Authors
Todd P Michael, Phuong T N Hoang, Bradley W Abramson, Allen Mamerto, Buntora Pasaribu, Jörg Fuchs, Evan Ernst, Nicholas Allsing, Luca Braglia, Semar Petrus, Veit Schubert, Nolan Hartwick, Megan Wang, Yi-Feng Chen, Mariele Lensink, Tiffany Duong, Kelly Colt, Manuela Bog, K Sowjanya Sree, Laura Morello, Klaus-J Appenroth, Ingo Schubert, Robert A Martienssen, Eric Lam
Published in
Communications biology. Jun 25, 2026. Epub Jun 25, 2026.
Abstract
Duckweeds (Lemnaceae Martinov) are aquatic monocotyledonous plants known to be the smallest and fastest-growing flowering plants on Earth. Many species are morphologically indistinguishable due to their reduced structures, yet molecular evidence suggests that visually similar clones could be distinct species or hybrids. Using a comprehensive suite of genomic, molecular and cytogenetic methods, we analyzed 58 presumed Lemna minor clones to resolve their relationships. Our study revealed extensive genome plasticity within the "Lemna minor complex," identifying diploid and triploid L. minor clones, as well as allodiploid and allotriploid interspecific hybrids, in addition to a novel African-clade L. minor lineage. Triploidy in the L. minor complex is prevalent in nature, occurring in 33% of the clones previously identified as L. minor in our collection, and is associated with enhanced growth metrics under optimal conditions. For asexually propagative species such as duckweeds, where the triploid block is not a deterrent, triploid progenies may become the majority as has been observed in numerous wild Lemna populations. Our study shows that polyploidy and hybridization in these primarily asexually propagating plants could play important roles in their population dynamics and evolution under changing environments.
PMID:
42350782
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 26 Jun 2026.
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