DOI: 10.5061/dryad.3bk3j9kxj
title: Global ploidy levels of Phragmites australis

description: Phragmites australis is one of the most widely distributed macrophytes in
 the world and a model system for biological invasions, as both native and
 introduced lineages grow sympatrically across North America. Decades of
 research on this tall grass and its biotic and abiotic interactions have
 advanced our understanding of plant ecology and plant invasions, including
 evidence for the relationship between distribution and specific traits to
 particular ploidy levels within the species. Phragmites australis is
 characterized by its allopolyploid origins with a base chromosome number
 of x = 12, with tetraploids and octoploids dominating worldwide. While
 aneuploids of tetraploid plants have been documented with a total
 chromosome count around 48 modern high-resolution imaging has found only
 euploids in all samples. As P. australis chromosomes have large
 heterochromatin terminal knobs that break easily, earlier evidence of
 aneuploidy could be the result of artefactual aneuploid counts. The data
 published here represents samples the authors collected from the field and
 analyzed using flow cytometry and by extracting data from the published
 literature. Based on our own data and data extracted from the literature,
 we found that tetraploids of this species are the most widely distributed
 globally and are the dominant invasive ploidy level in North America.
 Higher ploidy levels are more restricted, particularly those greater than
 8x.  
description: This data sets consists of two types of ploidy data, observed
 samples from our common gardens either in Kingston, RI, USA or in
 Průhonice, Czechia which consisted of plants were collected from all over
 the world and grown in either garden and data extracted from published and
 unpublished literature. The method used to determine ploidy level is
 included for all ploidy values reported. All data are
 georeferenced. Observed samples from our collection
 were freshly collected tissue samples from independent <em>P.
 australis</em> clones representing distinct populations obtained
 from the living collections curated at the University of Rhode Island,
 Kingston and the Institute of Botany, Czech Academy of Sciences,
 Průhonice, CZ. We also included some fresh tissue samples from field
 collections from plants not grown in our garden. These were transported to
 our lab in Průhonice, CZ on ice and analyzed immediately. All fresh
 samples were analyzed using flow cytometry and verified using chromosome
 counts. For the ploidy data extracted from the
 literature, we carefully searched
 the <em>Phragmites</em> literature (Web of Science, Google
 Scholar, Scopus, extensive web search and cross-checked all published
 ploidy levels against populations in our own collection) for reported data
 on ploidy levels on <em>P. australis</em> using the following
 combination of key words: <em>Phragmites
 australis</em>, <em>Phragmites communis</em>, common
 reed, ploidy, polyploidy, chromosome, karyotype, and cytotype. We also
 searched the Chromosome Counts Database (http://ccdb.tau.ac.il/) to compile a comprehensive database of reported ploidy levels in <em>P. australis </em>and the location of their collections. This data set represents a comprehensive global compilation of reported ploidy levels for <em>P. australis</em> ploidy levels.
description: # Global Ploidy Levels of Phragmites australis Access this dataset on
 Dryad:https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.3bk3j9kxj) ## Brief summary of dataset
 contents This data sets consists of two types of ploidy data, observed
 samples from our common gardens either in Kingston, RI, USA or in
 Průhonice, Czechia which consisted of plants were collected from all over
 the world and grown in either garden and data extracted from published and
 unpublished literature. The method used to determine ploidy level is
 included for all ploidy values reported. All data are georeferenced.
 Observed samples from our collection were freshly collected tissue samples
 from independent *P. australis* clones representing distinct populations
 obtained from the living collections curated at the University of Rhode
 Island, Kingston and the Institute of Botany, Czech Academy of Sciences,
 Průhonice, CZ. We also included some fresh tissue samples from field
 collections from plants not grown in our garden. These were transported to
 our lab in Průhonice, CZ on ice and analyzed immediately. All fresh
 samples were analyzed using flow cytometry and verified using chromosome
 counts. For the ploidy data extracted from the literature, we carefully
 searched the *Phragmites* literature (Web of Science, Google Scholar,
 Scopus, extensive web search and cross-checked all published ploidy levels
 against populations in our own collection) for reported data on ploidy
 levels on *P. australis* using the following combination of key
 words: *Phragmites australis*, *Phragmites communis*, common reed, ploidy,
 polyploidy, chromosome, karyotype, and cytotype. We also searched the
 Chromosome Counts Database
 ([http://ccdb.tau.ac.il/](http://ccdb.tau.ac.il/)) to compile a
 comprehensive database of reported ploidy levels in *P. australis *and the
 location of their collections. This data set represents a comprehensive
 global compilation of reported ploidy levels for *P. australis* ploidy
 levels. ## Description of the data and file structure We have submitted a
 .csv file of all of the ploidy data from our common garden samples
 Paustralis_ploidy.csv. ### Variables * Source:  Indicates whether tissue
 samples collected from common garden (USA or CZ) or ploidy values were
 extracted from the literature. * Continent: Indicates the continent from
 which the plant sample was collected. * Country: Indicates the country
 from which the plant sample was collected. * ID: Indicates the nearest
 named geographic reference, if known. Otherwise, blank. * Latitude:
 Latitude where plant sample was collected. * Longitude: Longitude of where
 plant sample was collected. * Ploidy: Ploidy level as measured in our lab
 in CZ by flow cytometry or extracted from the literature. * Method: Method
 used to determine ploidy level * Reference: Published literature source
 where the data is published. ## Sharing/Access information Full references
 from data extracted from the literature: Clevering OA, Lissner J. 1999.
 Taxonomy, chromosome numbers, clonal diversity and population dynamics of
 Phragmites australis. Aquat. Bot. 64:185–208. Connor, H. E., Dawson, M.
 I., Keating, R. D., & Gill, L. S. (1998). Chromosome numbers
 of Phragmites australis (Arundineae: Gramineae) in New Zealand. New
 Zealand Journal of Botany, 36(3), 465–469.
 https://doi.org/10.1080/0028825X.1998.9512584. Djebrouni, M. Variabilité
 morphologique, caryologique et enzymatique chez quelques populations
 dePhragmites australis (Cav.)Trin. exSteud.. Folia geobot. phytotax. 27,
 49–59 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02854653. Gaudreault, S.M., White,
 D.A. and Hauber, D.P., 1989. Phragmites australis: an analysis of
 reproductive differences in two adjacent populations in the Mississippi
 River delta. American Journal of Botany, 76(6). Gervais, C., R. Trahan, D.
 Moreno, and A.-M. Drolet. 1993. Le Phragmites australis au Québec:
 distribution géographique, nombres chromosomiques et
 reproduction. Canadian Journal of Botany. 71(10):
 1386-1393. https://doi.org/10.1139/b93-166. Gorenflot, R. (1976). Le
 complexe polyploïde du Phragmites australis (Cav.) Trin. ex Steud. (= P.
 communis Trin.). Bulletin de La Société Botanique de France, 123(5–6),
 261–271. https://doi.org/10.1080/00378941.1976.10835694. Keller, BE. 2000.
 Genetic variation among and within populations of Phragmites australis in
 the Charles River watershed. Aquatic Botany 66: 195-208. Löve, A., 1981.
 Chromosome number reports LXXI. Taxon 30, 508–519. Meyerson, LA, JT
 Cronin, J Packer, P Pyšek, K Saltonstall. (2025, In Press). Ecology and
 Evolution of Phragmites australis, One of the World’s Most Successful
 Plant Species. Annual Reviews of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics.
 Nakagawa, M., Ohkawa, T. And Kaneko, Y. (2013), Flow cytometric assessment
 of cytotype distributions within local populations of Phragmites
 australis (Poaceae) around Lake Biwa, the largest lake in Japan. Plant
 Species Biology, 28:
 94-100. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1442-1984.2012.00370.x Paucã-Comãnescu,
 Mihaela , Olga A Clevering, Jenicã Hanganu, Mihai Gridin. 1999. Phenotypic
 differences among ploidy levels of Phragmites australis growing in
 Romania. Aquatic Botany 64: 223-234. Pellegrin, Dana and Donald P Hauber.
 1999. Isozyme variation among populations of the clonal
 species, Phragmites australis (Cav.) Trin. ex Steudel. Aquatic Botany 63:
 241-259. Raicu P, Staicus S, Stoian V, Roman T. 1972. The Phragmites
 australis Trin. chromosome complement in the Danube delta. Hydrobiologia
 39: 83-89. Saltonstall K, Glennon K, Burnett A, Hunter RB, Hunter KL.
 2007. Comparison of morphological variation indicative of ploidy level in
 Phragmites australis (POACEAE) from Eastern North America. Rhodora, 109:
 415–429. Tateoka,T., 19571601225, Undetermined, Annual report, (4), Annual
 Report of the National Institute of Genetics, Japan 1953., (45–47 pp.),
 Karyotaxonomic studies in Poaceae I., (1954)