Parallel evolution provides powerful natural experiments for studying repeatability of evolution and genomic basis of adaptation. Well-documented examples from plants are, however, still rare, as are inquiries of mechanisms driving convergence in some traits while divergence in others. Arabidopsis arenosa, a predominantly foothill species with scattered morphologically distinct alpine occurrences is a promising candidate. Yet, the hypothesis of parallelism remained untested. We sampled foothill and alpine populations in all regions known to harbor the alpine ecotype and used SNP genotyping to test for repeated alpine colonization. Then, we combined field surveys and a common garden experiment to quantify phenotypic parallelism. Genetic clustering by region but not elevation and coalescent simulations demonstrated parallel origin of alpine ecotype in four mountain regions. Alpine populations exhibited parallelism in height and floral traits which persisted after two generations in cultivation. In contrast, leaf traits were distinctive only in certain region(s), reflecting a mixture of plasticity and genetically determined non-parallelism. We demonstrate varying degrees and causes of parallelism and non-parallelism across populations and traits within a plant species. Parallel divergence along a sharp elevation gradient makes A. arenosa a promising candidate for studying genomic basis of adaptation.

Department of Botany Charles University Prague Czechia

Department of Botany University of Innsbruck Innsbruck Austria

Institute of Botany Slovak Academy of Sciences Bratislava Slovakia

Institute of Botany The Czech Academy of Sciences Průhonice Czechia

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Repeated colonisation of alpine habitats by Arabidopsis arenosa involved parallel adjustments of leaf cuticle traits

Unravelling some factors affecting sexual reproduction in rock-specialist shrub: Insight from an endemic Daphne arbuscula (Thymelaeaceae)

Parallel Differentiation and Plastic Adjustment of Leaf Anatomy in Alpine Arabidopsis arenosa Ecotypes

Repeated colonization of alpine habitats by Arabidopsis arenosa viewed through freezing resistance and ice management strategies

Genomic basis of parallel adaptation varies with divergence in Arabidopsis and its relatives

Transcriptional activity of transposable elements along an elevational gradient in Arabidopsis arenosa

Parallel Alpine Differentiation in Arabidopsis arenosa