2025/03/17 by Clara Bertel, Erwann Arc, Magdalena Bohutínská +9 · 1 voice
Agricultural and Biological Sciences · Environmental Science · #Forest Insect Ecology and Management #Insect and Pesticide Research #Plant Surface Properties and Treatments
paper · pdf · doi:10.1111/nph.70082
openalex created_date 2025/03/17 · openalex publication_date 2025/03/17 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01
Cuticle function can be pivotal to plant success in different environments. Yet, the occurrence of intraspecific adjustments in cuticle traits resulting from acclimation or adaptation to different habitats remains poorly understood. Here, we used genetically well-characterised populations of Arabidopsis arenosa to investigate whether cuticle traits were adjusted as part of the parallel evolution from a foothill to an alpine ecotype. Six alpine and six foothill populations, representing at least three independent evolutionary origins of an alpine ecotype, were used in reciprocal transplantation experiments, to investigate cuticle traits at the eco-physiological, biochemical and structural levels. The genetic basis behind these traits was assessed by combining selection scans and differential gene expression analysis. Overall, alpine populations showed reduced cuticular transpiration in conjunction with consistently altered cuticular wax composition, with higher accumulation of two fatty alcohols and two iso-alkanes. Genomic analysis unravelled nine genes associated with cuticular wax metabolism showing allelic differentiation in alpine compared to lowland populations. In silico gene expression analysis revealed differences between ecotypes for several genes related to cuticle metabolism. Repeated ecotypic differentiation in cuticle traits together with the genetic architecture of the alpine ecotype points at an adaptive value of cuticle adjustments for the colonisation of alpine habitats.