Speciation of the American Cranberry (Vaccinium macrocarpon)

Speciation of the American Cranberry (Vaccinium macrocarpon)Brandon Schlautman

What is a species?Domain- Eukarya

Kingdom- Plantae

Phylum- Magnoliophyta

Class- Magnoliopsida

Order- Ericales

Family- EricaceaeIs a member of the heath family.

Genus- VacciniumIs a member of the blueberry genus.Species- Vaccinium macrocarpon Ait.

Cranberry Morphology/AdaptationsSmall vining shrub, forms dense mats in bog areas

Cranberry Morphology/AdaptationsExtensive rhizomes, asexual reproductionSelf-incompatibleFlowers look like a cranes head and neck

Cranberry Morphology/AdaptationsYellow/red false berriesFruits contain loculesFruits are very hardy

Vaccinium PhylogenyPhylogenetic tree - a branching diagram revealing the evolutionary relationships among various biological species based upon similarities and differences in their physical and/or genetic characteristics.

Vaccinium genus: some members

V. angustifoliumLowbush Blueberry

V. corymbosumHighbush Blueberry

V. vitis-idaeaLignonberry

V. myrtillusBilberry

V. ovatumHuckleberry

V. darrowii

Subgenus: OxycoccosSect. Oxycoccus Vaccinium macrocarpon American CranberryVaccinium microcarpum Small CranberryVaccinium oxycoccos Common Cranberry

Sect. OxycoccoidesVaccinium erythrocarpus Southern MountainCranberry

V. macrocarponV. microcarpumV. oxycoccos

V. erythrocarpumVaccinium hypothesis for ClassHow does evolution fit in this picture?Basic definition of evolution: A genetic change in a population over time.

Main objective: What evolutionary forces and/or types of selection were acting upon Vaccinium subgenus oxycoccos which caused it to split (i.e. speciate) into three or more distinct species?

Further objective: Are there really three species, and should the oxycoccos subgenus exist?Speciation- a lineage-splitting event that produces two or more separate speciesAllopatric Speciation- Speciation occurring in an alternate locationGeographic barriers to reproduction

Sympatric Speciation- Speciation occurring in same locationBarriers to reproduction in same geographic areaEx) chromosome duplication/polyploidy

Selections Role in SpeciationNatural Selection- gradual random process which causes biological traits to become more or less common in a populationSurvival of the fittestArtificial Selection- Human mediated selection, agriculture

Oxycoccus Geographic Distribution

V. macrocarponV. oxycoccus 4NV. oxycoccus 2NV. microcarpumV. erythrocarpusFollowing Speciation: Genetic FingerprintsMicrosatellites (SSRs)- Short Sequence Repeats

Ex) 5-AGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAG-3

vs. 5-AGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAG-3

By tracking changes in genetic sequences (SSRs), we can follow the genetic change in populations overtime (i.e. Evolution!)Chloroplast Data ExampleWhy Chloroplast DNAMaternally inherited only one copy per plant (i.e. every plant is a homozygote)Small size-110,000 bp vs. 550,000,000bp nuclear genomeMinimal variation

Revised Vaccinium Genetic TheoryGentic Theory and Distribution

V.erythrocarpus- Likely Allopatric Speciation- isolated in Appalacian MountainsV. Oxycoccus 4N- Sympatric Speciation- Reproductive barrier due to polyploidyV. Oxycoccus 2N- Allopatric Speciaion geographic isolationV. Macrocarpon 2N- Allopatric Speciation geographic isolation Current Vaccinium Migration Hypothesis based on Morphology

BlueberriesCranberriesCan we prove or disprove this hypothesis using genetic tools?