Triploidy is prominent in the duckweed Lemna minor complex
19 affiliations
- 1Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, School of Biological Sciences, and Center for Marine Biotechnology and Biomedicine, University of California, San Diego, CA, USA. [email protected]
- 2Department of Science and Conservation, San Diego Botanical Garden, Encinitas, CA, USA. [email protected]
- 3The Plant Molecular and Cellular Laboratory, Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA, USA. [email protected]
- 4Biology Faculty, Dalat University, Lamdong Province, Vietnam
- 5Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK) Gatersleben, Seeland, Germany
- 6Noblis Inc., Washington, DC, USA
- 7The Plant Molecular and Cellular Laboratory, Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA, USA
- 8Department of Plant Biology, Rutgers the State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ, USA
- 9Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, NY, USA
- 10Institute of Agricultural Biology and Biotechnology, National Research Council (CNR), Milan, Italy
- 11Cepheid, Sunnyvale, CA, USA
- 12Rutgers Duckweed Stock Cooperative, New Brunswick, NJ, USA
- 13Integrative Genetics and Genomics Graduate Group, Plant Sciences Department, University of California Davis, Davis, CA, USA
- 14Institute of Botany and Landscape Ecology, University of Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany
- 15School of Biotechnology, Institute of Science, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India
- 16Matthias Schleiden Institute-Genetics I, University of Jena, Jena, Germany
- 17Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, NY, USA. [email protected]
- 18Department of Plant Biology, Rutgers the State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ, USA. [email protected]
- 19Rutgers Duckweed Stock Cooperative, New Brunswick, NJ, USA. [email protected]
Abstract
Duckweeds (Lemnaceae Martinov) are aquatic monocotyledonous flowering plants comprising five genera and 35 recognized species, known for being the smallest and fastest-growing flowering plants on Earth. Many species are morphologically indistinguishable due to their highly reduced structures, yet molecular evidence suggests that visually similar clones may represent distinct species or hybrids. For example, clonal accessions of the globally distributed Lemna minor in the Landolt Duckweed Collection exhibit genome size variations of several hundred megabases (Mb), raising questions about their taxonomic classification and evolutionary origins. We analyzed 58 presumed L. minor clones to resolve these relationships using a comprehensive suite of methods, including whole-genome sequencing (WGS), flow-cytometric genome size measurements, molecular markers, chromosome counting, and genomic in situ hybridization (GISH). Our findings reveal extensive genome plasticity within the “ Lemna minor complex,” identifying diploid and triploid L. minor clones, as well as di-haploid and triploid interspecific hybrids called L. × japonica ( L. minor × L. turionifera ), L. × mediterranea ( L. minor × L. gibba ), and a novel African-clade distinct from known L. minor lineages. Triploidy was prevalent, occurring in 29% of the clones, and was associated with enhanced growth under optimal conditions but reduced performance under high light and temperature. These findings highlight the widespread role of triploidy, cryptic species, and hybridization in the L. minor complex, emphasizing the importance of multiple approaches for accurately classifying duckweed species and understanding their evolutionary trajectories.
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BibTeX
@article{michael2026triploidy,
title = {{Triploidy is prominent in the duckweed Lemna minor complex}},
author = {Todd P. Michael and Phuong T. N. Hoang and Bradley W. Abramson and Allen Mamerto and Buntora Pasaribu and Jörg Fuchs and Evan Ernst and Nicholas A. Allsing and Luca Braglia and Semar Petrus and Veit Schubert and Nolan T. Hartwick and Megan Wang and Yi-Feng Chen and Mariele Lensink and Tiffany Duong and Kelly Colt and Manuela Bog and K. Sowjanya Sree and Laura Morello and Klaus‐J. Appenroth and Ingo A. Schubert and Robert A. Martienssen and Eric Lam},
journal = {Communications Biology},
year = {2026},
month = jun,
doi = {10.1038/s42003-026-10294-w},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-026-10294-w},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Triploidy is prominent in the duckweed Lemna minor complex
AU - Todd P. Michael
AU - Phuong T. N. Hoang
AU - Bradley W. Abramson
AU - Allen Mamerto
AU - Buntora Pasaribu
AU - Jörg Fuchs
AU - Evan Ernst
AU - Nicholas A. Allsing
AU - Luca Braglia
AU - Semar Petrus
AU - Veit Schubert
AU - Nolan T. Hartwick
AU - Megan Wang
AU - Yi-Feng Chen
AU - Mariele Lensink
AU - Tiffany Duong
AU - Kelly Colt
AU - Manuela Bog
AU - K. Sowjanya Sree
AU - Laura Morello
AU - Klaus‐J. Appenroth
AU - Ingo A. Schubert
AU - Robert A. Martienssen
AU - Eric Lam
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/06/25
JO - Communications Biology
DO - 10.1038/s42003-026-10294-w
UR - https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-026-10294-w
AB - Duckweeds (Lemnaceae Martinov) are aquatic monocotyledonous flowering plants comprising five genera and 35 recognized species, known for being the smallest and fastest-growing flowering plants on Earth. Many species are morphologically indistinguishable due to their highly reduced structures, yet molecular evidence suggests that visually similar clones may represent distinct species or hybrids. For example, clonal accessions of the globally distributed Lemna minor in the Landolt Duckweed Collection exhibit genome size variations of several hundred megabases (Mb), raising questions about their taxonomic classification and evolutionary origins. We analyzed 58 presumed L. minor clones to resolve these relationships using a comprehensive suite of methods, including whole-genome sequencing (WGS), flow-cytometric genome size measurements, molecular markers, chromosome counting, and genomic in situ hybridization (GISH). Our findings reveal extensive genome plasticity within the “ Lemna minor complex,” identifying diploid and triploid L. minor clones, as well as di-haploid and triploid interspecific hybrids called L. × japonica ( L. minor × L. turionifera ), L. × mediterranea ( L. minor × L. gibba ), and a novel African-clade distinct from known L. minor lineages. Triploidy was prevalent, occurring in 29% of the clones, and was associated with enhanced growth under optimal conditions but reduced performance under high light and temperature. These findings highlight the widespread role of triploidy, cryptic species, and hybridization in the L. minor complex, emphasizing the importance of multiple approaches for accurately classifying duckweed species and understanding their evolutionary trajectories.
SN - 2399-3642
ER -