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Genetic Causes and Genomic Consequences of Breakdown of Distyly in Linum trigynum
Stockholm University, Faculty of Science, Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences. Stockholm University, Science for Life Laboratory (SciLifeLab).ORCID iD: 0000-0001-9725-8523
Stockholm University, Faculty of Science, Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences. Stockholm University, Science for Life Laboratory (SciLifeLab).
Stockholm University, Faculty of Science, Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences. Stockholm University, Science for Life Laboratory (SciLifeLab).ORCID iD: 0000-0003-0502-2375
Stockholm University, Science for Life Laboratory (SciLifeLab). Stockholm University, Faculty of Science, Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences.ORCID iD: 0000-0002-2962-2669
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Number of Authors: 152024 (English)In: Molecular biology and evolution, ISSN 0737-4038, E-ISSN 1537-1719, Vol. 41, no 5, article id msae087Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Distyly is an iconic floral polymorphism governed by a supergene, which promotes efficient pollen transfer and outcrossing through reciprocal differences in the position of sexual organs in flowers, often coupled with heteromorphic self-incompatibility. Distyly has evolved convergently in multiple flowering plant lineages, but has also broken down repeatedly, often resulting in homostylous, self-compatible populations with elevated rates of self-fertilization. Here, we aimed to study the genetic causes and genomic consequences of the shift to homostyly in Linum trigynum, which is closely related to distylous Linum tenue. Building on a high-quality genome assembly, we show that L. trigynum harbors a genomic region homologous to the dominant haplotype of the distyly supergene conferring long stamens and short styles in L. tenue, suggesting that loss of distyly first occurred in a short-styled individual. In contrast to homostylous Primula and FagopyrumL. trigynum harbors no fixed loss-of-function mutations in coding sequences of S-linked distyly candidate genes. Instead, floral gene expression analyses and controlled crosses suggest that mutations downregulating the S-linked LtWDR-44 candidate gene for male self-incompatibility and/or anther height could underlie homostyly and self-compatibility in L. trigynum. Population genomic analyses of 224 whole-genome sequences further demonstrate that L. trigynum is highly self-fertilizing, exhibits significantly lower genetic diversity genome-wide, and is experiencing relaxed purifying selection and less frequent positive selection on nonsynonymous mutations relative to L. tenue. Our analyses shed light on the loss of distyly in L. trigynum, and advance our understanding of a common evolutionary transition in flowering plants.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
2024. Vol. 41, no 5, article id msae087
Keywords [en]
homostyly, self-fertilization, distribution of fitness effects, genome assembly, plant mating system
National Category
Genetics and Genomics
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:su:diva-231551DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msae087ISI: 001229672400001PubMedID: 38709782Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85194093574OAI: oai:DiVA.org:su-231551DiVA, id: diva2:1876763
Available from: 2024-06-25 Created: 2024-06-25 Last updated: 2025-12-02Bibliographically approved
In thesis
1. Supergenes and mating system evolution in plants
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Supergenes and mating system evolution in plants
2025 (English)Doctoral thesis, comprehensive summary (Other academic)
Abstract [en]

Mating system transitions are common in flowering plants and have profound effects on genetic diversity, adaptation, and speciation. This thesis investigates the evolution of the S-locus supergene governing distyly, a floral polymorphism promoting outcrossing, and examines how mating system shifts and demography shape genome evolution. In Chapter I, we generated genome assemblies and annotations for two wild flax species, the distylous Linum perenne and style length polymorphic Linum grandiflorum. Based on these assemblies, we characterized S-locus architecture and compared it to that of the previously described S-locus in the distylous Linum tenue. Analyses revealed that the dominant S haplotype was longer than the recessive s haplotype, resulting in hemizygosity in the short-styled floral morph. Comparing the S-locus of all three species, we found extensive gene turnover, yet conservation of two candidate genes for distyly, TSS1 and WDR-44, which are likely to regulate style and anther filament length and thus morph differentiation. Molecular dating placed the likely origin of the supergene near the root of Linum (~33 Mya). In Chapter II, we investigated distyly breakdown using comparative genomic, population genetic and transcriptomic analyses of L. tenue and its homostylous, self-compatible relative L. trigynum. The S-locus region is homozygous in L. trigynum, and downregulation of WDR-44 likely enables autonomous selfing. Expression patterns and crossing experiments confirmed WDR-44 as a candidate for male self-incompatibility control, providing a molecular explanation for distyly breakdown. In Chapter III, we conducted a comparative genomics and phylogenomic study across repeated shifts from distyly to homostyly and tested whether repeated transitions to self-compatibility showed consistent genomic signatures. Nuclear and chloroplast data revealed relaxed purifying selection and elevated nonsynonymous substitution rates in homostylous species, although the magnitude differed between clades. An investigation in the homostylous self-compatible Linum leonii revealed that loss of distyly was not associated with a shift to high self-fertilization. Demographic history inference nevertheless suggested that L. leonii has undergone population size reductions, reinforcing the genomic effects of self-compatibility. In Chapter IV, we assessed how mating system and demographic history interact to shape patterns of genomic variation and selection efficacy within Arabis alpina, a crucifer species exhibiting intraspecific mating system variation from outcrossing to predominant selfing. By combining population genomic analyses and demographic history modelling, we showed that while increased selfing rates can explain most of the observed patterns, in Scandinavia reduced nucleotide diversity is a combined result of the mating system transition and demographic history. Across study systems, self-compatible species or populations exhibited reduced nucleotide diversity, effective population sizes, and efficacy of selection, supporting theoretical predictions of reduced evolutionary potential under selfing. Collectively, my findings demonstrate that a hemizygous S-locus supergene underlies distyly in Linum, that genetic changes affecting expression of S-locus genes are associated with loss of distyly, and that transitions to selfing leave genomic signatures of reduced diversity and selection efficacy across evolutionary scales.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Stockholm: Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, 2025. p. 62
Keywords
Supergene, Mating system transition, Genomics, Distyly, Plants
National Category
Genetics and Genomics Evolutionary Biology Bioinformatics and Computational Biology
Research subject
Ecology and Evolution
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:su:diva-250124 (URN)978-91-8107-468-0 (ISBN)978-91-8107-469-7 (ISBN)
Public defence
2026-01-20, Vivi Täckholm-salen, Svante Arrhenius Väg 20A and online via Zoom: https://stockholmuniversity.zoom.us/j/64580039047, Stockholm, 13:00 (English)
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Available from: 2025-12-18 Created: 2025-12-02 Last updated: 2025-12-10Bibliographically approved

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Gutiérrez-Valencia, JuanitaZervakis, Panagiotis-IoannisPostel, ZoéFracassetti, MarcoLosvik, AleksandraMehrabi, SaraHughes, P. WilliamDésamoré, AurélieLaenen, BenjaminSlotte, Tanja

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Gutiérrez-Valencia, JuanitaZervakis, Panagiotis-IoannisPostel, ZoéFracassetti, MarcoLosvik, AleksandraMehrabi, SaraHughes, P. WilliamDésamoré, AurélieLaenen, BenjaminSlotte, Tanja
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