ArticleAnnals of botany2026
A shift in species niche through autopolyploidy: from sexual to vegetative reproduction in Saxifraga oppositifolia.
Article in Annals of botany, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND
aimsPolyploidy has been essential in the evolution of angiosperms, facilitating novel adaptations, enhancing speciation and contributing to the establishment of larger evolutionary lineages. However, newly formed polyploids require sufficient niche differentiation to survive and coexist with the diploid ancestor. Polyploids are commonly reproductively challenged, which may lead to rapid development of asexual reproduction, which may, in turn, lead to reproductive barriers or ecological niche divergence. Through this study, we investigate whether autopolyploidization has induced a shift from sexual reproduction to vegetative propagation in the arctic-alpine Saxifraga oppositifolia (Saxifragaceae) and thus facilitated the establishment of polyploids in mixed-cytotype populations.
methodsWe sampled data on capsule and seed production, seed germination, rooting ability, and leaf production among cytotypes through a combination of growth chamber experiments and in situ observations in a field set-up across different habitats (ridges, slopes, riverbeds) in Svalbard including >700 georeferenced S. oppositifolia plants with known cytotype (diploid, triploid or tetraploid). Through hypothesis testing and an explorative model search for relevant covariates (e.g. growth form, habitat, soil type), we tested the effect of cytotype on sexual and vegetative reproductive outcomes. KEY
resultsPolyploids had lower sexual reproductive investment (i.e. capsule production and seed production) and higher vegetative investment (i.e. leaf production and rooting ability), showing that polyploidy has significantly affected both sexual reproduction and vegetative propagation.
conclusionsOur findings confirm a shift in reproductive strategy towards less sexual investment and enhanced vegetative investment in triploid and tetraploid individuals. This shift may enhance polyploid survival in habitats with shorter growing season and limited pollinator availability, and thus explains their higher frequency in such habitats. These results support autopolyploidy as an evolutionary mechanism that may allow Arctic species to adapt to ongoing, rapid changes.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.