TY - JOUR A1 - Wagner, Viktoria A1 - Antunes, Pedro M. A1 - Ristow, Michael A1 - Lechner, Ute A1 - Hensen, Isabell T1 - Prevailing negative soil biota effect and no evidence for local adaptation in a widespread eurasian grass JF - PLoS one N2 - Background: Soil biota effects are increasingly accepted as an important driver of the abundance and distribution of plants. While biogeographical studies on alien invasive plant species have indicated coevolution with soil biota in their native distribution range, it is unknown whether adaptation to soil biota varies among populations within the native distribution range. The question of local adaptation between plants and their soil biota has important implications for conservation of biodiversity and may justify the use of seed material from local provenances in restoration campaigns. Methodology/Principal Findings: We studied soil biota effects in ten populations of the steppe grass Stipa capillata from two distinct regions, Europe and Asia. We tested for local adaptation at two different scales, both within (ca. 10-80 km) and between (ca. 3300 km) regions, using a reciprocal inoculation experiment in the greenhouse for nine months. Generally, negative soil biota effects were consistent. However, we did not find evidence for local adaptation: both within and between regions, growth of plants in their 'home soil' was not significantly larger relative to that in soil from other, more distant, populations. Conclusions/Significance: Our study suggests that negative soil biota effects can prevail in different parts of a plant species' range. Absence of local adaptation points to the possibility of similar rhizosphere biota composition across populations and regions, sufficient gene flow to prevent coevolution, selection in favor of plasticity, or functional redundancy among different soil biota. From the point of view of plant - soil biota interactions, our findings indicate that the current practice of using seeds exclusively from local provenances in ecosystem restoration campaigns may not be justified. Y1 - 2011 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0017580 SN - 1932-6203 VL - 6 IS - 3 PB - PLoS CY - San Fransisco ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Lauterbach, Dirk A1 - Ristow, Michael A1 - Gemeinholzer, B. T1 - Genetic population structure, fitness variation and the importance of population history in remnant populations of the endangered plant Silene chlorantha (Willd.) Ehrh. (Caryophyllaceae) JF - Plant biology N2 - Habitat fragmentation can lead to a decline of genetic diversity, a potential risk for the survival of natural populations. Fragmented populations can become highly differentiated due to reduced gene flow and genetic drift. A decline in number of individuals can result in lower reproductive fitness due to inbreeding effects. We investigated genetic variation within and between 11 populations of the rare and endangered plant Silene chlorantha in northeastern Germany to support conservation strategies. Genetic diversity was evaluated using AFLP techniques and the results were correlated to fitness traits. Fitness evaluation in nature and in a common garden approach was conducted. Our analysis revealed population differentiation was high and within population genetic diversity was intermediate. A clear population structure was supported by a Bayesian approach, AMOVA and neighbour-joining analysis. No correlation between genetic and geographic distance was found. Our results indicate that patterns of population differentiation were mainly caused by temporal and/or spatial isolation and genetic drift. The fitness evaluation revealed that pollinator limitation and habitat quality seem, at present, to be more important to reproductive fitness than genetic diversity by itself. Populations of S. chlorantha with low genetic diversity have the potential to increase in individual number if habitat conditions improve. This was detected in a single large population in the investigation area, which was formerly affected by bottleneck effects. KW - AFLP KW - fitness KW - population genetic structure KW - population history Y1 - 2011 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1438-8677.2010.00418.x SN - 1435-8603 VL - 13 IS - 4 SP - 667 EP - 677 PB - Wiley-Blackwell CY - Hoboken ER -