Sunday, August 10, 2025
Science
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • HOME
  • SCIENCE NEWS
  • CONTACT US
  • HOME
  • SCIENCE NEWS
  • CONTACT US
No Result
View All Result
Scienmag
No Result
View All Result
Home Science News Climate

Discovery of a hybrid lineage offers clues to how trees adapt to climate change

July 17, 2024
in Climate
Reading Time: 4 mins read
0
the preferred habitat of black cottonwood, or Populus trichocarpa
66
SHARES
596
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The discovery of a hybrid population of poplar trees in western Wyoming has provided insight into how natural hybridization informs the evolution of many plant species, according to a team led by Penn State researchers. They also said their discovery suggests that genetic exchange between species may be critical for adaptation to environmental change.

the preferred habitat of black cottonwood, or Populus trichocarpa

Credit: Penn State

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The discovery of a hybrid population of poplar trees in western Wyoming has provided insight into how natural hybridization informs the evolution of many plant species, according to a team led by Penn State researchers. They also said their discovery suggests that genetic exchange between species may be critical for adaptation to environmental change.

The research — which described a novel lineage of hybrid black cottonwood, or Populus trichocarpa, and balsam poplar, Populus balsamifera, — was recently published in Molecular Ecology. It is just the latest study to suggest that natural hybridization has played an important role in the evolution of many plant species, according to team leader Jill Hamilton, associate professor in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences.

“Hybridization between different species is occurring in nature far more frequently than we might have thought — particularly in forest trees. This is not necessarily a bad thing, because it may be a natural mechanism to facilitate adaptation in a changing climate,” said Hamilton, who is director of the Schatz Center for Tree Molecular Genetics at Penn State. “Studies like this one are critical to begin teasing apart how demographic history, gene flow and interaction across varying genomic ancestries have shaped natural hybrid zones to make better predictions for movement of germplasm and climate-assisted forest management in the future.”

Most black cottonwood tree populations exist in wet coastal regions. However, the trees began appearing in arid environments inland and eastward about 800,000 years ago, noted Constance Bolte, postdoctoral researcher for the Schatz Center who spearheaded latter stages of the research. She hypothesized that this movement was likely facilitated by acquiring genetic variation from hybridizing with the balsam poplar trees that allowed them to survive hot, dry conditions.

The hybrid lineage described in the study have “some very interesting genetic combinations,” Bolte pointed out, enabling the trees to thrive in arid habitats.

“Those coastal populations have specific adaptations to wet conditions,” she said. “But climate has been changing, and so their distribution is very limited right now, potentially because that region is drier. And so, those hybrids have been doing better because they have the genetic tools to survive in that drier climate.”

Hybridization between sister species occurs frequently in forest trees, said Bolte, adding that this study shows the value in leveraging that history of natural hybridization for forest tree breeding and management.

“Our data indicates that stable lineage formation can result from hybridization,” she said. “Historically, hybrids have not been considered in conservation efforts, and yet, if these hybrids happen to be fit for survival in arid or other extreme climates, it may be crucial to conserve and manage the natural genetic resources in these populations, especially under rapidly changing climate conditions.”  

The team found the black cottonwood-balsam poplar stable hybrid lineage after analyzing the genetic makeup of 546 poplar tree cuttings collected along seven transects — or narrow swaths of territory arranged from north to south — ranging from Alaska to Wyoming, with collections in British Columbia and Alberta, Canada, in between. Such analysis, according to Hamilton, is only possible using big-data-handing techniques and enormous computing power available at facilities such as the ROAR Collaborative Cluster, available through Penn State’s Institute for Computational and Data Sciences.

Contributing to the research at Penn State were Michelle Zavala-Paez, doctoral student in ecology, and Brianna Sutara, undergraduate student majoring in biology and psychology; and Muhammed Can, faculty of Forestry, Duzce University, Turkey; Matthew Fitzpatrick, professor, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science; Jason Holliday, professor at Virginia Tech; Stephen Keller, associate professor Department of Plant Biology, University of Vermont; and Tommy Phannareth, graduate student at Virginia Tech.

The U.S. National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture funded this research.



Journal

Molecular Ecology

DOI

10.1111/mec.17430

Method of Research

Experimental study

Subject of Research

Not applicable

Article Title

Genomic insights into hybrid zone formation: The role of climate, landscape, and demography in the emergence of a novel hybrid lineage

Article Publication Date

13-Jun-2024

Share26Tweet17
Previous Post

Diatom surprise could rewrite the global carbon cycle

Next Post

Evidence for butchery of giant armadillo-like mammals in Argentina 21,000 years ago

Related Posts

blank
Climate

Navigating Energy Transition Amid Minerals Constraints

August 7, 2025
blank
Climate

Warming Speeds Up Arctic Ocean Deoxygenation

August 3, 2025
blank
Climate

Marine Heatwaves Favor Heat-Tolerant Reef Corals

August 3, 2025
blank
Climate

Satellite-Era Sea Surface Temperature Trends Vary Widely

August 3, 2025
blank
Climate

Thermal Adaptation in Ecosystems Reduces Carbon Loss

August 3, 2025
blank
Climate

Antarctic Phytoplankton Shift with Changing Sea Ice

August 3, 2025
Next Post
Anthropic cut marks in extinct megafauna bones from the Pampean region (Argentina) at the last glacial maximum

Evidence for butchery of giant armadillo-like mammals in Argentina 21,000 years ago

  • Mothers who receive childcare support from maternal grandparents show more parental warmth, finds NTU Singapore study

    Mothers who receive childcare support from maternal grandparents show more parental warmth, finds NTU Singapore study

    27531 shares
    Share 11009 Tweet 6881
  • University of Seville Breaks 120-Year-Old Mystery, Revises a Key Einstein Concept

    944 shares
    Share 378 Tweet 236
  • Bee body mass, pathogens and local climate influence heat tolerance

    641 shares
    Share 256 Tweet 160
  • Researchers record first-ever images and data of a shark experiencing a boat strike

    507 shares
    Share 203 Tweet 127
  • Warm seawater speeding up melting of ‘Doomsday Glacier,’ scientists warn

    310 shares
    Share 124 Tweet 78
Science

Embark on a thrilling journey of discovery with Scienmag.com—your ultimate source for cutting-edge breakthroughs. Immerse yourself in a world where curiosity knows no limits and tomorrow’s possibilities become today’s reality!

RECENT NEWS

  • Surfactants and Oils Shape Emulsion Ripening Rates
  • Euclid Satellite Unveils Secrets of Cosmology and Physics
  • Metric Warps: Boundary’s New Cosmic Source

  • Exploring Cosmology with the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna

Categories

  • Agriculture
  • Anthropology
  • Archaeology
  • Athmospheric
  • Biology
  • Bussines
  • Cancer
  • Chemistry
  • Climate
  • Earth Science
  • Marine
  • Mathematics
  • Medicine
  • Pediatry
  • Policy
  • Psychology & Psychiatry
  • Science Education
  • Social Science
  • Space
  • Technology and Engineering

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 4,860 other subscribers

© 2025 Scienmag - Science Magazine

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • HOME
  • SCIENCE NEWS
  • CONTACT US

© 2025 Scienmag - Science Magazine

Discover more from Science

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading