BUSCADOR RECOLECTA

AFLP profiles for the plants of Lavandula latifolia sampled for the study Markers are identified by primer combination and size (base pairs) AFLP.scores.xlsx MSAP profiles for the plants of Lavandula latifolia sampled for the study Markers are identified by primer combination and size (base pairs). MSAP.scores.xlsx Spatial coordinates of Lavandula latifolia plants sampled for the study Coordinates are expressed in meters and the origin (0,0) is the lower left corner of the plot as depicted in the figures. Plant.coordinates.xlsx, Little is known on the potential of ecological disturbance to cause genetic and epigenetic changes in plant populations. We take advantage of a long-term field experiment initiated in 1986 to study the demography of the shrub Lavandula latifolia, and compare genetic and epigenetic characteristics of plants in two adjacent subplots, one experimentally disturbed and one left undisturbed, 20 years after disturbance. Experimental setup was comparable to an unreplicated ‘Before-After-Control-Impact’ (BACI) design where a single pair of perturbed and control areas were compared. When sampled in 2005, plants in the two subplots had roughly similar ages, but they had established in contrasting environments: dense conspecific population (‘Undisturbed’ subpopulation) versus open area with all conspecifics removed (‘Disturbed’ subpopulation). Plants were characterized genetically and epigenetically using amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) and two classes of methylation-sensitive AFLP (MSAP) markers. Subpopulations were similar in genetic diversity but differed in epigenetic diversity and multilocus genetic and epigenetic characteristics. Epigenetic divergence between subpopulations was statistically unrelated to genetic divergence. Bayesian clustering revealed an abrupt linear boundary between subpopulations closely coincident with the arbitrary demarcation line between subplots drawn 20 years back, which supports that genetic and epigenetic divergence between subpopulations was caused by artificial disturbance. There was significant fine-scale spatial structuring of MSAP markers in both subpopulations, which in the Undisturbed one was indistinguishable from that of AFLP markers. Genetic differences between subpopulations could be explained by divergent selection alone, while the concerted action of divergent selection and disturbance-driven appearance of new methylation variants in the Disturbed subpopulation is proposed to explain epigenetic differences. This study provides the first empirical evidence to date suggesting that relatively mild disturbances could leave genetic and epigenetic signatures on the next adult generation of long-lived plants., Peer reviewed

This contains three Microsoft Excel files for global methylation, AFLP and MSAP data, respectively. On each file one sheet contains the information of maternal plants and the other the information of the offspring. Each row refers to individual samples. For AFLP and MSAP each column refers to specific (although anonymous) markers labeled similarly in both sheets. Leaves from 15 adult plants were sampled along a 125-m transect in Cuevas Bermejas population (Sierra de Cazorla, Jaén Province, southeastern Spain), in October 2015. Offspring were obtained from seeds under greenhouse conditions, leaf samples were collected when they were 8-months old when only offspring of 13 mothers remained. DNA was extracted from leaves using Qiagen DNeasy Plant Mini Kit and the manufacturer protocol. Maternal parents and greenhouse plants were genetically fingerprinted using amplified fragment polymorphism (AFLP) markers. The AFLP and MSAP analysis were performed using standard protocols involving the use of fluorescent dye-labeled selective primers. For AFLP, each plant was fingerprinted using three different EcoRI + 3 / MseI + 3 primer pair combinations. MSAP assays used four HpaII-MspI + 2 / MseI + 3 primer combinations. In the two analyses fragment separation and detection was made using an ABI PRISM 3130xl DNA sequencer, only fragments ≥ 150 base pairs in size were considered and the presence (1) or absence (0) of fragments in each sample was scored manually by visualizing electropherograms with GeneMapper 3.7 software, This dataset includes (i) global DNA cytosine methylation estimates (= percentage of all genomic cytosines that are methylated) obtained by reverse phase HPLC with spectrofluorimetric detection, (ii) the scoring (presence/absence) of individual genetic markers (AFLP), and (iii) the scoring (presence/absence) of individual epigenetic markers (MSAP) in maternal plants of the shrub Lavandula latifolia and their greenhouse-grown offspring., Peer reviewed