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Travel tales of a worldwide weed: genomic signatures reveal colonial trade routes and prior adaptation are key to the success of Plantago major
  • +34
  • Natalie Iwanycki Ahlstrand,
  • Shyam Gopalakrishnan,
  • Filipe G. Vieira,
  • Heidi Meudt,
  • Stephanie Dunbar-Co,
  • Carl Rothfels,
  • Karen Martinez-Swatson,
  • Carla Maldonado,
  • Gustavo Hassemer,
  • Alexey Shipunov,
  • Deanne Bowers,
  • Elliot Gardner,
  • Maonian Xu,
  • Abdolbaset Ghorbani,
  • Makoto Amano,
  • Olwen Grace,
  • James Pringle,
  • Madonna Bishop,
  • Vincent Manzanilla,
  • Helena Cotrim,
  • Sean Blaney,
  • Dmitri Zubov,
  • Hong-Keun Choi,
  • Yester Yesil,
  • Bruce Bennett,
  • Sornkanok Vimolmangkang,
  • Hesham El-Seedi,
  • Peter Staub,
  • Zhu Li,
  • Delgerbat Boldbaatar,
  • Michael Hislop,
  • Laura Caddy,
  • Muthama Muasya,
  • Haris Saslis-Lagoudakis ,
  • M. Tomas P. Gilbert,
  • Nyree Zerega,
  • Nina Rønsted
Natalie Iwanycki Ahlstrand
Københavns Universitet

Corresponding Author:natalie.iwanycki@snm.ku.dk

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Shyam Gopalakrishnan
Københavns Universitet
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Filipe G. Vieira
Rigshospitalet
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Heidi Meudt
Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
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Stephanie Dunbar-Co
University of Hawaii
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Carl Rothfels
University of California Berkeley
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Karen Martinez-Swatson
Havforskningsinstituttet
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Carla Maldonado
Herbario Nacional De Bolivia
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Gustavo Hassemer
Federal University of Mato Grosso do Sul
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Alexey Shipunov
Minot State University
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Deanne Bowers
University of Colorado at Boulder
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Elliot Gardner
Northwestern University
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Maonian Xu
University of Iceland
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Abdolbaset Ghorbani
Uppsala Universitet
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Makoto Amano
Natural History Museum and Institute Chiba
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Olwen Grace
Royal Botanic Gardens Kew
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James Pringle
Royal Botanical Gardens Ontario
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Madonna Bishop
Memorial University of Newfoundland
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Vincent Manzanilla
University of Oslo
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Helena Cotrim
University of Lisbon
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Sean Blaney
Atlantic Canada Conservation Data Centre
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Dmitri Zubov
Gryshko's National Botanic Garden
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Hong-Keun Choi
Ajou University
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Yester Yesil
Istanbul Universitesi
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Bruce Bennett
Yukon Conservation Data Centre
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Sornkanok Vimolmangkang
Chulalongkorn University
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Hesham El-Seedi
Uppsala Universitet
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Peter Staub
University of Cagliari
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Zhu Li
Chinese Academy of Sciences
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Delgerbat Boldbaatar
National University of Mongolia
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Michael Hislop
Western Australia Herbarium
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Laura Caddy
The University of British Columbia
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Muthama Muasya
University of Cape Town
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Haris Saslis-Lagoudakis
Forage Crete
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M. Tomas P. Gilbert
University of Copenhagen
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Nyree Zerega
Northwestern University
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Nina Rønsted
Københavns Universitet
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Abstract

Retracing pathways of historical species introductions is fundamental to understanding the factors involved in the successful colonization and spread, centuries after a species’ establishment in an introduced range. Numerous plants are thought to have been introduced to regions outside their native ranges by European voyagers and early colonists making transoceanic journeys; however, records are scare to document this. We use genotyping-by-sequencing and genotype-likelihood methods on the selfing, global weed, Plantago major, collected from 50 populations worldwide to test hypotheses that the plant was brought to new regions during colonial times. We further investigate how patterns in genomic diversity facilitate the success of this global weed. Although genomic differentiation among populations is found to be low, we identify six unique ecotypes showing very little sign of admixture. Three of the most prevalent of these ecotypes present in the native range gave rise to introduced populations in the Americas, Africa, Australia and New Zealand, indicating that more than one successful ecotype colonized and spread. The distribution of ecotypes is found to have links to colonial history, and ecotypes are further found to be restricted by latitude. Dispersal of multiple successful ecotypes and prior adaptation in the native range to latitudinally dependent environmental factors (such as climate) are likely reasons for the success of this prolific, global weed. Genomic signatures can provide new perspectives on the drivers behind the historic introductions and the successful colonization of introduced species in an era of global change.