DOI: 10.5061/dryad.c866t1gcg
title: Phenotypic traits of 17 populations of Spartina alterniflora in China

description: Understanding the ecological and evolutionary processes that underlie
 phenotypic and genetic variation among invasive plant populations and the
 capacity of such populations to colonize a broad range of environments is
 a major goal in ecology. Rapid adaptation to local environmental
 conditions often leads to latitudinal clines in both phenotypes and
 genotypes of invasive plant species. Previous studies suggest that natural
 selection influenced a latitudinal cline in phenotypic traits of the
 invasive plant Spartina alterniflora in China. However, little is
 understood of the relationship between genetic and phenotypic
 differentiation and environmental factors among S. alterniflora
 populations. Here, we studied whether S. alterniflora exhibits a
 latitudinal cline in genetic diversity across the east coast of China and
 whether genetic and phenotypic differentiation among populations were
 correlated with environmental factors. The Restriction-site Associated DNA
 (RAD-seq) sequencing was used to obtained genomic information of 17
 populations of S. alterniflora in China. A redundancy analysis (RDA) was
 performed to assess whether environmental variables were corelated with
 genetic and phenotypic differentiation among the populations. A univariate
 environmental association analysis (implemented through Latent Factor
 Mixed Model; LFMM) and a principal component analysis (PCAdapt) were used
 to test for signature of local adaptation. A total of 3, 310 SNPs showed a
 clear genetic structure among populations in three climatic regions
 (northern, mid-latitude and southern). Positive correlations between
 genetic differentiation and variation in reproductive characteristics of
 S. alterniflora were revealed, suggesting that sexual reproduction traits
 might be stable and genetically heritable. Outlier loci that were
 identified by both PCAdapt and LFMM methods were significantly correlated
 to soil phosphorus content, soil salinity, and precipitation. These
 results provide evidence of molecular signatures of local adaptation of S.
 alterniflora and suggest that rapid adaptive evolution may facilitate
 invasiveness of S. alterniflora in China.
description: A total of 17 populations of <em>S. alterniflora</em>
 that occurred along a coastal line in China were studied. Leaf tissues for
 DNA analysis were obtained from a total of 253 individuals (14-15
 individuals per population) between August and September 2018, with the
 distance between any two individuals maintained at more than 30 m. In situ
 measurements of four phenotypic traits, including plant height, basal
 diameter, length of mature inflorescence, and the number of spike-like
 branches on one mature inflorescence, were also taken from the
 same <em>S. alterniflora</em> individuals that were sampled
 for DNA analysis.
description: # Title of Dataset: --- Phenotypic traits of 17 populations of Spartina
 alterniflora in China. ## Description of the Data and file structure This
 is a CSV file for four phenotypic traits of 17 populations of Spartina
 alterniflora in China, including plant height, basal diameter, length of
 mature inflorescence, and the number of spike-like branches on one mature
 inflorescence. The data were taken from a total of 253 individuals of 17
 populations (14-15 individuals per population) of S. alterniflora that
 occurred along a coastal line in China between August and September 2018,
 with the distance between any two individuals maintained at more than 30
 m. The missing data codes was N/A.