ArticleAnnals of botany2022
Tracking population genetic signatures of local extinction with herbarium specimens.
Article in Annals of botany, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers.
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16 citing papers in PubMed, 35 citations in OpenAlex.
- Whole-genome duplication promotes phenotypic and genetic adaptation to elevation.The New phytologist · 2026Article
- The utility of herbarium collections for genetic monitoring.Bioscience · 2026Review
- A genetic evaluation of conservation units and four decades of translocation history for Banksia cuneata, an iconic threatened species in a biodiversity hotspot.Annals of botany · 2026Article
- Using herbarium collections to study genetic responses to global change.The New phytologist · 2026Review
- Looking back to look ahead: the temporal dimension of conservation seed bank collections.The New phytologist · 2025Review
- Article
- Museomics of an extinct European flat oyster population.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Guidelines for the effective and ethical sampling of herbaria.Nature ecology & evolution · 2025Review
- Herbarium specimens reveal a cryptic invasion of polyploid Centaurea stoebe in Europe.The New phytologist · 2025Article
- Genetic diversity assessment ofEcology and evolution · 2024Article
- Utilising bryophyte herbarium material as a source of fungal novelty: a case study presenting new records ofJournal of bryology · 2024Article
- Challenges and Opportunities behind the Use ofPlants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
- Population size affected by environmental variability impacts genetics, traits, and plant performance inEcology and evolution · 2023Article
- Plant Seeds and Floristic Preservation in the Anthropocene.Annals of botany · 2022Article
- Looking to the past to inform the future: What eDNA from herbarium specimens can tell us about plant-animal interactions.Applications in plant sciencesArticle
- A comparison of freezer-stored DNA and herbarium tissue samples for chloroplast assembly and genome skimming.Applications in plant sciencesArticle
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND
aimsHabitat degradation and landscape fragmentation dramatically lower population sizes of rare plant species. Decreasing population sizes may, in turn, negatively affect genetic diversity and reproductive fitness, which can ultimately lead to local extinction of populations. Although such extinction vortex dynamics have been postulated in theory and modelling for decades, empirical evidence from local extinctions of plant populations is scarce. In particular, comparisons between current vs. historical genetic diversity and differentiation are lacking despite their potential to guide conservation management.
methodsWe studied the population genetic signatures of the local extinction of Biscutella laevigata subsp. gracilis populations in Central Germany. We used microsatellites to genotype individuals from 15 current populations, one ex situ population, and 81 herbarium samples from five extant and 22 extinct populations. In the current populations, we recorded population size and fitness proxies, collected seeds for a germination trial and conducted a vegetation survey. The latter served as a surrogate for habitat conditions to study how habitat dissimilarity affects functional connectivity among the current populations. KEY
resultsBayesian clustering revealed similar gene pool distribution in current and historical samples but also indicated that a distinct genetic cluster was significantly associated with extinction probability. Gene flow was affected by both the spatial distance and floristic composition of population sites, highlighting the potential of floristic composition as a powerful predictor of functional connectivity which may promote decision-making for reintroduction measures. For an extinct population, we found a negative relationship between sampling year and heterozygosity. Inbreeding negatively affected germination.
conclusionsOur study illustrates the usefulness of historical DNA to study extinction vortices in threatened species. Our novel combination of classical population genetics together with data from herbarium specimens, an ex situ population and a germination trial underlines the need for genetic rescue measures to prevent extinction of B. laevigata in Central Germany.
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