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Rapid polygenic adaptation in a wild population of ash trees under a novel fungal epidemic.

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Title: Rapid polygenic adaptation in a wild population of ash trees under a novel fungal epidemic.
Authors: Metheringham, Carey L., Plumb, William J., Flynn, William R. M., Stocks, Jonathan J., Kelly, Laura J., Nemesio Gorriz, Miguel, Grieve, Stuart W. D., Moat, Justin, Lines, Emily R., Buggs, Richard J. A., Nichols, Richard A.
Source: Science. 6/26/2025, Vol. 388 Issue 6754, p1422-1425. 4p.
Subjects: Ash tree diseases & pests, Fungal diseases of plants, Alleles in plants, Plant breeding, Plant populations
Abstract: Rapid evolution through small shifts in allele frequencies at thousands of loci is a long-standing neo-Darwinian prediction but is hard to characterize in the wild. European ash tree (Fraxinus excelsior) populations have recently come under strong selection by the invasive fungal pathogen Hymenoscyphus fraxineus. Using genomic prediction models based on field trial phenotypes and 7985 loci, we show a shift in genomically estimated breeding values in an ancient woodland, between adult trees established before the epidemic started and juvenile trees established since. Using simulations, we estimate that natural selection has eliminated 31% of the juvenile population. Thus, we document a highly polygenic heritable microevolutionary adaptive change over a single generation in the wild. Editor's summary: Polygenic adaptation, in which selection acts on many variants at once, may serve an important role in adaptation, but it is harder to detect than selection acting on few loci of large effect. Metheringham et al. looked at genomic changes in the European ash, Fraxinus excelsior, the numbers of which have been decimated in recent decades by a fungal pathogen, Hymenoscyphus fraxineus. They found that a previously generated list of about 8000 potential variants showed significant differences in allele frequencies between juvenile and adult trees, and these differences were larger than randomly selected variants. This result suggests that polygenic adaptation may indeed be occurring in this population and that some of these variants may point to intervention targets. —Corinne Simonti [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Science is the property of American Association for the Advancement of Science and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection
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  Data: Rapid polygenic adaptation in a wild population of ash trees under a novel fungal epidemic.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Metheringham%2C+Carey+L%2E%22">Metheringham, Carey L.</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Plumb%2C+William+J%2E%22">Plumb, William J.</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Flynn%2C+William+R%2E+M%2E%22">Flynn, William R. M.</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Stocks%2C+Jonathan+J%2E%22">Stocks, Jonathan J.</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Kelly%2C+Laura+J%2E%22">Kelly, Laura J.</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Nemesio+Gorriz%2C+Miguel%22">Nemesio Gorriz, Miguel</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Grieve%2C+Stuart+W%2E+D%2E%22">Grieve, Stuart W. D.</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Moat%2C+Justin%22">Moat, Justin</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Lines%2C+Emily+R%2E%22">Lines, Emily R.</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Buggs%2C+Richard+J%2E+A%2E%22">Buggs, Richard J. A.</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Nichols%2C+Richard+A%2E%22">Nichols, Richard A.</searchLink>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Science%22">Science</searchLink>. 6/26/2025, Vol. 388 Issue 6754, p1422-1425. 4p.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Ash+tree+diseases+%26+pests%22">Ash tree diseases & pests</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Fungal+diseases+of+plants%22">Fungal diseases of plants</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Alleles+in+plants%22">Alleles in plants</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Plant+breeding%22">Plant breeding</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Plant+populations%22">Plant populations</searchLink>
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  Data: Rapid evolution through small shifts in allele frequencies at thousands of loci is a long-standing neo-Darwinian prediction but is hard to characterize in the wild. European ash tree (Fraxinus excelsior) populations have recently come under strong selection by the invasive fungal pathogen Hymenoscyphus fraxineus. Using genomic prediction models based on field trial phenotypes and 7985 loci, we show a shift in genomically estimated breeding values in an ancient woodland, between adult trees established before the epidemic started and juvenile trees established since. Using simulations, we estimate that natural selection has eliminated 31% of the juvenile population. Thus, we document a highly polygenic heritable microevolutionary adaptive change over a single generation in the wild. Editor's summary: Polygenic adaptation, in which selection acts on many variants at once, may serve an important role in adaptation, but it is harder to detect than selection acting on few loci of large effect. Metheringham et al. looked at genomic changes in the European ash, Fraxinus excelsior, the numbers of which have been decimated in recent decades by a fungal pathogen, Hymenoscyphus fraxineus. They found that a previously generated list of about 8000 potential variants showed significant differences in allele frequencies between juvenile and adult trees, and these differences were larger than randomly selected variants. This result suggests that polygenic adaptation may indeed be occurring in this population and that some of these variants may point to intervention targets. —Corinne Simonti [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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  Data: <i>Copyright of Science is the property of American Association for the Advancement of Science and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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              Text: 6/26/2025
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