Distribution of inversion in Zostera marina demonstrates unique selection pressures and

history of two bays

Bridget Patterson ,
1,2 Trey Ursillo ,
1,3 Jay Stachowicz ,
1 Rachael Bay 1
1UC Davis Evolution and Ecology, 2Bowdoin College, 3Wake Forest University

Background:

Haplotypes found in eelgrass beds separate two

Zostera marina, eelgrass, is an inter and subtidal plant that grows to be 2 feet to 6
feet tall. The most widespread seagrass species, it provides several ecosystem services:
• Nursery for economically important fish
• Protect coasts from erosion and storm surges
• Sequester and store carbon emissions1

There is a chromosomal inversion (see figure) found in

bays from the rest of California.
southern populations (San Diego) of the plant but not in the
north (Washington State) Washington, n=12
• Prevents recombination of the genes found in the inversion2 and
• Creates two separate haplotypes of eelgrass3
100%
Understanding the distribution of the inversion may help us
understand eelgrass ecosystems Made with biorender
Humboldt, n=84 Site Homozygous Heterozygous Homozygous 𝝌𝟐 p-value
• How eelgrass dispersed along the CA coast North (Observed| South result
• Is there a latitudinal cline? Where is the transition between haplotypes? (Observed| Expected) (Observed|
100% Expected) Expected)
• Through Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium analysis, is the inversion neutral or under
selection? Bodega 35 | 49.8 104 | 74.4 13 | 27.8 5.723 <0.025
Tomales 72 | 77.5 65 | 54.1 4 | 9.5 27.005 <0.0005
Methods:
• Collected leaf tissue samples from 7 sites
• Extracted DNA using Quigen DNeasy Plant Mini
• PCR and HindIII digest were used to genotype each
Bodega Bay, n=141
sample
• Hardy-Weinberg analysis to understand whether genotypes follow neutral From National Geographic by Suzanne Olyarnik
51% https://fieldnotes.nationalgeographic.org/expe
expectations dition/eelgrassmbodegabaycalifornia
3%

Results: Tomales Bay, n=152

46%

Other than Tomales and Bodega, all sites contain only one haplotype, with San Diego
being fixed for a different haplotype than the more northern sites. Hardy-Weinberg
tests suggest there are more heterozygotes than expected in Bodega and Tomales 23%
populations. 68%
9%
San Francisco, n=79
Discussion:
Variation in the frequency of the inversion data might be caused in many ways
100%
including:
1. Geologic history: ex. changes in water depth4
a) When sites were founded (SF had ocean water before BB and TB)5
2. Recent anthropogenic history: ex. pollution6, wasting disease bottleneck7 Monterey Bay, n=35
a) Sites have different levels of anthropogenic activity
3. Current selection pressure and restoration efforts
100%
a) Higher frequency of heterozygotes suggests heterozygote advantage
b) Recent restoration efforts may have diminished diversity8

Next Steps:
1. Environmental surveys
2. Further Southern
Genotype
sampling
Northern Homozygote
San Diego, n=12
Heterozygote
100%
Southern Homozygote

Acknowledgements:
Thank you to Brenda Cameron for her help. This work was funded by NSF grant DBI#1950536, with additional funding Map of California from Canva.com
from UC Davis. Research was conducted at University of California Davis, in Davis, CA.
Citations:
[1] Mtwana Nordlund et al. PLoS One. 2016, 11. [2] Wellenreuther and Bernatchez. Cell Press. 2018, 33. [3] Abbott et al.
Ecology and Evolution. 2018, 8. [4] Duffy et al. PNAS. 2022, 119. [5] NOAA ARCGIS. [6] Beheshti, K. and Ward, M. 2021.
Eelgrass Restoration on the U.S. West Coast: A Comprehensive Assessment of Restoration Techniques and Their Outcomes.
Prepared for the Pacific Marine and Estuarine Fish Habitat Partnership. [7] Sullivan et al. Fungal Ecology 2013, 6. [8]
Williams et al. Restoration Ecology. 1996, 4.