<b>Genotypic responses to different environments and reduced precipitation reveal signals of local adaptation and phenotypic plasticity in woodland strawberry</b>

<b>Background and Aims</b>. Climate change is causing increasing temperatures and drought<b>, </b>creating new environmental conditions<b>, </b>which species must cope with. Plant species can respond to these shifting environments by escaping to more favorable environments, undergoing adaptive evolution, or exhibiting phenotypic plasticity. In this study, we investigate genotype responses to variation in environmental conditions (genotype-by-environment interactions; G × E) over multiple years to gain insights into the plasticity and potential adaptive responses of plants to environmental changes in the face of climate change.<b>Methods</b>. We reciprocally transplanted 16 European genotypes of <i>Fragaria vesca</i> (Rosaceae), the woodland strawberry, between four sites along a latitudinal gradient from 40°N (Spain) to 70°N (northern Finland). We examined G × E interactions in plant performance traits (fruit and stolon production and rosette size) under ambient weather conditions and a reduced precipitation treatment (as a proxy for drought), at these sites over two years.<b>Key Results.</b> Our findings reveal signals of local adaptation for fruit production at the latitudinal extremes of <i>F. vesca</i> distribution. No clear signals of local adaptation for stolon production were detected. Genotypes from higher European latitudes were generally smaller than genotypes from lower latitudes across almost all sites, years and both treatments, indicating a strong genetic control of plant size in these genotypes. We found mixed responses to reduced precipitation: while several genotypes exhibited poorer performance under the reduced precipitation treatment across most sites and years, with the effect being most pronounced at the driest site, other genotypes responded to reduced precipitation by increasing fruit and/or stolon production and/or growing larger across most sites and years, particularly at the wettest site.<b>Conclusions</b>. This study provides insights into the influence of different environments on plant performance at a continental scale. While woodland strawberry seems locally adapted in more extreme environments<b>, </b>reduced precipitation results in winners and losers among its genotypes. This may ultimately reduce genetic variation in the face of increasing drought frequency and severity, with implications for the species’ capacity to adapt.**研究背景与目的** 气候变化正导致气温上升与干旱加剧，造就了各物种必须适应的全新环境条件。植物物种可通过三种方式应对这些变化的环境：迁移至更适宜的生境、发生适应性进化，或表现出表型可塑性（phenotypic plasticity）。本研究旨在探究多年尺度下基因型对环境变化的响应（即基因型-环境互作（genotype-by-environment interactions，G × E）），以揭示气候变化背景下植物的表型可塑性及潜在适应性响应。 **研究方法** 我们沿纬度梯度（从北纬40°的西班牙至北纬70°的芬兰北部）的4个样地，针对16份欧洲森林草莓（woodland strawberry，*Fragaria vesca*，蔷薇科）基因型开展互置移栽实验。在两年时间内，我们于各实验样地监测了自然天气条件下及减雨处理（以模拟干旱）下植物生长性状（果实产量、匍匐茎生成量及莲座大小）的基因型-环境互作效应。 **主要结果** 研究发现，在森林草莓分布区的纬度极端样地中，其果实产量存在本地适应信号，但未检测到匍匐茎生成量存在显著的本地适应信号。在几乎所有样地、年份及两种处理条件下，高纬度欧洲地区的草莓基因型的植株体型普遍小于低纬度基因型，这表明此类基因型的植株大小受较强的遗传调控。我们观察到不同基因型对减雨处理的响应存在分化：部分基因型在多数样地与年份的减雨处理中生长表现更差，且该效应在最干旱的样地中最为显著；而另有部分基因型在多数样地与年份的减雨处理中，其果实产量、匍匐茎生成量或植株体型均有所提升，该现象在最湿润的样地中尤为突出。 **研究结论** 本研究揭示了大陆尺度下不同环境对植物生长表现的调控作用。尽管森林草莓在极端环境中似乎存在本地适应性，但减雨处理会导致其不同基因型出现适者生存的分化。随着干旱发生频率与强度的不断增加，这一现象最终可能降低该物种的遗传多样性，并对其适应性演化能力产生潜在影响。