Life-history characteristics and historical factors are important to explain regional variation in reproductive traits and genetic diversity in perennial mosses

Background and Aims Plants have evolved an unrivalled diversity of reproductive strategies, including variation in the degree of sexual vs. clonal reproduction. This variation has important effects on the dynamics and genetic structure of populations. We examined the association between large-scale variation in reproductive patterns and intraspecific genetic diversity in two moss species where sex is manifested in the dominant haploid generation and sex expression is irregular. We predicted that in regions with more frequent realized sexual reproduction, populations should display less skewed sex ratios, should more often express sex and should have higher genetic diversity than in regions with largely clonal reproduction. Methods We assessed reproductive status and phenotypic sex in the dioicous long-lived Drepanocladus trifarius and D. turgescens, in 248 and 438 samples across two regions in Scandinavia with frequent or rare realized sexual reproduction, respectively. In subsets of the samples, we analysed genetic diversity using nuclear and plastid sequence information and identified sex with a sex-specific molecular marker in non-reproductive samples. Key Results Contrary to our predictions, sex ratios did not differ between regions; genetic diversity did not differ in D. trifarius and it was higher in the region with rare sexual reproduction in D. turgescens. Supporting our predictions, relatively more samples expressed sex in D. trifarius in the region with frequent sexual reproduction. Overall, samples were mostly female. The degree of sex expression and genetic diversity differed between sexes. Conclusions Sex expression levels, regional sex ratios and genetic diversity were not directly associated with the regional frequency of realized sexual reproduction, and relationships and variation patterns differed between species. We conclude that a combination of species-specific life histories, such as longevity, overall degree of successful sexual reproduction and recruitment, and historical factors are important to explain this variation. Our data on haploid-dominated plants significantly complement plant reproductive biology.

Automated summary

This study found that sex expression levels, sex ratios, and genetic diversity in two moss species were not directly associated with the frequency of sexual reproduction. These relationships and patterns of variation differed between species. It suggests that species-specific life histories, such as longevity, overall degree of successful sexual reproduction and recruitment, and historical factors are important factors in explaining this variation.