the gradient
4.6°C 10.8°C
8.6°C 11°C
Mean temperature in coldest quarter
M vanderMerwe
14. BATS: obtaining transcriptome data
• Four libraries from each species :
Petrophile pulchella, Isopogon anemonifolius and additional
Petrophile canescens (Proteaceae)
• Each library: 25 seedlings from 5
mother plants
• Future: major increase in species
sampled (IBM support)
15. BATS: obtaining transcriptome data
RNA
extraction at
two cotyledon
stage
Seedling germination at
20°C 12h day/12h night
Pool extractions
from a population
One lane Illumina HiSeq
Between 20 million and 30
million reads per library Contigs, coverage, Fst values, Blasts, etc …
16. BATS: adaptation or plasticity?
• Identify allelic and
expression level variation
between populations
• Differentiate between
putative selection and
neutral variation
• Develop markers and
screen across gradient
• Identify multispecies
patterns of ‘genetic
response’ across gradient
17. BATN: rainforest gradient
• 24 (50x20) permanent plots on basalt
• 278 species; 205 genera; 81 families
• Full abundance (including demographic,
disturbance and temporal data)
• Currently no DNA samples but pilot
genomic study
• Extensive functional dataset
R Kooyman
Reproduced from Crisp et al. 2004
20. Bringing it all together
• Integrating results:
– Associations between molecular,
environmental and functional diversities
– Biodiversity, adaptive and landscape
genetics
– BATS / BATN / TREND (SA)
21. Acknowledgements
• Foundation and Friends of RBG&DT; ARC
Linkage (Lowe, Rossetto, Summerell)
• Volunteer team: Alexander Dohms, Brendan
Molloy, Lawrence Mou, Emma Oldman,
Juelian Siow, Aurelia Webster-Hawes
• Field work assistance: Louisa Murray,
Michael Elgey, Susan Rutherford, Andrew
Orme, Seanna McCune, Doug Benson, Melita
Milner, Richard Milner
• Doug Benson; Bob Coveny; Robert Kooyman