Local adaptation to climate has facilitated the global invasion of cheatgrass

Diana Gamba (), Megan L. Vahsen, Toby M. Maxwell, Nikki Pirtel, Seth Romero, Justin J. Van Ee, Amanda Penn, Aayudh Das, Rotem Ben-Zeev, Owen Baughman, C. Sean Blaney, Randy Bodkins, Shanta Budha-Magar, Stella M. Copeland, Shannon L. Davis-Foust, Alvin Diamond, Ryan C. Donnelly, Peter W. Dunwiddie, David J. Ensing, Thomas A. Everest, Holly Hoitink, Martin C. Holdrege, Ruth A. Hufbauer, Sigitas Juzėnas, Jesse M. Kalwij, Ekaterina Kashirina, Sangtae Kim, Marcin Klisz, Alina Klyueva, Michel Langeveld, Samuel Lutfy, Daniel Martin, Christopher L. Merkord, John W. Morgan, Dávid U. Nagy, Jacqueline P. Ott, Radoslaw Puchalka, Lysandra A. Pyle, Leonid Rasran, Brian G. Rector, Christoph Rosche, Marina Sadykova, Robert K. Shriver, Alexandr Stanislavschi, Brian M. Starzomski, Rachel L. Stone, Kathryn G. Turner, Alexandra K. Urza, Acer VanWallendael, Carl-Adam Wegenschimmel, Justin Zweck, Cynthia S. Brown, Elizabeth A. Leger, Dana M. Blumenthal, Matthew J. Germino, Lauren M. Porensky, Mevin B. Hooten, Peter B. Adler and Jesse R. Lasky
Additional contact information
Diana Gamba: Pennsylvania State University, Department of Biology
Megan L. Vahsen: Utah State University, Department of Wildland Resources and the Ecology Center
Toby M. Maxwell: Boise State University, Department of Biological Sciences
Nikki Pirtel: Utah State University, Department of Wildland Resources and the Ecology Center
Seth Romero: Rangeland Resources and Systems Research Unit, US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service
Justin J. Van Ee: Colorado State University, Department of Agricultural Biology
Amanda Penn: Pennsylvania State University, Department of Biology
Aayudh Das: Pennsylvania State University, Department of Biology
Rotem Ben-Zeev: Pennsylvania State University, Department of Biology
Owen Baughman: The Nature Conservancy
C. Sean Blaney: Atlantic Canada Conservation Data Centre
Shanta Budha-Magar: Northtec
Stella M. Copeland: Eastern Oregon Agricultural Research Center, US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service
Shannon L. Davis-Foust: University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, Biology Department
Alvin Diamond: Troy University, Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences
Ryan C. Donnelly: Kansas State University, Division of Biology
Peter W. Dunwiddie: University of Washington, Department of Biology
David J. Ensing: Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Summerland Research and Development Centre
Thomas A. Everest: New Mexico State University, Department of Biology
Martin C. Holdrege: Center for Adaptable Western Landscapes, Northern Arizona University
Ruth A. Hufbauer: Colorado State University, Department of Agricultural Biology
Sigitas Juzėnas: Vilnius University, Department of Botany and Genetics, Institute of Biosciences, Life Sciences Center
Jesse M. Kalwij: University of Johannesburg, Centre for Ecological Genomics & Wildlife Conservation, Department of Zoology
Ekaterina Kashirina: A.O. Kovalevsky Institute of Biology of the Southern Seas of RAS
Sangtae Kim: Sungshin Women’s University, Department of Biology
Marcin Klisz: Forest Research Institute, Department of Silviculture and Genetics of Forest Trees
Alina Klyueva: Bryansk State University Academician I. G. Petrovsky
Samuel Lutfy: Texas A&M University—Kingsville, Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute
Christopher L. Merkord: Minnesota State University Moorhead, Biosciences Department
John W. Morgan: La Trobe University, Department of Environment and Genetics
Dávid U. Nagy: Goethe University Frankfurt, Faculty of Biological Sciences
Jacqueline P. Ott: Rocky Mountain Research Station, US Department of Agriculture, Forest Service
Radoslaw Puchalka: Nicolaus Copernicus University, Department of Ecology and Biogeography
Lysandra A. Pyle: Alberta Biodiversity Monitoring Institute
Leonid Rasran: BOKU University Vienna
Brian G. Rector: Invasive Species and Pollinator Health Research Unit, US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service
Christoph Rosche: Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Institute of Biology/Geobotany and Botanical Garden
Robert K. Shriver: University of Nevada, Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Science
Alexandr Stanislavschi: Gheorghe Asachi Technical University of Iasi, Department of Organic Biochemical and Food Engineering
Brian M. Starzomski: University of Victoria, School of Environmental Studies
Rachel L. Stone: Case Western Reserve University, Department of Biology
Kathryn G. Turner: Idaho State University, Department of Biological Sciences
Alexandra K. Urza: Rocky Mountain Research Station, US Department of Agriculture, Forest Service
Acer VanWallendael: North Carolina State University, Department of Horticultural Science
Carl-Adam Wegenschimmel: Terrastory Environmental Consulting Inc.
Justin Zweck: Pennsylvania State University, Department of Ecosystem Science and Management
Cynthia S. Brown: Colorado State University, Department of Agricultural Biology
Elizabeth A. Leger: University of Nevada, Department of Biology
Dana M. Blumenthal: Rangeland Resources and Systems Research Unit, US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service
Matthew J. Germino: Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, US Geological Survey
Lauren M. Porensky: Rangeland Resources and Systems Research Unit, US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service
Mevin B. Hooten: The University of Texas at Austin, Department of Statistics and Data Sciences
Peter B. Adler: Utah State University, Department of Wildland Resources and the Ecology Center
Jesse R. Lasky: Pennsylvania State University, Department of Biology

Nature Communications, 2025, vol. 16, issue 1, 1-17

Abstract: Abstract Local adaptation may facilitate range expansion during invasions, but the mechanisms underlying successful invasions remain unclear. Cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum), native to Eurasia and Africa, has invaded globally, with severe impacts in western North America. We aim to identify mechanisms and consequences of local adaptation in the North American cheatgrass invasion. We sequence 307 range-wide genotypes and conduct controlled experiments. We find that diverse lineages invaded North America, where long-distance gene flow is common. Nearly half of North American cheatgrass comprises a mosaic of ~19 locally adapted, near-clonal genotypes, each seemingly very successful in a different part of North America. Additionally, ancestry, phenotype, and allele frequency-environment clines in the native range predict those in the invaded range, indicating pre-adapted genotypes colonized different regions. Common gardens show directional selection on flowering time that reverse between warm and cold sites, potentially maintaining clines. In the USA Great Basin, genomic predictions of strong local adaptation identify sites where cheatgrass is most dominant. Our results indicate that multiple introductions and migration within the invaded range fuel local adaptation and success of cheatgrass in western North America. Understanding how environment and gene flow shape adaptation and invasion is critical for managing ongoing invasions.

Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-64799-9 Abstract (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:natcom:v:16:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-025-64799-9

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.nature.com/ncomms/

DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-64799-9

Access Statistics for this article

Nature Communications is currently edited by Nathalie Le Bot, Enda Bergin and Fiona Gillespie

More articles in Nature Communications from Nature
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().