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Associations among leaf developmental stability, canalization and phenotypic plasticity in response to population density in Abutilon theophrasti under contrasting soil conditions at different growth stages
  • Shu Wang,
  • Dao-Wei Zhou
Shu Wang
Guizhou University

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Dao-Wei Zhou
Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology Chinese Academy of Sciences
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Abstract

Most studies on animals have conducted comparative studies to deduce the possible relationships among developmental stability, canalization and phenotypic plasticity, there is a lack of direct evidence in plants, which should be better study materials. To investigate the correlations among developmental stability, canalization and plasticity in plants, we conducted a field experiment with Abutilon theophrasti, by subjected plants to three densities under infertile vs. fertile soil conditions, and measured leaf size, leaf fluctuating asymmetry (FA), and calculated coefficient of variation among leaves within individuals (CVleaf) and among individuals (CVin) and relative plasticity (PIrel) and its degree in leaf size at three growth stages, to analyze the responses of their correlations to density and how they may vary with soil conditions or growth stages. Results showed a decrease of FA, CVleaf and PIrel and an increase of CVin in leaf size, with increased density. In most cases, there were no correlations among these variables, but negative correlations between CVin and PIrel, positive correlations between FA and PIrel at high density and/or in fertile soil, in infertile soil. It suggested that higher FA may indicate the state of faster growth rather than an indicator of environmental stresses; there are correlations among developmental stability, canalization and plasticity, which may be complex, affected by other factors. The loss of developmental stability may be beneficial for plant response to environmental stresses, while decreased canalization can be either disadvantageous or advantageous, depending on that the size variation results from an increase or decrease of smaller individuals, and whether its correlations with other variables reflect beneficial or adverse environmental effects.
22 Nov 2021Submitted to Ecology and Evolution
23 Nov 2021Submission Checks Completed
23 Nov 2021Assigned to Editor
24 Nov 2021Reviewer(s) Assigned
22 Dec 2021Review(s) Completed, Editorial Evaluation Pending
28 Dec 2021Editorial Decision: Revise Minor
06 Jan 20221st Revision Received
06 Jan 2022Assigned to Editor
06 Jan 2022Submission Checks Completed
06 Jan 2022Review(s) Completed, Editorial Evaluation Pending
07 Jan 2022Reviewer(s) Assigned
07 Feb 2022Editorial Decision: Revise Minor
08 Feb 20222nd Revision Received
08 Feb 2022Submission Checks Completed
08 Feb 2022Assigned to Editor
08 Feb 2022Review(s) Completed, Editorial Evaluation Pending
23 Feb 2022Editorial Decision: Revise Minor
24 Feb 20223rd Revision Received
24 Feb 2022Submission Checks Completed
24 Feb 2022Assigned to Editor
24 Feb 2022Review(s) Completed, Editorial Evaluation Pending
09 Mar 2022Editorial Decision: Revise Minor
10 Mar 20224th Revision Received
10 Mar 2022Submission Checks Completed
10 Mar 2022Review(s) Completed, Editorial Evaluation Pending
10 Mar 2022Assigned to Editor
22 Mar 2022Editorial Decision: Revise Minor
22 Mar 20225th Revision Received
22 Mar 2022Submission Checks Completed
22 Mar 2022Assigned to Editor
22 Mar 2022Review(s) Completed, Editorial Evaluation Pending
05 Apr 2022Editorial Decision: Accept