Natural variation on whole-plant form in the wild is influenced by multivariate soil nutrient characteristics: natural selection acts on root traits.

PREMISE: In the complex soil nutrient environments of wild populations of annual plants, in general, low nutrient availability restricts growth and alters root-shoot relationships. However, our knowledge of natural selection on roots in field settings is limited. We sought to determine whether selection acts directly on root traits and to identify which components of the soil environment were potential agents of selection. METHODS: We studied wild native populations of Arabidopsis thaliana across 4 years, measuring aboveground and belowground traits and analyzing soil nutrients. Using multivariate methods, we examined patterns of natural selection and identified soil attributes that contributed to whole-plant form. In a common garden experiment at two field sites with contrasting soil texture, we examined patterns of selection on root and shoot traits. RESULTS: In wild populations, we uncovered selection for above- and belowground size and architectural traits. We detected variation through time and identified soil components that influenced fruit production. In the garden experiment, we detected a distinct positive selection for total root length at the site with greater water-holding capacity and negative selection for measures of root architecture at the field site with reduced nutrient availability and water holding capacity. CONCLUSIONS: Patterns of natural selection on belowground traits varied through time, across field sites and experimental gardens. Simultaneous investigations of above- and belowground traits reveal trait functional relationships on which natural selection can act, highlighting the influence of edaphic features on evolutionary processes in wild annual plant populations.

Patterns of among- and within-species variation in heterospecific pollen receipt: The importance of ecological generalization.

PREMISE OF THE STUDY: Coflowering plants are at risk for receiving pollen from heterospecifics as well as conspecifics, yet evidence shows wide variation in the degree that heterospecific pollen transfer occurs. Evaluation of patterns and correlates of among- and within-species variation in heterospecific pollen (HP) receipt is key to understanding its importance for floral evolution and species coexistence; however, the rarity of deeply sampled multispecies comparisons has precluded such an evaluation. METHODS: We evaluated patterns of among- and within-species variation in HP load size and diversity in 19 species across three distinct plant communities. We assessed the importance of phenotypic specialization (floral phenotype), ecological specialization (contemporary visitor assemblage), and conspecific flower density as determinants of among-species variation. We present hypotheses for different accrual patterns of HP within species based on the evenness and quality of floral visitors and evaluated these by characterizing the relationship between conspecific pollen (CP) and HP receipt. KEY RESULTS: We found that within-species variation in HP receipt was greater than among-species and among-communities variation. Among species, ecological generalization emerged as the strongest driver of variation in HP receipt irrespective of phenotypic specialization. Within-species variation in HP load size and diversity was predicted most often from two CP-HP relationships (linear or exponentially decreasing), suggesting that two distinct types of plant-pollinator interactions prevail. CONCLUSIONS: Our results give important insights into the potential drivers of among- and within-species variation in HP receipt. They also highlight the value of explorations of patterns at the intraspecific level, which can ultimately shed light on plant-pollinator-mediated selection in diverse plant communities.

Studies toward an ideal fluorescence method to measure palladium in functionalized organic molecules: effects of sodium borohydride, temperature, phosphine ligand, and phosphate ions on kinetics.

Residual metals in fine chemicals are currently detected by using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, which requires expensive instrumentation and does not have high-throughput capabilities. Although fluorescent probes can be amenable to high-throughput analyses of metals, the utility of such analyses is limited due to the lack of generality. Herein, we report a significant improvement (≈19-fold) to our previously reported catalysis-based fluorescent probe for palladium. Specifically, we found that slightly elevated temperature dramatically improved the generality of the method and that the deallylation reaction of the nonfluorescent compound 1 was accelerated by phosphate ions in aqueous media. This method was capable of detecting 0.2 ppb palladium. We demonstrated reasonably accurate palladium detection in various active pharmaceutical ingredients and highly functionalized organic compounds.