Population genomics of Vittaria appalachiana

All land plants alternate between multicellular diploid (sporophyte) and haploid (gametophyte) generations. Variation from the classic alternation of generations is perhaps best exemplified in ferns, which have nutritionally independent sporophyte and gametophyte life phases. Vittaria appalachiana serves as an excellent model system for understanding prolonged asexual reproduction in the gametophytic life stage, and the breakdown of the transition between gametophyte and sporophyte phases. We explore the population genomics of this enigmatic fern using reduced representation RADseq.