Highly plastic general‐purpose genotypes are a frequent occurrence among invasive plants. Yet it remains uncertain to what extent genetic differentiation can co‐occur with such elevated levels of plasticity. Understanding the interplay between these two evolutionary strategies is essential to understand potential invasive success and future climate change responses. We investigated the potential for genetic shifts between upland and lowland populations of the highly plastic invasive herb Erythranthe guttata in New Zealand. We aimed to determine (a) the presence of genetic differentiation between upland and lowland origin E. guttata populations; (b) whether any differences aligned with established adaptive patterns; and (c) whether genetic differentiation was occurring alongside the high plasticity of E. guttata populations in response to varying elevations. We grew cuttings from 38 E. guttata populations from upland and lowland Canterbury in a lowland and an upland common garden, where we measured a wide range of growth and reproductive traits. We found significant differentiation between upland and lowland origin populations over most measured traits. Plants sourced from upland populations flowered earlier and produced more flowers than plants originating from lowland populations. Lowland origin plants were taller, had larger leaves and higher photosynthetic rates than upland plants. These differences occurred alongside high levels of unspecialised plasticity to the growing environment. Synthesis: We found that over a period of less than 150 years, distinct lowland and upland phenotypes of E. guttata have emerged. These differences are consistent with known selective patterns to elevation that favour reproductive security at higher elevations and competitive ability at lower elevations. This rapid genetic differentiation occurred alongside high plasticity to growing environment, suggesting that highly plastic invasive species still retain the capacity to genetically adapt to novel environments.

中文翻译：

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在通用基因型入侵植物中，海拔分化与高可塑性一起发生


高度可塑的通用基因型在入侵植物中很常见。然而，目前仍不确定遗传分化在多大程度上可以与如此高的可塑性同时发生。了解这两种进化策略之间的相互作用对于理解潜在的入侵成功和未来的气候变化应对措施至关重要。我们调查了新西兰高度可塑性入侵草本植物 Erythranthe guttata 在高地和低地种群之间发生遗传变化的可能性。我们旨在确定 （a） 高地和低地起源的 E. guttata 种群之间存在遗传分化;（b） 是否有任何差异与已建立的适应性模式一致;（c） 遗传分化是否与 E. guttata 种群的高可塑性一起发生，以响应不同的海拔高度。我们在坎特伯雷的一个低地和一个高地公共花园中种植了来自坎特伯雷高地和低地的 38 个 E. guttata 种群的插条，在那里我们测量了广泛的生长和繁殖特性。我们发现高地和低地起源种群在大多数测量性状上存在显着差异。来自高地种群的植物比起源于低地种群的植物开花更早，开花的花也更多。与高地植物相比，低地植物更高、叶子更大、光合作用速率更高。这些差异发生在对生长环境的高度非专业可塑性的同时。综合：我们发现在不到 150 年的时间里，出现了 E. guttata 的不同低地和高地表型。 这些差异与已知的选择性海拔模式一致，这些模式有利于高海拔地区的生殖安全性和低海拔地区的竞争能力。这种快速的遗传分化发生在对生长环境的高可塑性的同时，这表明高度可塑性的入侵物种仍然保留了基因适应新环境的能力。