Content area
Full Text
About the Authors:
Regina S. Redman
* E-mail: [email protected]
Affiliations Western Fisheries Research Center, United States Geological Survey, Seattle, Washington, United States of America, College of Forest Resources, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, United States of America, Biology Department, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
Yong Ok Kim
Affiliations Western Fisheries Research Center, United States Geological Survey, Seattle, Washington, United States of America, Biology Department, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
Claire J. D. A. Woodward
Affiliations Western Fisheries Research Center, United States Geological Survey, Seattle, Washington, United States of America, Biology Department, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
Chris Greer
Affiliation: University of California Cooperative Extension, Yuba City, California, United States of America
Luis Espino
Affiliation: University of California Cooperative Extension, Colusa, California, United States of America
Sharon L. Doty
Affiliation: Western Fisheries Research Center, United States Geological Survey, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
Rusty J. Rodriguez
Affiliations Western Fisheries Research Center, United States Geological Survey, Seattle, Washington, United States of America, Biology Department, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
Introduction
The geographic distribution pattern of plants is thought to be based on climatic and edaphic heterogeneity that occurs across complex habitats [1], [2], [3]. All plants express some level of phenotypic plasticity [4] enabling them to grow in diverse habitats and across environmental gradients [5], [6], [7], [8], [9]. Phenotypic plasticity is defined as the production of multiple phenotypes from a single genotype, depending on environmental conditions and is considered adaptive if it is maintained by natural selection [4], [9], [10].
Plant adaptation to high stress habitats likely involves a combination of phenotypic plasticity and genetic adaptation, and is thought to involve processes exclusive to the plant genome [11], [12], [13], [14]. However, the mechanisms responsible for adaptation to high stress habitats are poorly defined. For example, all plants are known to perceive, transmit signals and respond to abiotic stresses such as drought, heat, and salinity [15], [16]. Yet, few species are able to colonize high stress habitats which typically have decreased levels of plant abundance compared to adjacent low stress habitats [17], [18]. Although there are numerous reports on the genetic, molecular and physiological bases of how plants respond...