Global biodiversity data suggest allopolyploid plants do not occupy larger ranges or harsher conditions compared with their progenitors.

ABSTRACT: Understanding the factors determining species' geographical and environmental range is a central question in evolution and ecology, and key for developing conservation and management practices. Shortly after the discovery of polyploidy, just over 100 years ago, it was suggested that polyploids generally have greater range sizes and occur in more extreme conditions than their diploid congeners. This suggestion is now widely accepted in the literature and is attributed to polyploids having an increased capacity for genetic diversity that increases their potential for adaptation and invasiveness. However, the data supporting this idea are mixed. Here, we compare the niche of allopolyploid plants to their progenitor species to determine whether allopolyploidization is associated with increased

SUBMITTER: Mata JK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10433117 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature