Genetic survey of Minnesota Euphrasia species, 2019-2022

• Main Authors: Gross, Briana L, Etterson, Julie R, Vallez, John P, Carlson, Ryan
• Other Authors: University of Minnesota - Duluth Department of Biology, [e-mail]
• Format: Dataset
• Language: unknown
• Published: 2022
• Subjects: Euphrasia; hybrid; native; invasive; GBS; RAD-seq; Arctic
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/11299/256051

Files include fastq sequence files from Illumina sequencing of 667 samples from 23 locations in Minnesota collected in 2019 and 2022. Some locations contain more than one species. We have included a list of samples IDs and a list of locations with GPS coordinates. A variant call format (VCF) file of sites derived from the fastq files and documentation on the generation of this VCF file are also provided. This study represents a genetic survey of native and invasive Euphrasia populations in Minnesota, with the objective of understanding the degree of hybridization among species and the threat posed to the native species. Euphrasia hudsoniana is an arctic relict species that persists along the north shore of Lake Superior. A previous genetic study revealed hybridization between the invasive and the native species at two locations. In this study, we expanded our sampling to include nearly all known populations of E. hudsoniana as well as populations of invasive Euprhasia and suspected hybrid zones. Populations of invasive Euphrasia included those found close to E. hudsoniana as well as populations with taxonomically verified specimens from the University of Minnesota Herbarium and the Olga Lakela Herbarium. Based on these records, we included populations of E. stricta, E. nemorosa, E. micrantha, and a variety of hybrids among them. We generated RAD-seq data for a total of 667 samples. Gene flow from the invasive into the native was substantial at some locations, indicating that the native species is threatened with genetic swamping. There was also evidence of gene flow among some of the invasive lineages. There were three main invasive lineages identified based on genetic groupings, but these did not always correspond to the taxonomic assignment of the species according to herbarium specimens. Funding for this project was provided by the Minnesota Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund as recommended by the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR).