Genetic Diversity and Invasion Risk of Cultivated Plants

A special issue of Agronomy (ISSN 2073-4395). This special issue belongs to the section "Weed Science and Weed Management".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (10 July 2019) | Viewed by 3900

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Agriculture and Food Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
Interests: cosmopolitan plants that tend to dominate the ecosystems; invasive species; intraspecific genetic and phenotypic variation; the role of gene flow and dispersal in the evolution and distribution of plants; adaptation to global change

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Guest Editor
Laboratoire Image Ville Environnement, University of Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France
Interests: biological conservation; plant systematics and evolution; population genetics; phylogeography

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The trade of plants for agriculture and horticulture has introduced many species to new ranges. Some of these became invasive species while others did not. This Special Issue focuses on the evolutionary processes, including those induced by domestication, activated by the establishment of crops either within the native range of the wild progenitors or in new ranges. The aim is to identify genetic and functional traits, as well as evolutionary trajectories, that lead to invasiveness in cultivated plants, and to provide avenues to limit this risk. Genetic diversity plays a crucial role in adaptive processes and in the evolution of invasiveness, but it is poorly considered in sustainability and weed risk assessments, as well as in agriculture practices and laws. Therefore, it is omitted from decisions concerning the introduction of new plant accessions in agrosystems. The research on sustainable resources and the increasing interest in natural products are promoting the introduction of more and more new species to agriculture. This process has evolutionary consequences that will be evident only in the future. This issue collects case studies, reviews, and points of view documenting the invasion risk linked to newly introduced or genetically modified cultivated species in order to identify, through several case examples, which ecological, biological, and genetic traits have to be carefully considered and monitored. The following topics concerning cultivated potentially invasive plant species are welcome: (i) initial stage or monitoring of invasion; (ii) biological and ecological traits; (iii) genetic diversity; (iv) dispersal; (v) mating system and hybridization; (vi) ecological niche; (vii) decision support tools limiting invasion risk.

Dr. Carla Lambertini
Dr. Laurent Hardion
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • biological invasions
  • weeds
  • invasive crops
  • genetics
  • plant traits
  • biology
  • gene flow
  • hybridization
  • polyploidy
  • reproduction
  • dispersal
  • adaptation
  • ecology
  • evolution
  • assessment tools

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

12 pages, 2926 KiB  
Article
Genetic Diversity and Geographic Differentiation of Tung Tree, Vernicia Fordii (Euphorbiaceae), A Potential Biodiesel Plant Species with Low Invasion Risk
by Lingling Zhang, Xionglun Liu and Junhua Peng
Agronomy 2019, 9(7), 402; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy9070402 - 20 Jul 2019
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 3637
Abstract
The tung tree, Vernicia fordii (Herbert Kenneth Airy Shaw), is a woody species native to South-East Asia (from Central and Southwest China to North Vietnam), which is also cultivated in China for the production of industrial oil. It is listed as a Category [...] Read more.
The tung tree, Vernicia fordii (Herbert Kenneth Airy Shaw), is a woody species native to South-East Asia (from Central and Southwest China to North Vietnam), which is also cultivated in China for the production of industrial oil. It is listed as a Category II invasive plant species in Florida, USA. During the introduction period of the tung tree from China to other countries in the last century, its low invasion feature led to its successful establishment in only a few countries. However, the genetic consideration for the population in its widespread native environment remains lacking. In this study, a set of 95 accessions covering most of the tung tree distribution areas in China were collected. Fifty simple sequence repeat (SSR) primer pairs were selected for the genotyping of the germplasm. Population genetics analysis indicated a medium level of genetic variation within the collected samples. The genetic diversity of the tung tree from the main production region was obviously higher than those from the marginal regions. A significant genetic differentiation occurred between the two regions, as well as among the 12 regional groups of administration. The dendrogram based on Nei’s gene diversity showed that the clustering pattern for the germplasm collections basically coincided with their geographic distribution. In their native environment, human activities have had a significant impact on the gene flow via seed movement among the production areas of the tung tree in history. This study will be helpful for molecular breeding and germplasm preservation of the tung tree, and for understanding the tung tree as a biodiesel plant species with a low invasion risk when introduced into foreign countries. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Genetic Diversity and Invasion Risk of Cultivated Plants)
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