LAUSR

Whole-genome duplication is common in plants and is considered to have a broad range of effects on individuals' phenotypes and genomes, and as an important driver of plant adaptation and speciation. Despite their increased capacity to cope with challenging environments, polyploid lineages are generally as, and sometimes more prone to extinction than their diploid progenitors. Although several explanations have been proposed to explain the short- and long-term disadvantages of polyploidy on the survival probability of populations, the consequences of whole-genome doubling on the heritable variance remain poorly studied. Whole-genome doubling can have major effects on the genetics, but also on the ecology and life history of the populations. The modifications on other properties of populations can reverse the effects of polyploidization per se on heritable variance. In this synthesis, I summarize the empirical and theoretical knowledge about the multifarious consequences of genome doubling on the heritable variance of quantitative traits, on how it affects the evolutionary potential of polyploid populations compared to their diploid progenitors. I propose several ways to decipher the consequences of whole-genome doubling on survival probability, and how to study the further consequences of shifting the ecological niche and life-history traits of a population. I highlight some practical considerations to take into account when comparing the heritable variance of a trait among different cytotypes. Such investigations appear to be timely and necessary to understand a little bit more the paradoxical aspects of polyploidization, and to understand the evolutionary potential of polyploid lineages in a global warming context. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.