Abstract
Ficus microcarpa, belonging to Moraceae, is an evergreen tree that can grow on tropical or subtropical rocky coasts. Recently, dwarf F. microcarpa individuals have been found on Nakanokamishima Island, Okinawa, Japan, but it remains unclear whether this dwarf trait is based on environmental plasticity or represents an intermediate stage of ecological speciation. To clarify the morphological and genetic traits of dwarfism and consider the process of ecological divergence, we conducted a common garden experiment and performed population genetic and structure analyses using 11 microsatellite markers. Moreover, we conducted a coalescent analysis to estimate the demographic parameters of two genetic clusters: dwarf and tree groups. Common garden experiments clearly classified the samples into two groups: dwarf and tree. In the STRUCTURE analysis, the highest ΔK value was obtained when K = 2, suggesting the existence of two genetic clusters: A and B. All samples collected on Nakanokamishima Island were classified into cluster B. Most samples from the other islands were classified into cluster A. Additionally, it was found that dwarf and tree lineages had diverged from an ancestral population hundreds or thousands of years ago. These results indicate that the dwarfism of F. microcarpa can be considered an ecotype defined as the intermediate stage of ecological speciation, and that dwarf individuals diversified very recently from an ancestral population with the existence of gene flow.
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All data and samples (e.g., genotypes, DNA, and leaves) are also available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
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Acknowledgements
We wish to thank Dr. Zhi-Hui Su of the JT Biohistory Research Hall for his helpful comments on this study and precise identification of Eupristina verticillata that pollinate the dwarf F. microcarpa. The present study was carried out with permission from the Japanese Ministry of the Environment and the Agency for Cultural Affairs. We thank Robbie Lewis, MSc, from Edanz (https://jp.edanz.com/ac) for editing a draft of this manuscript.
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All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Author YK performed the genotyping and population genetic analysis. Authors MF and AM conducted material preparation and data analyses in the common garden experiment. The first draft of the manuscript was written by authors YK and MF, and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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Online Resource 1. Supplementary Figures and Tables.
Online Resource 2. Genetic diversity and differentiation of Ficus microarpa in four islands.
Online Resource 3. Number of genetic clusters (K) identified by STRUCTURE analysis.
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Genetic diversity and differentiation of Ficus microarpa in four islands. (PDF 149 kb)
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Number of genetic clusters (K) identified by STRUCTURE analysis. (PDF 158 kb)
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Kameyama, Y., Fujiyoshi, M., Mizutani, A. et al. Dwarfism of Ficus microcarpa in the Ryukyu islands, Okinawa, Japan. Plant Syst Evol 310, 12 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00606-024-01892-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00606-024-01892-4