Phylogenomics resolves the invasion history of Acacia auriculiformis in Florida

Aim: Understanding the genetic structure of plants in their native range is crucial when reconstructing the invasion history of weeds. This information allows researchers to pin-point the provenance of invasive plants, and to test the importance of genetic admixture in facilitating invasion success. We assessed genetic structuring across the native range of A. auriculiformis, to determine whether genetic admixture contributes to the success of this weed in its introduced range, and test for rapid adaptation to environmental conditions in the invasive lineage.

Location: Australia, Papua New Guinea, Florida

Taxon: Acacia auriculiformis

Methods: We sampled A. auriculiformis from across its entire native distribution (northern Australia, Papua New Guinea) and its invasive range in Florida, and used Genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS) to assess population structuring.

Results: Principal component analysis, based on 9,591 SNPs, indicated significant differentiation among samples from P...

研究目标：重构外来杂草的入侵历史时，解析其原生分布区植物的遗传结构至关重要。此类信息可帮助研究人员精准定位入侵植物的起源地，并验证遗传混合（genetic admixture）对提升入侵成功率的作用。本研究针对耳叶相思（Acacia auriculiformis）的原生分布区开展遗传结构分析，以明确遗传混合是否推动了该物种在入侵分布区的成功定殖，并检验其入侵谱系对环境的快速适应能力。

研究区域：澳大利亚、巴布亚新几内亚、美国佛罗里达州

研究类群：耳叶相思（Acacia auriculiformis）

研究方法：我们采集了耳叶相思全原生分布区（澳大利亚北部、巴布亚新几内亚）及其入侵分布区佛罗里达的样本，并通过测序分型（Genotyping-by-sequencing, GBS）技术解析种群遗传结构。

研究结果：基于9591个单核苷酸多态性（Single Nucleotide Polymorphism, SNPs）的主成分分析（Principal Component Analysis）结果显示，来自P……的样本间存在显著遗传分化。