Global urban environmental change drives adaptation in white clover

Authors

James S. Santangelo, University of Toronto
Rob W. Ness, University of Toronto
Beata Cohan, University of Toronto
CR Fitzpatrick
Simon G. Innes, University of Louisiana at Lafayette
Sophie Koch, University of Toronto
Lindsay S. Miles, University of Toronto
Samreen Munim, Queen's University Kingston
Pedro R. Peres-Neto, Concordia University
Cindy Prashad, University of Toronto
AT Tong
Windsor E. Aguirre, DePaul University
Philips O. Akinwole, DePauw University
Marina Alberti, University of Washington
Jackie Álvarez, Universidad San Francisco de Quito
JT Anderson
JJ Anderson
Yoshino Ando, Hokkaido University
Nigel R. Andrew, University of New England
Fabio Angeoletto, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Geografia da UFMT
DN Anstett
J Anstett
Felipe Aoki-Gonçalves, Instituto de Ecologia, A.C.
AZA Arietta
Mary T.K. Arroyo, Universidad de Chile
Emily J. Austen, Mount Allison University
Fernanda Baena-Díaz, Instituto de Ecologia, A.C.
Cory A. Barker, University of Ottawa
Howard A. Baylis, University of Cambridge
Julia M. Beliz, University of Miami

Abstract

Urbanization transforms environments in ways that alter biological evolution. We examined whether urban environmental change drives parallel evolution by sampling 110,019 white clover plants from 6169 populations in 160 cities globally. Plants were assayed for a Mendelian antiherbivore defense that also affects tolerance to abiotic stressors. Urban-rural gradients were associated with the evolution of clines in defense in 47% of cities throughout the world. Variation in the strength of clines was explained by environmental changes in drought stress and vegetation cover that varied among cities. Sequencing 2074 genomes from 26 cities revealed that the evolution of urban-rural clines was best explained by adaptive evolution, but the degree of parallel adaptation varied among cities. Our results demonstrate that urbanization leads to adaptation at a global scale.

DOI

10.1126/science.abk0989

Publication Date

2022-03-18

Publication Title

Science

Volume

375

Issue

6586

ISSN

0036-8075

First Page

1275

Last Page

1281

Recommended Citation

Santangelo, J., Ness, R., Cohan, B., Fitzpatrick, C., Innes, S., Koch, S., Miles, L., Munim, S., Peres-Neto, P., Prashad, C., Tong, A., Aguirre, W., Akinwole, P., Alberti, M., Álvarez, J., Anderson, J., Anderson, J., Ando, Y., Andrew, N., Angeoletto, F., Anstett, D., Anstett, J., Aoki-Gonçalves, F., Arietta, A., Arroyo, M., Austen, E., Baena-Díaz, F., Barker, C., Baylis, H., & Beliz, J. (2022) 'Global urban environmental change drives adaptation in white clover', Science, 375(6586), pp. 1275-1281. Available at: 10.1126/science.abk0989" >https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abk0989