DOI: 10.5061/dryad.612jm64k2
title: Does genetic variation in controlled experiments predict phenology of wild plants?

description: Phenology and the timing of development are often under selection.
 However, the relative contributions of genotype, environment, and prior
 developmental transitions to variance in the phenology of wild plants is
 largely unknown. Individual components of phenology (e.g., germination)
 might be loosely related with the timing of maturation due to variation in
 prior developmental transitions. Given widespread evidence that genetic
 variation in life history is adaptive, we investigated to what degree
 experimentally measured genetic variation in Arabidopsis phenology
 predicts phenology of plants in the wild. As a proxy of phenology, we
 obtained collection dates from nature of 227 naturally inbred Arabidopsis
 thaliana accessions from across Eurasia. We compared this phenology in
 nature with experimental data on the descendant inbred lines that we
 synthesized from two new and 155 published controlled experiments. We
 tested whether the genetic variation in flowering and germination timing
 from experiments predicted the phenology of the same lines in nature. We
 found that genetic variation in phenology from controlled experiments
 significantly predicts day of collection from wild individuals, as a proxy
 for date of flowering, across Eurasia. However, local variation in
 collection dates within a region was not explained by genetic variance in
 phenology in experiments, suggesting high plasticity across small-scale
 environmental gradients or complex interactions between the timing of
 different developmental transitions. While experiments have shown
 phenology is under selection, understanding the subtle environmental and
 stochastic effects on phenology may help to clarify the heritability and
 evolution of phenological traits in nature.
description: # Does genetic variation in controlled experiments predict phenology of
 wild plants? Dataset DOI:
 [10.5061/dryad.612jm64k2](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.612jm64k2) ##
 Description of the data and file structure These tables represent data
 from flowering time and seed germination experiments on a set of diverse
 Arabidopsis ecotypes. ### Files and variables #### File:
 TableS2_FloweringExperimentData.2.1.csv **Description:** Flowering time
 data on diverse Arabidopsis ecotypes. ##### Variables * Ecotype: the text
 name of the natural inbred line. * Line: the stock center number of the
 natural inbred line. * Rep: the replicate plant * Tray: tray where planted
 * Stratification_Date: date seeds stratified * Planting_Date: date seeds
 sown * Covers_Off: when humidity domes were removed * RandomizedThinned:
 when pots positions were randomized and seedlings thinned. * NewPosition:
 when positions were shifted again. * Germinated1.24.18: if germinated on
 this date. * SickDead1.24.18: if sick or dead on this date. * Alive3.1.18:
 if alive on this date. * Bolting: date when bolting recorded. * Petals:
 date when petals visible. * SeedsFinished: date when seeds done maturing.
 * Harvested: date when seeds harvested. * BoltJulday: julian day of
 bolting. * PetalJulday: julian day of petal emergence. * Latitude:
 latitude of ecotype collection. * Longitude: longitude of ecotype
 collection. * Elevation: elevation of ecotype collection. #### File:
 TableS3_PhenologyGermData.2.csv **Description:** Germination data on
 diverse Arabidopsis ecotypes. ##### Variables * CSID: stock center ID of
 natural inbred line. * Ecotype: the text name of the natural inbred line.
 * Maternal: the maternal plant within ecotype from which seed was
 collected. * Rep: the replicate dish. * Treatment: the cold stratification
 treatment received. * Shelf: shelf where positioned in growth chamber. *
 Column: column where positioned on shelf. * Row: row where positioned on
 shelf. * Day1: number germinated on day 1. * notes: notes on day 1. *
 Day3: number germinated on day 3. * notes: notes on day 3. * Day5: number
 germinated on day 5. * notes: notes on day 5. * Day10: number germinated
 on day 10. * notes: notes on day 10. * Day14: number germinated on day 14.
 * notes: notes on day 14. * Day21: number germinated on day 21. * notes:
 notes on day 21. * Day28: number germinated on day 28. * notes: notes on
 day 28. * totalseed: total seeds on dish. * totalgerm: total germinated.