Complex distribution patterns, ecology and coexistence of ploidy levels of Allium oleraceum (Alliaceae) in the Czech Republic

Abstract

Despite extensive study of polyploidy, its origin, and ecogeographical differences between polyploids and their diploid progenitors, few studies have addressed ploidy-level structure and patterns of ecogeographical differentiation at various spatial scales using detailed sampling procedures. The pattern of coexistence of polyploids in the geophyte Allium oleraceum at the landscape and locality scale and their ecology were studied.
Flow cytometry and root-tip squashes were used to identify the ploidy level of 4347 plants from 325 populations sampled from the Czech Republic using a stratified random sampling procedure. Ecological differentiation among ploidy levels was tested by comparing sets of environmental variables recorded at each locality.
Across the entire sampling area, pentaploids (2n = 5x = 40) predominated, while hexaploids (2n = 6x = 48) and tetraploids (2n = 4x = 32) were less frequent. The distribution of tetra- and hexaploids was partially sympatric (in the eastern part) to parapatric (in the western part of the Czech Republic) whereas pentaploids were sympatric with other cytotypes. Plants of different ploidy levels were found to be ecologically differentiated and the ruderal character of cytotypes increased in the direction 4x --> 5x --> 6x with the largest realized niche differences between tetra- and hexaploids. Most populations contained only one ploidy level (77 %), 22 % had two (all possible combinations) and 1 % were composed of three ploidy levels. The majority of 4x + 5x and 5x + 6x mixed populations occurred in sympatry with uniform populations of the participating cytotypes in sites with ecologically heterogeneous or marginal environment, suggesting secondary contact between cytotypes. Some mixed 4x + 6x populations dominated by tetraploids being sympatric and intermixed with uniform 4x populations might represent primary zones of cytotype contact. Almost no mixed accessions were observed on the fine spatial scale in mixed populations.
The results provide evidence for adaptive differences among ploidy levels, which may contribute to their complex distribution pattern. The prevalence of asexual reproduction, limited dispersal and equilibrium-disrupting processes may support local coexistence of cytotypes.

Full text

Complex distribution patterns, ecology and coexistence of ploidy levels of Allium
oleraceum (Alliaceae) in the Czech Republic
Martin Duchoslav1,*, Lenka S
ˇafa
´r
ˇova
´1and Frantis
ˇek Krahulec2
1
Department of Botany, Faculty of Science, Palacky
´University, S
ˇlechtitelu
˚11, CZ-783 71 Olomouc, Czech Republic and
2
Institute of Botany, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, CZ-252 43 Pru
˚honice, Czech Republic
* For correspondence. E-mail martin.duchoslav@upol.cz
Received: 14 July 2009 Returned for revision: 5 October 2009 Accepted: 21 January 2010 Published electronically: 1 April 2010
†Background and Aims Despite extensive study of polyploidy, its origin, and ecogeographical differences
between polyploids and their diploid progenitors, few studies have addressed ploidy-level structure and patterns
of ecogeographical differentiation at various spatial scales using detailed sampling procedures. The pattern of
coexistence of polyploids in the geophyte Allium oleraceum at the landscape and locality scale and their
ecology were studied.
†Methods Flow cytometry and root-tip squashes were used to identify the ploidy level of 4347 plants from 325
populations sampled from the Czech Republic using a stratified random sampling procedure. Ecological differ-
entiation among ploidy levels was tested by comparing sets of environmental variables recorded at each locality.
†Key Results Across the entire sampling area, pentaploids (2n¼5x¼40) predominated, while hexaploids (2n¼
6x¼48) and tetraploids (2n¼4x¼32) were less frequent. The distribution of tetra- and hexaploids was par-
tially sympatric (in the eastern part) to parapatric (in the western part of the Czech Republic) whereas pentaploids
were sympatric with other cytotypes. Plants of different ploidy levels were found to be ecologically differentiated
and the ruderal character of cytotypes increased in the direction 4x!5x!6xwith the largest realized niche
differences between tetra- and hexaploids. Most populations contained only one ploidy level (77 %), 22 % had
two (all possible combinations) and 1 % were composed of three ploidy levels. The majority of 4xþ5xand
5xþ6xmixed populations occurred in sympatry with uniform populations of the participating cytotypes in
sites with ecologically heterogeneous or marginal environment, suggesting secondary contact between cytotypes.
Some mixed 4xþ6xpopulations dominated by tetraploids being sympatric and intermixed with uniform 4x
populations might represent primary zones of cytotype contact. Almost no mixed accessions were observed on
the fine spatial scale in mixed populations.
†Conclusions The results provide evidence for adaptive differences among ploidy levels, which may contribute
to their complex distribution pattern. The prevalence of asexual reproduction, limited dispersal and equilibrium-
disrupting processes may support local coexistence of cytotypes.
Key words: Allium oleraceum, contact zones, Czech Republic, ecological differentiation, distribution, DNA
ploidy level, ploidy mixture, polyploidy, spatial scales.
INTRODUCTION
Polyploidy is a highly dynamic process that plays a major role
in the evolution and speciation of angiosperms, and a signifi-
cant role in the evolutionary history of other eukaryotes
(Grant, 1981;Thompson and Lumaret, 1992;Wendel, 2000;
Soltis et al., 2003). Previous studies have estimated the pro-
portion of polyploids within angiosperms at about 50 %
(Mu
¨ntzing, 1936;Grant, 1981). Later studies suggested that
at least 70 % of angiosperms are of polyploid origin
(Goldblatt, 1980;Masterson, 1994). Recent genomic studies
suggest that perhaps all eukaryotes possess genomes with
gene redundancy, much of which is the result of past
genome duplication. Most plants have probably undergone
polyploidization followed by diploidization through genomic
rearrangements, gene silencing and gene divergence
(Wendel, 2000;Soltis et al., 2003). Molecular data support
the recurrent origin of many polyploids (e.g. Soltis and
Soltis, 1993,1999,2000;Segraves et al., 1999;Soltis et al.,
2003;Guo et al., 2005). Different genotypes resulting from
independent polyploidization events come into contact and
afford the opportunity for recombination and production of
new genotypes. Recurrent formation and gene flow between
progenitors and polyploids enrich the gene pool of polyploids
(Soltis and Soltis, 1995).
One of the prerequisites for polyploid research is knowledge
of the geographical distribution of cytotypes. Distribution data
can offer insight into the extent of reproductive isolation
between cytotypes and the mechanisms responsible for their
spatial separation (Baack, 2004;Suda et al., 2007a,b;Kao,
2008). Such data may serve as a foundation for answering
questions about polyploid origins and exploring the history
of contemporary distribution patterns using molecular tech-
niques (van Dijk and Bakx-Schotman, 1997;Segraves et al.,
1999).
Two scenarios have been proposed to explain differences in
patterns of cytotype distribution. According to the adaptive
evolutionary scenario, novel genetic combinations can
produce novel characters that endow polyploids with new
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Annals of Botany 105: 719–735, 2010
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responses to environmental conditions (Levin, 1983,2002;
Soltis and Soltis, 1993;Otto and Whitton, 2000;Soltis
et al., 2003). Consequently, polyploid populations often
expand to wider or different ranges of habitats relative to
those of their progenitors (e.g. Rothera and Davy, 1986;
Bayer and Stebbins, 1987;Lumaret et al., 1987;Jayet al.,
1991; Petit and Thompson, 1999;Petit et al., 1999;Levin,
2002;Johnson et al., 2003;Soltis et al., 2003). Ecological
sorting along environmental gradients usually results in
spatial separation of polyploids and their ancestors, a phenom-
enon observed in many plant species (Stebbins, 1950;Lewis,
1980). Such spatial relationships between cytotypes may be
of several types, ranging from sympatry to parapatry or even
allopatry (Levin, 2002). Accordingly, the coexistence of sym-
patric cytotypes requires niche differentiation and highly loca-
lized spatial patterns of habitat differentiation between
cytotypes (Thompson and Lumaret, 1992). In the case of para-
patry, contact zones (¼ecotones) are maintained by divergent
selection pressures along some gradient, often with selection
against parental types in non-native environments (Barton
and Hewitt, 1985;Fritsche and Kaltz, 2000).
Although ecological sorting along abiotic and biotic
environmental gradients has been considered as the main
mechanism underlying spatial separation between polyploids
and their diploid ancestors and between cytotypes within poly-
ploid complexes (Endler, 1977;Levin, 2002), alternative,
environmentally independent explanations (‘non-adaptive
scenarios’) also exist. Spatial separation between cytotypes
may be directed by frequency-dependent mating success that
results from low fitness of hybrids formed from between-
cytotype matings and which gradually leads to the elimination
of the minority cytotype from the population (‘minority cyto-
type exclusion model’; Levin, 1975;Fowler and Levin, 1984;
Ramsey and Schemske, 1998). As a consequence, this model
predicts that most populations should be cytologically
uniform and that cases of multiple coexisting cytotypes rep-
resent transient situations following frequent generation or
immigration of an alternative cytotype (Kao, 2007).
Although this process was originally considered for primary
hybrid zones (sensu Petit et al., 1999), an analogous process
can occur across zones of secondary contacts between cyto-
types when dispersal leads to mixed cytotype populations
(Dorken and Pannell, 2007).
Differences in present-day distribution among cytotypes may
also reflect history, i.e. the place of origin or past environmental
heterogeneity. Widespread cytotypes may have been superior
colonizers of areas which became available upon amelioration
of the climate after the last ice age (Pleistocene) or due to
human activities such as deforestation and agricultural use
(Levin, 1983;Stebbins, 1985;Gornall and Wentworth, 1993;
Xie-Kui et al., 2008). Alternatively, such distribution patterns
may be explained non-adaptively through the position of past
cytotype refuges relative to the sites which became available
for colonization by single cytotypes (van Dijk et al., 1992;
van Dijk and Bakx-Schotman, 1997;S
ˇte
ˇpa
´nkova
´, 2001;
Manda
´kova
´and Mu
¨nzbergova
´, 2006).
The increasing number of diploid – polyploid contact zones
studied, accelerated by the introduction of flow cytometric
techniques, allowing more samples to be analysed than pre-
viously possible by classical chromosome counting, has
revealed that mixed cytotype populations are much more
frequent than anticipated (e.g. Keeler, 1990,1998;Burton
and Husband, 1999;Suda, 2002;Suda et al., 2004,2007a;
Halverson et al., 2008;Kao, 2008). This influx of data is chal-
lenging and altering our knowledge of the establishment, per-
sistence and distribution of polyploids (Kron et al., 2007;Suda
et al., 2007b). More recent models investigating the role of
several mechanisms that increase the probability of polyploids
evading minority cytotype exclusion have shown (Felber,
1991;Rodriguez, 1996;Felber and Bever, 1997) that when
diploids produce relatively high frequencies of unreduced
gametes or when cytotypes differ in fitness, fecundity, longev-
ity and level of self-compatibility (but see Mable, 2004), poly-
ploids can become established and maintained in the
populations. Husband (2004) showed in computer simulations
evaluating the effect of triploids on autotetraploid evolution in
Chamerion angustifolium that partially fit triploids can
increase the likelihood of diploid– tetraploid coexistence, and
in some cases they can facilitate tetraploid fixation. In
addition, the evolution of assortative mating – attained by a
variety of factors such as divergence in flowering time or
differences in pollinators (Fowler and Levin, 1984;van Dijk
and Bijlsma, 1994;Segraves and Thompson, 1999), iteropar-
ity, parthenogenesis (Bierzychudek, 1985;Yamauchi et al.,
2004;Kao, 2007,2008) or short-distance pollen and seed dis-
persal (Li et al., 2004;Baack, 2005) – might suffice to allow
coexistence of cytotypes.
Numerous studies have examined ploidy-level structure and
patterns of ecogeographical differentiation at various spatial
scales in established polyploid complexes (Chmielewski and
Semple, 1983;Stutz and Sanderson, 1983;Rothera and
Davy, 1986;Lumaret et al., 1987;Keeler, 1990;Brochmann
and Elven, 1992;Hroudova
´and Za
´kravsky
´, 1993;Burton
and Husband, 1999;McArthur and Sanderson, 1999;Hardy
et al., 2000;Suda, 2002;Weiss et al., 2002;Johnson et al.,
2003;Stuessy et al., 2004;Baack, 2004,2005;Suda et al.,
2004,2007a;Manda
´kova
´and Mu
¨nzbergova
´, 2006;
Halverson et al., 2008;Kao, 2008;Mra
´zet al., 2008;
S
ˇpaniel et al., 2008;Xie-Kui et al., 2008;Kola
´r
ˇet al.,
2009), but many of these studies were based on rough
measures of the environment and small population samples.
In consequence, ecogeographical patterns observed vary
widely when multiple data are compared (Mable, 2003).
There is a need for a quantitative approach (Johnson et al.,
2003;Halverson et al., 2008), and this may be particularly
important for detecting less obvious cases of habitat differen-
tiations, as in ploidy variation within species (Lewis, 1980).
Allium oleraceum (Alliaceae), a bulbous geophyte distribu-
ted in most of Europe (Stearn, 1980;Hulte
´n and Fries, 1986),
is a polyploid complex comprising four documented ploidy
levels ranging from triploids to hexaploids (2n¼24, 32, 40,
48; see Table 1). Low generative reproduction is a common
feature of all the ploidy levels, but there is significant
asexual reproduction by means of daughter bulbs and vegeta-
tive bulbils within the inflorescence (Duchoslav, 2000;
Karpavic
ˇiene
˙, 2002;A
˚stro
¨m and Hæggstro
¨m, 2004). A
review of published A. oleraceum chromosome counts across
Europe shows (Table 1) that, except for four instances,
papers report only a single ploidy level per population with tet-
raploids and pentaploids being the most frequently reported
Duchoslav et al. — Ploidy level distribution in Allium oleraceum720

cytotypes in Europe. Fialova
´(1996) and Karpavic
ˇiene
˙(2007),
using few population samples, observed the occasional
co-occurrence of penta- and hexaploids and tetra- and penta-
ploids in the Czech Republic and Lithuania, respectively.
The occurrence of three of four known ploidy levels and evi-
dence for the unusual co-occurrence of penta- and hexaploids
in the Czech Republic make this area very suitable for explor-
ing patterns of ecogeographical distribution and the frequency
of coexistence of different cytotypes. Understanding the
factors responsible for the distribution of the cytotypes in
this region may offer excellent opportunities to gain deeper
knowledge of the ecological and evolutionary significance of
chromosome number variation within this polyploid
complex. There are two additional reasons for choosing this
species as a model. First, A. oleraceum is relatively common
throughout the whole of central Europe, so studies can be
based on extensive sampling, and distribution patterns can
therefore be insensitive to random fluctuations (see also
results on another common species, Pilosella officinarum –
Mra
´zet al., 2008). Secondly, the limited possibility of seed
reproduction and, for that reason, low dispersion ability over
larger distances, is another advantage of this species, as it con-
serves distribution patterns.
Here a large sampling study of A. oleraceum populations
and their environment at two spatial scales in the Czech
Republic (central Europe) was performed. The following ques-
tions were addressed. (1) What are the frequencies and distri-
bution patterns of plants of different ploidy levels at the
landscape and local scales? (2) Are there any ecological differ-
ences between ploidy levels allowing for interpretation of the
observed distribution pattern as a result of environmentally
dependent selection? (3) Do populations with cytotype mix-
tures exist? And if so, (4) can their composition and ecogeo-
graphical distribution allow the inference of their mode of
origin ( primary or secondary hybrid zones or contact zones
without inter-cytotype gene flow)? (5) Are such mixed popu-
lations dominated by a single cytotype, which might suggest
the ‘minority cytotype exclusion’ effect?
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Study species
Allium oleraceum L. is a bulbous geophyte occurring in most
of Europe (Meusel et al., 1965). It is distributed throughout
western, central and eastern Europe and in southern
Scandinavia. In the Czech Republic, the species is quite
common and its distribution is concentrated between 300
and 500 m a.s.l. (Duchoslav, 2001a). It grows in a wide
range of natural and human-influenced habitats, ranging from
rocky grounds and dry grasslands through field margins and
road ditches to scrub and deciduous forests (Duchoslav,
2001a,b,2009;Karpavic
ˇiene
˙, 2004;Hæggstro
¨m and
A
˚stro
¨m, 2005).
The plant has one to four leaves. They are linear to filiform,
fistular in the lower part and sheathing the bottom half of the
scape. The terminal bulb in non-flowering plants and the major
offset bulb in flowering plants replace the parent bulb at the
end of the growing season. The plants rarely form non-
dormant daughter bulbs. Sexually mature plants produce a
lax umbel with a few hermaphroditic protandrous flowers
(0–20) and many bulbils (10– 60) at the top of the scape.
Each flower can produce up to six seeds (Stearn, 1980), but
in practice seed production varies greatly and seedling estab-
lishment is low (Duchoslav, 2000;Karpavic
ˇiene
˙, 2002;
A
˚stro
¨m and Hæggstro
¨m, 2004).
The origin of the A. oleraceum polyploid complex is still
unclear. Levan (1938) considered A. oleraceum to be an autop-
olyploid form of diploid Allium paniculatum that arose by
somatic doubling of the chromosomes, although he did not
rule out fusion of unreduced gametes as an alternative. An
autopolyploid origin of the species was proposed by Pastor
(1982) and Fialova
´(1996).Vosa (1976), using the
C-banding technique, stated that tetraploid plants of
A. oleraceum are of allopolyploid origin. Careful analysis of
Levan’s paper shows that the ‘synthetic’ A. oleraceum
obtained therein by crossing plants from two distant diploid
populations [one being ‘A. paniculatum’ from the botanical
garden in Cluj-Napoca (Romania) and the other
A. podolicum from the botanical garden in Stockholm] may
actually be an interspecific hybrid formed by unreduced
gametes. It is not clear whether the Romanian plant was a
true specimen of A. paniculatum or another member of this
TABLE 1. Summary of the ploidy levels found in Allium
oleraceum in Europe according to the literature and present
records
Country References
Ploidy
level
Austria Geitler and Tschermak-Woess (1946),
Tschermak-Woess (1947),Wittmann
(1984),Speta (1984),Wetschnig (1992),
Baranyi and Greilhuber (1999),Dobes
ˇand
Vitek (2000)
4x,5x,6x
Belorussia Parfenov (1980) sec. Agapova (1990) 4x
Czech Republic Me
ˇsı
´c
ˇek and Jarolı
´mova
´(1992)*, Fialova
´
(1996)*, present study*
4x,5x,6x
Finland Arohonka (1982),Halkka (1985),A
˚stro
¨m
and Hæggstro
¨m (2004)*
4x,5x
France Jauzein and Tison (1999) 4x
Germany Speta (1984),A
˚stro
¨m and Hæggstro
¨m
(2004)
4x,5x
Great Britain Vosa (1976) 4x
Hungary Krahulcova
´(2003) 3x
Italy Gadella and Kliphuis (1970) sec. Moore
(1973),Capineri et al. (1978),Baranyi and
Greilhuber (1999)
4x,5x
Lithuania Vakhtina and Kudrjassova (1985),
Karpaviciene
˙(2007)*
4x,5x
Macedonia S
ˇopova (1972) 4x
Norway Laane and Lie (1985) 4x,5x
Poland Pogan et al. (1986), Joachimiak in Pogan
et al. (1990)
4x
Russia
(European part)
Vakhtina (1984),Vakhtina and Kudrjassova
(1985)
3x,5x
Slovakia Va
´chova
´and Fera
´kova
´(1978),Ma
´jovsky
´
and Murı
´n (1987),Murı
´net al. (1999)
4x
Spain Fernandez Casas et al. (1980),Pastor (1982) 4x,5x,6x
Sweden Wittmann (1984),Lo
¨vkvist and Hultgard
(1999),A
˚stro
¨m and Hæggstro
¨m (2004)
4x,5x
Switzerland Baranyi and Greilhuber (1999) 5x
Ukraine Kish (2001) 5x
* Occurrence of cytotype-mixed populations was reported in the source.
Duchoslav et al. — Ploidy level distribution in Allium oleraceum 721

group – there are at least two other native species in Romania,
namely A. fuscum and A. fussii (Brullo et al., 1996). Also, the
second parent is not certain, and the name suggests a
Ukrainian origin. Russian and Ukrainian authors
(Omelchuk-Myakushko, 1979;Dobrotchaeva et al., 1999;
Seregin, 2005) distinguish three species within this group
(A. paniculatum,A. podolicum and A. praescissum) occurring
in Ukraine.
Study area and sampling procedure
The present research was carried out in the Czech Republic
(78 865 km
2
), which is covered by a heterogeneous cultural
landscape of arable fields, broadleaved and coniferous forests,
and human settlements. Its western part (the Bohemian
massif) has a Palaeogene relief of rolling plains, hills and pla-
teaus surrounded by the densely forested Hercynian mountains.
The younger areas comprise river canyons and areas with
Tertiary volcanism. Mostly acidic Variscan regions were later
covered by Permo-Carboniferous and Mesozoic sediments.
Base-rich bedrocks are concentrated in the lower altitudes.
The eastern part of the Czech Republic is the flat northernmost
projection of the Pannonnian basin and is surrounded by the
western slopes of the Carpathian mountains. Relief here is of
Tertiary age. The bedrock is more diverse than in the west,
being mostly of Mesozoic and Tertiary origin. Calcium-rich
substrates occur from the lowlands to the mountains. The veg-
etation cover has a more fine-grained distribution in comparison
with the Bohemian massif (Loz
ˇek, 1988).
Samples of A. oleraceum were collected throughout the
Czech Republic during early spring from 2001 to 2004. A stra-
tified random sampling procedure was used to sample popu-
lations and subsamples within populations. The Czech
Republic was divided according to a road atlas (Hlava
´c
ˇek,
2000) into 144 quadrats, each with an area of approx. 6.0
9.3 km. Within each quadrat, we randomly searched for two
populations and within each sampled population all plants in
at least five randomly placed subsamples were sampled, each
with an area of approx. 30 30 cm. To take into account
habitat diversity and variation in population density
(Duchoslav, 2001a), additional rules concerning the sampling
procedures were defined. (1) In each quadrat one population
from a natural habitat and one from an human-impacted one
(see ‘Habitat and population characteristics’ below for expla-
nations) were sampled (if available). (2) The minimum dis-
tance between two populations from the same type of habitat
was specified as 10 km. (3) The minimum distance between
sampled subsamples was (if available) specified as 1 m. The
standard sampling procedure (i.e. number of populations per
quadrat and number of subsamples per population) was modi-
fied in some cases to reflect population size, population density
at the landscape level and habitat variation within quadrats
(number of sampled populations per quadrat: mean 2.27, s.d.
1.15, minimum 1, maximum 8). Samples were transported to
and planted in the garden of the Palacky
´University in
Olomouc, Czech Republic. In total, 325 populations and
4481 plants of A. oleraceum were collected in the field
(number of sampled plants per population: mean 13, s.d. 4,
minimum 3, and maximum 32). The early spring was chosen
as the sampling time because at that time of year even
populations consisting of non-flowering plants are easily
recognizable in the field. Later in the year, when other plants
grow as well, it is difficult to find A. oleraceum, and vegetative
plants usually disappear during June (Duchoslav, 2009).
Habitat and population characteristics
Initially, the habitat of each population was investigated in the
field. The following set of primary variables (see Appendix for a
survey) was recorded at each locality. (1) Habitat type was
assessed in the field according to EUNIS habitat classification
(Davies et al.,2004). Because of the low frequency of some habi-
tats in the sample, they were translated here into one of seven
common habitat types (rock; steppe; mesic & wet grassland;
semi-natural forest; ruderal scrub; planted Robinia pseudacacia
forest; arable field & field margins). Correspondence between
this and EUNIS habitat classifications is explained in the
Appendix. (2) Light conditions were assessed in the field accord-
ing to the visually estimated proportion of full sunlight reaching
the ground during late spring (1 ¼strong shade, 2 ¼half-shade,
3¼low shade, 4 ¼full insolation). (3) Populations were classi-
fied into two categories according to their distance to the nearest
arable field (‘Presence of arable land’; 0 ¼distance to the nearest
field .20 m, 1 ¼distance to the nearest field 20 m). (4)
Populations were classified into two categories according to the
degree of anthropogenic impact [‘Habitat naturalness’; 0 ¼veg-
etation strongly influenced or created by humans, typically with
higher proportions of ruderal or alien species
(‘human-impacted’), 1 ¼natural and semi-natural vegetation
without strong anthropogenic influence (‘natural’)]. Examples
of ‘human-impacted’ vegetation represent natural forests with
ruderal or alien species, woody vegetation outside forest, inten-
sively managed or disturbed grasslands, etc.
A secondary data set of geographical characteristics of the
sites was obtained from tourist maps and from a digitized data-
base of climatic parameters as follows: (1) altitude was esti-
mated using 1 : 50 000 tourist maps (SHOCart, Inc.,
Za
´dver
ˇice, Czech Republic), and (2) each locality was classi-
fied into one of three categories according to prevailing cli-
matic conditions (‘Climatic region’; C ¼cold region, SW ¼
slightly warm region, W ¼warm region; Quitt, 1971).
Soil samples (topsoil, 5 – 10 cm) were taken from the sites
during field sampling. Soil samples were passed through a
2-mm sieve. Soil pH was measured in water suspension poten-
tiometrically. The oxidizable carbon concentration (C) was
determined by oxidation with potassium dichromate in sulphuric
acid. Oxidative mixture redundancy was determined via volu-
metry with Mohr’s salt (Zbı
´ral, 1995). Organic nitrogen concen-
trations (N) were determined after mineralization with sulphuric
acid, conversion to ammonium ions and subsequent distillation
with water vapour (Zbı
´ral, 1997) on a Kjeltec System Instrument
(TECATOR; FOSS, Inc., Hillerød, Denmark). Phosphorus pent-
oxide concentrations (PO
4
32
) were determined after extraction in
Mehlich II solution (Mehlich, 1978) using a DR 2000 spectro-
photometer. Determination of metallic cation (Ca, Mg, K) con-
centrations in soil samples were made after extraction in Mehlich
II solution using an AVANTA atomic absorption spectrometer.
The size of each population was assessed visually on an
ordinal scale (less than 50, 51 –500, more than 500 individ-
uals) and population area was estimated in square metres.
Duchoslav et al. — Ploidy level distribution in Allium oleraceum722

The spatial pattern of individuals within each population
(‘Morphological pattern’) was described according to the pre-
vailing type observed in situ (i.e. either separate individuals or
clumping).
Chromosome counts
Chromosome counts were obtained from somatic mitotic
cells in root-tip cuttings of pot-cultivated plants. Plants for
chromosome counts were raised in a greenhouse. After 2
weeks, the root tips were excised and pre-treated with a 0.5
% solution of colchicine at room temperature for 3 h, fixed
in a cold mixture of ethanol and acetic acid (3 : 1) overnight
and then stored at 4 8C in 70 % ethanol until use. The fixed
root tips were hydrolysed in cold 5 MHCl, stained with
Feulgen and squashed in 45 % acetic acid (Lillie, 1951).
Chromosomes were counted using an Olympus CX-31 light
microscope.
Estimation of DNA ploidy levels
DNA ploidy levels (Suda et al., 2006) were measured from
most of the surviving plants (n¼4347, i.e. 97 % of all
sampled plants) using flow cytometry. Leaf tissue of analysed
Allium plant(s) with an appropriate volume of the internal
reference standard (Triticum aestivum ‘Saxana’) were
chopped with a new razor blade in a Petri dish containing
1 mL LB01 buffer (Dolez
ˇel et al., 1989). The suspension
was filtered through a 42-mm nylon mesh and the samples
were stained with DAPI (final concentration 2 mgmL
21
).
The relative fluorescence intensity of stained nuclei was ana-
lysed using a Partec PAS instrument (Partec GmbH,
Mu
¨nster, Germany) equipped with an HBO-100 mercury arc
lamp. Histograms of fluorescence intensity were registered
over 512 channels. In each sample, 1000– 2000 nuclei of
both the standard and the test plant G1 peaks were analysed.
The gain of the instrument was adjusted so that the G1 peak
of wheat was approximately on channel 50. The ploidy level
of each sample was determined by the position of its G1
peak relative to the G1 peak of an internal standard. Known
tetra-, penta- and hexaploid plants with known chromosome
counts were used for the specification of internal standard-
sample position. The ratios between the positions of sample
and internal reference standard peaks were 2.4–2.6, 2.8–3.0
and 3.3–3.4 for tetraploids, pentaploids and hexaploids,
respectively. DAPI staining yielded histograms with coeffi-
cients of variance (CV) below 5 % for both the standard and
the sample in the majority of DNA-ploidy measurements
(mean standard CV ¼4.48 %, s.d. ¼0.94; mean sample
CV ¼4.67 %, s.d. ¼0.82). In total, 99.9 % of the surviving
plants were successfully analysed by flow cytometry.
Chromosome numbers for samples that could not be analysed
by flow cytometry were ascertained cytologically.
Statistical analyses
Univariate statistical analyses of variation in the environ-
mental and population parameters of ploidy levels were per-
formed using NCSS 2001 software (Hintze, 2001). Two data
sets were prepared from the original data matrix. The first
set included only cytotype-uniform populations (n¼250)
while the second data set comprised all (uniform and mixed)
populations (n¼325). The first data set was used for an analy-
sis of morphological patterns without accounting for the
effects of different ploidy levels in mixed populations. The
second data set was used in the rest of the analyses. In the
case of mixed populations and univariate analyses, the
environmental data were duplicated for each respective
ploidy level. Either a paired t-test or an F-test (randomized
blocks; ANOVA) evaluated whether one ploidy level was con-
sistently dominant in the mixed cytotype sites. Contingency
tables were used for the analyses of qualitative environmental
variables; ANOVA and the Kruskal – Wallis test were used for
the analyses of quantitative and ordinal data, respectively (Zar,
1996). The Bonferroni correction of
a
for multiple tests
(Gotelli and Ellison, 2004) was applied in the case of environ-
mental variables.
Environmental variables were subsequently subjected to
multivariate data analysis. Due to different types of descriptors
(nominal, ordinal, quantitative), the primary data matrix was
replaced by a secondary data matrix with the Gower general
coefficient of similarity for combined data (Legendre and
Legendre, 1998) using MVSP 3.12 software (Kovach
Computing Service; http://www.kovcomp.co.uk/). The second-
ary matrix was subjected to principal coordinate analysis
(PCoA; Legendre and Legendre, 1998) in MVSP 3.12. PCoA
results were then subjected to constrained PCoA (db-RDA;
Legendre and Anderson, 1999) where the independent X
matrix contained ploidy-level identifiers and the dependent
Y matrix consisted of the principal coordinates. Calculations
were done in the program CANOCO 4.5 (ter Braak and
S
ˇmilauer, 2002) according to Leps
ˇand S
ˇmilauer (2003).
First, differences in habitat conditions among different cyto-
types were tested with a Monte Carlo permutation test (999
permutations). Fuzzy coding of independent variables was
used to accommodate the existence of mixed populations
and variable representation of respective ploidy levels within
mixed populations. Differences in habitat conditions between
pairs of ploidy levels were tested by partial db-RDA with
respective pairs as explanatory variables and the third ploidy
level as a covariable. Secondly, differences in habitat con-
ditions were tested among groups of populations classified
by ploidy-level composition with a Monte Carlo permutation
test (999 permutations). In total, six groups were established,
which included uniform (4x,5x,6x) and mixed (4xþ5x,
4xþ6x,5xþ6x) populations. Groups of populations with
mixed 4xþ5xþ6xcytotypes were excluded from the analy-
sis due to the small number of these populations. Because the
overall test was significant (see Table 6), we next tested
for differences in habitat conditions between a priori
selected pairs of groups on a reduced set of data matrices con-
sisting of only populations of the respective groups. The
Bonferroni correction of
a
(at
a
¼0.05) for multiple tests
was applied.
The niche breadth of each ploidy level was expressed by the
Gower general coefficient of dissimilarity (1 2G,whereGis
the Gower similarity coefficient). The mean and its 95 % boot-
strap confidence interval (from 200 bootstrap samples) were
calculated for all dissimilarity coefficients among populations
in the presence of the respective ploidy level.
Duchoslav et al. — Ploidy level distribution in Allium oleraceum 723

RESULTS
Cytotype composition in the Czech Republic
Chromosome numbers were estimated for two individuals
from each of 16 populations (32 individuals in total), confirm-
ing the presence of tetra- (2n¼4x¼32), penta- (2n¼5x¼
40) and hexaploid (2n¼6x¼48) cytotypes (see
Supplementary data, available online). DNA tetraploid, penta-
ploid and hexaploid cytotypes were also observed within the
study area. Neither other ploidy levels nor aneuploid counts
were found. Of the 325 populations, tetraploids occurred in
18 %, pentaploids in 65 % and hexaploids in 41 %.
Within the area sampled, populations consisted of one,
two or three ploidy levels (Table 2). Most of the populations
(77 %) contained only one ploidy level and 22 % contained
two. Populations that contained three ploidy levels were extre-
mely rare (1 %). Among the populations consisting of a single
ploidy level, 57 % contained pentaploids, 29 % contained
hexaploids and 14 % contained tetraploids. Among the popu-
lations comprising two ploidy levels, 71 % contained penta-
ploids and hexaploids, while combinations of tetraploids and
hexaploids had the lowest frequency (Table 2).
There was strong heterogeneity in the relative frequency of
ploidy levels among populations containing cytotype mixtures
(Fig. 1). Hence, no single ploidy level was consistently domi-
nant in mixed populations containing various cytotype combi-
nations (Table 3). Within 4xþ5xmixed populations, usually
one ploidy level tended to be predominant, and the other
was in the minority. The distribution of tetraploids and hexa-
ploids within mixed 4xþ6xpopulations showed an antimodal
pattern with either tetraploids or hexaploids predominating. By
contrast, the distributions of pentaploids and hexaploids within
5xþ6xmixed populations were similar, and the two ploidy
levels were almost uniformly distributed with a tendency
toward evenly mixed populations. The distribution of ploidy
levels in mixed 4xþ5xþ6xpopulations was characterized
by the weak dominance of some ploidy levels and rare occur-
rences of others (Fig. 1).
Small-scale spatial pattern of ploidy levels within
mixed populations
The small-scale spatial pattern of ploidy levels was rather
uniform, and ploidy levels formed mostly homogeneous
stands at a fine spatial scale (30 30 cm). In total, only 5.0%
of subsamples within mixed populations contained two or
more ploidy levels. Populations of tetraploids mixed with
any other ploidy level showed a higher (but not significantly
different: x
2
¼0.61, d.f. ¼2, P¼0.74) proportion of mixed
subsamples (4xþ5x:3
.1%; 4xþ6x:3
.2 %) than mixed
populations of penta- and hexaploids (1.7%).
Population parameters
Population size and area differed significantly with respect
to the cytotype composition of populations (size: chi-square
TABLE 2. Ploidy-level composition of 325 populations of Allium oleraceum from the Czech Republic
Number of ploidy levels per population Populations containing one ploidy level Populations containing two ploidy levels
1234x5x6x4xþ5x4xþ6x5xþ6x
0.77 0.22 0.01 0.14 0.57 0.29 0.21 0.08 0.71
Populations were grouped and relative frequencies calculated according to the number of ploidy levels per population (one, two or three). Populations were
further subdivided according to specific cytotypes present.
4
5
A
60
70
50
40
30
20
10
Frequency of
populations (%)
Frequency of
populations (%)
5
6
C
B
0–0·2 0·2–0·4 0·4–0·6
Proportion of cytotype
0·6–0·8 0·8–1·0 0–0·2 0·2–0·4 0·4–0·6
Proportion of cytotype
0·6–0·8 0·8–1·0
4
6
60
70
50
40
30
20
10
0
0
D4
5
6
FIG. 1. Ploidy-level frequencies in Allium oleraceum mixed populations of tetra- and pentaploids (A), tetra- and hexaploids (B), penta- and hexaploids (C), and
tetra-, penta- and hexaploids (D) in the Czech Republic.
Duchoslav et al. — Ploidy level distribution in Allium oleraceum724

test, x
2
¼35.00, d.f. ¼5, P,0.001; area: Kruskal– Wallis
test, x
2
¼17.83, d.f. ¼5, P¼0.003). Populations of uniform
Ploidy level showed a tendency towards smaller population
sizes and areas than mixed populations. Both parameters
increased slightly with increasing population ploidy level
(Fig. 2). An increasing tendency to form clumps of individuals
was observed with increasing population ploidy level (4x:34
.3
%, 5x:53
.2%, 6x:71
.2 %; chi-square test,
x
2
¼14.00, d.f. ¼
2, P¼0.001).
Ploidy-level distribution in the Czech Republic
The distribution of particular ploidy levels in the Czech
Republic is shown in Fig. 3. It is clear from this that ploidy
levels differ in their distribution. Uniform pentaploid popu-
lations occur regularly throughout the entire study area. By
contrast, uniform tetra- and hexaploid populations occur in
narrower ranges and are partially sympatric in the eastern
part but rather parapatric in the western part of the Czech
Republic. Some small, single-cytotype areas were observed:
for example, those of hexaploids in the western part and
those of tetraploids in the eastern part of the Czech
Republic. Except for mixed populations consisting of tetra-
and hexaploids, the distribution of mixed populations
coincides with areas of sympatric occurrence of uniform popu-
lations of the respective ploidy levels. Mixed populations of
tetra- and hexaploids are mostly located in broad contact
zones between uniform tetra- and hexaploid populations.
Mixed populations of three ploidy levels occur rarely in
areas of sympatric occurrence of all ploidy levels.
Ecological differentiation among ploidy levels – univariate
analyses
No significant differences in relative frequencies of tetra-,
penta- and hexaploids in different habitat types were found
(Table 4), although tetraploids tended to occur more frequently
in deciduous forests (oak–hornbeam and hardwood floodplain
forests) and less frequently in field and field margins than
plants of other ploidy levels. However, penta- and hexaploids
were increasingly frequent in localities in close contact with
arable land (Armitage test for trend in proportions,
Z-value ¼4.33, P,0.001) and in human-impacted vegetation
(Z-value ¼4.34, P,0.001; Table 4,Fig.4). Whereas tetra-
ploids were evenly distributed between natural and
10–1
106
105
a
A
B
bcbacb c
104
Area of population (m2)
103
102
101
100
0·0
0·2
0·4
0·6
0·8
1·0
aababa bab
Proportion
4x
Cytotype combination
4+5x4+6x5x5+6x6x
<50 51–500 >500
FIG. 2 . Box plot of the area of the population (A) and frequency diagram of
population size (B; ,50, 51 –500, .500 individuals, as indicated) in single-
and mixed-ploidy-level populations of Allium oleraceum in the Czech
Republic. Mixed populations of 4xþ5xþ6xcytotypes were excluded from
the analyses due to small sample size. Note the log-scale of the y-axis in
(A). Significant differences in medians between pairs of populations with
different ploidy-level combinations (A; Dunn’s test with P,0.05) and in fre-
quencies of population size categories between pairs of populations with
different ploidy-level combinations (Cross-tabulation; with P,0.05) are
marked by different letters in rows above the diagrams.
TABLE 3. Ploidy-level relative frequencies in mixed populations of Allium oleraceum in the Czech Republic
Ploidy-level
combination n
Mean frequency of
tetraploids +s.e.
Mean frequency of
pentaploids +s.e.
Mean frequency of
hexaploids +s.e.
Paired t
(F*)P
4xþ5x15 0.46 +0.06 0.54 +0.06 – 20.02 0.98
4xþ6x60
.70 +0.13 – 0.30 +0.13 1.03 0.35
5xþ6x50 – 0.53+0.03 0.47 +0.03 1.17 0.25
4xþ5xþ6x40
.32 +0.14 0.28 +0.12 0.40 +0.14 0.01* 0.99
The mean frequency of tetraploid, pentaploid and hexaploids is given for populations containing two ploidy levels and populations containing three ploidy
levels from the entire sampling area.
Either a paired t-test on the number of 4xvs. 5x,4xvs. 6xand 5xvs. 6xindividuals or GLM ANOVA (F-test) on the number of 4xvs. 5xvs. 6xindividuals
evaluated whether one ploidy level was consistently dominant in the mixed sites.
Duchoslav et al. — Ploidy level distribution in Allium oleraceum 725

51°N
13°E
A
B
C
14°E 15°E 16°E 17°E 18°E 19°E 20°E
50°N
49°N
51°N
50°N
49°N
51°N
50°N
49°N
0 200 400 Km
4x
4x + 5x
4x + 6x
4x + 5x + 6x
5x
4x + 5x
5x + 6x
4x + 5x + 6x
6x
4x + 6x
5x + 6x
4x + 5x + 6x
FIG. 3. Geographical distribution of uniform and mixed-ploidy-level populations of Allium oleraceum in the Czech Republic. (A) Uniform 4xand mixed 4xþ
5x,4xþ6xand 4xþ5xþ6xpopulations; (B) uniform 5xand mixed 4xþ5x,5xþ6xand 4xþ5xþ6xpopulations; (C) uniform 6xand mixed 4xþ6x,5xþ
6xand 4xþ5xþ6xpopulations.
Duchoslav et al. — Ploidy level distribution in Allium oleraceum726

human-impacted vegetation, hexaploids mostly (80.4%)
occurred in human-impacted vegetation: field margins, road
verges, in ruderal scrub, eutrophicated forests, etc. Tetra- and
pentaploids occurred on soils with a higher content of nitrogen
and calcium than hexaploids. Both ploidy levels also occurred
on slightly less acidic soils than hexaploids, but the difference
was not significant. By contrast, penta- and hexaploids
occurred on soils with a higher content of phosphorus than tet-
raploids (Fig. 5). There was no difference in other soil proper-
ties (C, Mg
2þ
,K
þ
), light conditions and altitude among ploidy
levels (Table 4).
Analysis of the cytotype frequencies in different climatic
regions showed that tetraploids, in contrast to the other
ploidy levels, were not concentrated in any climatic region.
Pentaploids and hexaploids, however, were concentrated in
areas with mesic climatic conditions (Table 4).
Ecological differentiation among ploidy levels – multivariate
analyses
Although all three ploidy levels have overlapping ecological
niches, overall and paired tests showed that the ploidy levels
are ecologically differentiated, with the largest realized niche
differences between tetra- and hexaploids (Tables 5and 6;
Fig. 6). In general, hexaploids occurred predominantly in
human-impacted open habitats (usually at field margins and
in fields) in mesic climatic conditions at higher altitudes,
whereas tetraploids were confined to more natural habitats,
both exposed and shaded along the whole altitudinal gradient.
Pentaploids were confined to warm and mesic regions in the
lower and middle altitudes, but were found in a wide range
of habitats on soils with higher levels of minerals and higher
soil pH. The niche breadth of tetra- and pentaploids was
similar and higher than that of hexaploids [Gower dissimilarity
coefficient: mean (95 % bootstrap confidence interval) – 4x:
0.361 (0.354–0.367); 5x:0
.359 (0.358–0.361); 6x:0
.320
(0.319–0.321)].
Significant differences in habitat conditions were found
even among groups of populations classified according to
ploidy-level composition (Table 5b). Pure 4x,5xand 6xpopu-
lations differed from each other with regard to environmental
conditions. By contrast, the environments of mixed-ploidy-
level populations did not differ from those of uniform popu-
lations of the respective cytotypes, pointing to the heterogen-
eity of the environments where cytotypes co-occur. This is
in agreement with the finding that mixed ploidy populations
occur more frequently (24.3 %) at sites with two or more
adjoining habitats than uniform populations (16.9%).
DISCUSSION
The results of this study indicate that pentaploids are the most
common cytotype in the Czech Republic, and surprisingly, that
hexaploids are more frequent than tetraploids there (Table 2).
Other ploidy levels or aneuploid plants were not detected in
this area. This is in good agreement with previous reports of
chromosome numbers in the Czech Republic (Table 1),
especially with the local study of Fialova
´(1996) who investi-
gated 206 individuals from 24 A. oleraceum populations in the
eastern part of the Czech Republic and found mostly penta-
ploids and hexaploids, with only rare occurrences of tetra-
ploids and no aneuploid plants. The absence of mature
1·0
A
0·8
0·6
0·4
Proportion
0·2
0·0
1·0
B
0·8
0·6
0·4
Proportion
0·2
0·0 4x5x
Cytotype
6x
>
20
m
≤
20
m
Natural habitat
Human-impacted
FIG. 4 . (A) Relative frequencies of ploidy levels in relation to the distance of
their populations from the nearest arable field (‘Presence of arable land’; dis-
tance to the nearest field .20 m or 20 m, as indicated). (B) Relative frequen-
cies of ploidy levels in relation to the degree of anthropogenic impact applied
on their populations (‘Habitat naturalness’; human-impacted or natural habitat,
as indicated).
TABLE 4. Summary of the associations between ploidy levels
and selected environmental variables in populations of Allium
oleraceum in the Czech Republic
Variable Test d.f. Test statistics P
Habitat type CT 12 14.32 0.286
Presence of arable land CT 2 18.96 0.001
Habitat naturalness CT 2 20.39 0.001
Climatic region CT 4 46.94 0.001
Altitude KW 2 3.40 0.183
Light conditions KW 2 1.47 0.478
Soil C* ANOVA 2 2.12 0.122
Soil N KW 2 6.68 0.035
Soil PO
4
32
KW 2 12.48 0.002
Soil pH KW 2 5.49 0.064
Soil Ca
2þ
KW 2 8.43 0.014
Soil Mg
2þ
* ANOVA 2 0.92 0.631
Soil K
þ
* ANOVA 2 0.68 0.534
Differences were tested either by one-way ANOVA, Kruskal – Wallis test
(KW) or contingency tables (CT).
*Data were log (xþ1) transformed before analysis. P-values in bold are
significant after Bonferroni correction (P,0.004).
Duchoslav et al. — Ploidy level distribution in Allium oleraceum 727

aneuploid plants, particularly within those populations con-
taining pentaploids, does not mean that they could not be
formed. Fialova
´(1996) observed a few aneuploid seedlings
from 5xmaternal plants. It is probable that aneuploid offspring
are either non-viable or are eventually out-competed due to
their reduced fitness.
20 aab
15
10
Nitrogen (g kg–1)
5
0
8
7
6
pH
5
44x5x
C
y
tot
y
pe
6x
abb
500
300
400
200
Phosphorus (mg kg–1)
100
0
Calcium (g kg–1)
20 aab
15
10
5
0
FIG. 5. Box plots of selected chemical soil properties at sites with occurrence
of different ploidy levels of Allium oleraceum. Significant differences in
medians between ploidy levels (Dunn’s test; P,0.05) are marked by different
letters in rows above the box plots. For overall tests see Table 4.
TABLE 5. Summary of the analyses using constrained principal
coordinates analysis applied to environmental variables
recorded in populations of Allium oleraceum in the Czech
Republic: (a) effects of ploidy levels; (b) effects of groups of
populations classified by observed ploidy-level combinations
Model Trace (1st axis) FP
(a) Ploidy levels
Overall model 0.047 7.22 0.001
4xvs. 5x0.033 5.70 0.001
4xvs. 6x0.082 9.06 0.001
5xvs. 6x0.016 3.99 0.001
(b) Groups
Overall model 0.063 3.93 0.001
4xvs. 5x0.030 5.18 0.001
4xvs. 6x0.084 9.21 0.001
5xvs. 6x0.016 4.00 0.002
4xvs. 4xþ5x0.010 1.76 0.071
4xvs. 4xþ6x0.018 1.96 0.039
5xvs. 4xþ5x0.016 3.12 0.003
5xvs. 5xþ6x0.007 1.75 0.065
6xvs. 4xþ6x0.009 0.95 0.473
6xvs. 5xþ6x0.008 1.98 0.033
All effects were tested by Monte Carlo permutation tests using 999
random permutations. See Methods for details.
P-values in bold (except for overall models) are significant after
Bonferroni correction [P,0.017 in the section (a)] or are significant at
P¼0.01 in the section (b).
TABLE 6. Survey of environmental variables that are best
correlated with occurrence of ploidy levels in constrained
principal coordinates analysis applied to environmental
variables recorded in populations of Allium oleraceum in the
Czech Republic
4x(þ) vs.
5x(2)r
4x(þ) vs.
6x(2)r
5x(þ) vs.
6x(2)r
Forest 0.68 Habitat
naturalness
0.65 Habitat
naturalness
0.57
Habitat
naturalness
0.65 Forest 0.64 Soil Ca
2þ
0.54
Colder climate 20.28 Light
conditions
20.55 Colder climate 20.49
Light
conditions
20.42 Soil Ca
2þ
0.26 pH 0.42
Arable field &
field margin
20.57 Arable field &
field margin
20.58 Arable field &
field margin
20.52
Presence of
arable land
20.66 Presence of
arable land
20.75 Presence of
arable land
20.67
Within each analysis, variables showing the highest positive or negative
correlations with the first canonical axis are reported together with their sign
and correlation coefficient. The sign of correlation coefficients corresponds to
the position of the respective ploidy level along the first canonical axis
within each analysis (i.e. 4xvs. 5x;4xvs. 6x;5xvs. 6x). For explanations of
variables see Methods.
Duchoslav et al. — Ploidy level distribution in Allium oleraceum728

Screening results also clearly indicate that ploidy-level
distribution patterns are much more complex and finely
grained than previously thought (see Table 1and Fig. 3).
Widespread sympatry of cytotypes of A. oleraceum that
result in the contact zones, where at least two ploidy levels
are intermixed, contrasts with the majority of diploid –poly-
ploid contact zones studied. They are thought to have
resulted from secondary contacts, the distribution of cyto-
types is mostly parapatric, and only a few inter-cytotype
hybrids are normally recorded (Soltis and Soltis, 1993;
Petit et al., 1999;Segraves et al., 1999). The present study
also found more mixed-ploidy-level A. oleraceum popu-
lations (23 %) than had previously been reported (8.3%,
Fialova
´, 1996;12%,Karpavic
ˇiene
˙, 2007). In fact,
co-occurrences of all possible combinations of 4x,5xand
6xploidy levels were observed, and among these 4xþ6x
and 4xþ5xþ6xpopulations had not previously been ident-
ified in Europe.
High frequency of mixed-ploidy-level populations has been
recently observed in several other plant species (Burton and
Husband, 1999;Suda, 2002;Keeler, 2004;Suda et al.,
2007a;Halverson et al., 2008;Kao, 2008). However, it is
impossible to identify unambiguously the sole unifying mech-
anism that explains the existence of those populations.
Likewise, the complex distribution patterns of the three
ploidy levels of A. oleraceum observed do not permit an
easy explanation. Several non-exclusive mechanisms that
could explain the observed geographical patterns of the three
cytotypes are discussed below.
Ecological differentiation among ploidy levels
Although their ecological preferences partially overlap, both
univariate and multivariate analyses indicate that A. oleraceum
of different ploidy levels show ecological differentiation. This
difference in ecological requirements of the cytotypes is thus
consistent with the generally accepted fact that polyploidiza-
tion can produce novel characters which lead to niche shifts
(reviewed by Ehrendorfer, 1980;Lewis, 1980;Levin, 1983,
2002;Soltis et al., 2003), although we acknowledge that the
differences observed may have emerged later via selection
(Petit et al., 1999). Higher ploidy levels also sometimes
confer a wider ecological amplitude (e.g. Hancock and
Bringhurst, 1981;Rothera and Davy, 1986;Thompson and
Lumaret, 1992;Burton and Husband, 1999). Brochmann
and Elven (1992) showed in a detailed study of three diploid
and 13 polyploid (4x–16x) species of Draba that ecological
amplitude, heterozygosity and biochemical diversity all
increased significantly with increasing ploidy level. This is
not the case in A. oleraceum here: the niche breadth of tetra-
and pentaploids is similar, being higher than that of hexa-
ploids. This is in agreement with the markedly lower
biochemical diversity of hexaploids than either tetra- or
pentaploids noted by Stan
ˇkova
´(2005) in an electrophoretic
enzyme study of 30 Czech populations of A. oleraceum.
Similar observations, in which a broader ecological niche
was found for lower ploidy levels, were recently reported
from a diploid–hexaploid complex of Senecio carniolicus
(Scho
¨nswetter et al., 2007) and diploid–tetraploid complexes
of Centaurea stoebe (S
ˇpaniel et al., 2008) and Santolina
pectinata (Rivero-Guerra, 2008).
Ploidy-level distributions on regional and local scales: is the
adaptive scenario the most plausible explanation?
Hypotheses concerning ecological diversification among
cytotypes predict trends towards parapatry or allopatry of cyto-
types at larger spatial scales if the fitness of cytotypes is a
function of the environment, which itself changes with geo-
graphical scale (Engen et al., 2002;Johnson et al., 2003), or
towards partial or complete sympatry but ecological isolation
between cytotypes if the environmental factors are mosaic in
structure (Thompson and Lumaret, 1992;Levin, 2002). The
character of ecogeographical differentiation observed among
the A. oleraceum ploidy levels is more probably consistent
with the latter model because the most important environ-
mental factors contributing to the ecological differentiation
among the cytotypes (e.g. habitat naturalness; presence of
arable land) have a rather mosaic pattern in the central
European landscape. Furthermore, the coarse-grained spatial
pattern of certain environmental factors that cause lower land-
scape heterogeneity in some Czech regions, especially at
higher altitudes (Petr
ˇı
´k and Wild, 2006), may also explain
(1) the existence of a few small single-cytotype areas,
especially those of hexaploids; and (2) the extremely rare
occurrence of tetraploids in the large upland areas of central
and western parts of the Czech Republic (Bohemia) in contrast
to their common occurrence in climatically similar or even
harsher upland areas in the eastern part of the Czech
Republic (eastern Moravia), despite their broad ecological
0·4
PC2
PC1
–0·4
–0·4 0·3
Grasslands
Altitude
Field &
margins
Presence
of arable land
Mesic region
Light
Robinia plantation
Scrub
Steppe
Warm region
Rock
pH
C
P
KN
Ca
5x
6x
4x
Habitat
naturalness
Forest
Cold region
Mg
FIG. 6 . The first and the second axis of the constrained principal coordinate
analysis testing environmental differences among ploidy levels of Allium oler-
aceum. Vectors of the environmental variables were used as supplementary
data to help interpret the ordination. See Methods for analysis settings.
Duchoslav et al. — Ploidy level distribution in Allium oleraceum 729

niche (see Fig. 3). The contrasting distributions of tetraploids
probably reflect differences in environmental conditions and
historical processes that influence floristic composition in
these regions. Rather acidic and mineral-poorer soils dominate
in the Bohemian upland; a mosaic of mineral-poor and
mineral-rich soils occur in eastern Moravia (Demek, 1987;
Loz
ˇek, 1988). In fact, the distribution of tetraploids in
Bohemia roughly corresponds to the occurrence of mineral-
rich soil substrates at altitudes under approx. 350(400) m
(Loz
ˇek, 1988;Sa
´dlo, 2007), and this may also partly explain
the absence of hexaploids from large areas of the Bohemian
lowlands despite the vast expanses of arable land. Mra
´z
et al. (2008) recorded similar cytotype distribution patterns
in Pilosella officinarum in Bohemia, albeit with rare penta-
and hexaploids confined to warm, low-elevation regions and
common tetraploids prevailing in the whole of Bohemia.
At the population level, detected differences in ecological
niches among cytotypes of A. oleraceum seem to support the
observation of predominantly monotypic populations, i.e. a situ-
ation when plants invading a population of the other cytotype
would do poorly in the unsuitable habitat (Baack, 2004). The
present data demonstrate that a majority of 4xþ5xand 5xþ6x
mixed populations do not show distinct geographical patterns,
and are sympatric and intermixed with single-ploidy-level popu-
lations. The existence of such mixed populations could be best
explained as a stochastic event based on mutually independent
dispersion of cytotypes through the landscape followed either
by: (1) their successful establishment and persistence at sites
that represent less typical or marginal (unfavourable) environ-
ments for either one or both cytotypes but where they can both
persist due to partial overlaps in realized ecological niches; or
(2) local secondary contacts between cytotype-different, but
uniform, populations at borders between different habitats. The
present analyses support the idea that environmental conditions
at mixed-population sites are marginal to or intermediate (‘hetero-
geneous’) between the environmental conditions of the respective
uniform cytotype population sites. Similar patterns, i.e. the coex-
istence of cytotypes in sites possessing either sufficient environ-
mental heterogeneity or ecologically marginal environment,
were observed by Lumaret et al. (1987),Keeler (1990),and
Husband and Schemske (1998) in mixed-cytotype populations
of Dactylis glomerata,Andropogon gerardii and Chamaerion
angustifolium, respectively.
The hypothesis of secondary contacts between ploidy levels
is further supported by the larger population sizes and areas of
mixed populations relative to the uniform populations (Fig. 2).
The present results suggest that mixed-ploidy populations
occur somewhat more frequently at sites with two or more
adjoining habitats than do uniform populations, i.e. the
larger area of mixed-cytotype populations also entails higher
environmental heterogeneity (Legendre and Legendre, 1998;
Koenig, 1999). As no single cytotype was strongly dominant
in the majority of mixed 4xþ5xand 5xþ6xpopulations,
which cytotype dominates at a site could therefore be due
either to specific responses of the cytotypes to local environ-
mental conditions or to random factors such as chance coloni-
zation (Kliber and Eckert, 2005;Kao, 2008). Cytotype
uniformity of small populations can be explained through
events such as colonization of a new site by a small number
of individuals, probably representing a clone ( founder
effect), or through processes such as habitat change when
large populations are strongly reduced in size (bottleneck
effect and/or drift).
By contrast, here some mixed 4xþ5xand 5xþ6xpopu-
lations were observed at sites with homogeneous environment
typical of one of the participating cytotypes. This suggests that
niche differentiation is insufficient to explain the existence of
these mixtures, although we cannot exclude that such differen-
tiation occurs on avery fine spatial scale. Furthermore, ecological
differentiation fails to explain the markedly contrasting cytotype
frequencies in a majority of mixed populations of tetra- and hex-
aploids, because, in most of these populations, tetraploids predo-
minate even if habitat conditions appear less suitable for them
than for hexaploids on the basis of multivariate analysis.
We therefore consider ecological differentiation to be an
important but not sole driving force behind the distribution
patterns observed. Rather, our non-exclusive explanations
take into account (1) the generation of cytotype mixtures as
a result of the interploidy crosses or the emergence of a
higher polyploid within a lower polyploid population, (2) pre-
dominant vegetative reproduction and localized dispersal that
retard the effect of exclusion of emerging or invading cytotype
and (3) human impact influencing distribution of cytotypes.
First, we suggest that in situ de novo production of hexa-
ploids in some tetraploid populations seems to occur in
A. oleraceum through the union of reduced and unreduced
gametes, as evidenced by the fact that (1) some mixed 4xþ
6xpopulations are intermixed with uniform 4xpopulations
outside the hexaploid range, (2) the cytotype structure of the
majority of 4xþ6xpopulations is characterized by strong
dominance of tetraploids and rare occurrence of hexaploids,
and (3) the tetra- and hexaploids have identical multilocus
isozyme phenotypes within the two 4xþ6xpopulations
(Stan
ˇkova
´, 2005). However, the origin of hexaploid plants in
tetraploid populations seems to be an extremely rare event
given that no previous study on the cytology of
A. oleraceum (see Table 1) reported mixed 4xþ6xpopu-
lations, despite the frequent reports of tetraploid populations.
In turn, the origin of 4xþ5xand 5xþ6xmixed populations
is difficult to explain on the basis of a primary origin of a
novel ploidy level (Ramsey and Schemske, 1998) because of
the absence of one ‘compatible’ donor ploidy level, i.e. 4xin
5xþ6xor 6xin 4xþ5xmixed-ploidy populations. Indeed,
we cannot exclude the possibility that our research simply
failed to detect the minority (4xor 6x, respectively) cytotype,
but this is unlikely because (1) the within-population screening
was quite extensive, and, as stated above, (2) the ‘missing’
donor ploidy usually did not occur in the surroundings.
Hybridization between the 4xand 6xplants would yield pen-
taploids, but only three mixed populations of tetra-, penta-
and hexaploids were found. This suggests limited gene flow
between 4xand 6xcytotypes due to extremely rare production
of flowers in hexaploids (Ohryzek, 2007) and rather indicates
secondary contacts between cytotypes.
Second, asexual reproduction via aerial bulbils and daughter
bulbs strongly predominates over sexual reproduction in
A. oleraceum (Duchoslav, 2000;Karpavic
ˇiene
˙, 2002;A
˚stro
¨m
and Hæggstro
¨m, 2004;Ohryzek, 2007). Hence, even a single
plant of one cytotype emerging within or invading a uniform
population of another cytotype has the potential to persist as it
Duchoslav et al. — Ploidy level distribution in Allium oleraceum730

can maintain itself and spread through asexual reproduction
(Kao, 2007). This feature is analogous to apomictic seed for-
mation, which allows plants of the other cytotype to produce
their exact copies and thus to escape reproductive costs due to
their minority status. Yamauchi et al. (2004) showed that if
asexuality dominates over sexual reproduction, the outcome of
mixed-ploidy occurrences are probably determined by direct
competition between the cytotypes. We therefore suggest that
existence of some mixed populations is a result of (recent) cyto-
type invading a uniform population of another cytotype and that
eventually one cytotype suppress the other(s) in the ensuing
period. Longevity of A. oleraceum individuals and their ability
to propagate via daughter bulbs even under suboptimal ecologi-
cal conditions hindering the production seeds and bulbils, for
example in deep shade (Duchoslav, 2009), may retard competi-
tive exclusion of one cytotype.
Additionally, direct competition among cytotypes can be
reduced if cytotypes show local pollen/propagule dispersal
leading to local spatial segregation of cytotypes (Li et al.,
2004;Baack, 2005). The present data show that
A. oleraceum forms predominantly cytotype-homogeneous
patchy stands within mixed populations and that local cyto-
type homogeneity tends to increase with ploidy level. This
pattern may be explainable simply by limited dispersion
(Hardy and Vekemans, 2001;Meirmans et al., 2003).
A. oleraceum is functionally similar to A. vineale, for
which Ronsheim (1994) found that dispersion distances did
not differ between bulbils and seeds and that most propagules
fall within 30 cm of their mother plants. She also observed,
however, that a very small number of seeds dispersed far
from mother plants (.1 m). This can, in the case of
co-occurring cytotypes, result in a mixture with established
patches of the other cytotype. Seed recruitment may,
however, be inhibited by competition for safe sites from
clonal bulbils and daughter bulbs (Abrahamson, 1980;
Eriksson, 1997;Kliber and Eckert, 2005). This would also
decrease the probability of invasion by an ‘alien’ cytotype.
Much scarcer seed production by higher ploidy levels (the
average production of seeds increases from zero seeds per
plant in hexaploids to one and two seeds per plant in
penta- and tetraploids, respectively; M. Fialova
´and
M. Duchoslav, pers. obs.) and prevailing vegetative reproduc-
tion could explain not only increased local cytotype hom-
ogeneity within mixed populations of higher ploidy levels
but also the increased clumping of higher ploidy levels pre-
sented here. Local dispersal and clumping of A. oleraceum
cytotypes can thus effectively separate the cytotypes and
thereby decrease reproductive interference and inter-cytotype
competition (Baack, 2005). Recently, Kola
´r
ˇet al. (2009) pro-
posed that founder effects together with limited seed distri-
bution capacity leading to clumping is a plausible
explanation for the existence of some mixed-ploidy popu-
lations of Knautia arvensis agg. Undoubtedly, data regarding
the fine-scale spatial and environmental distribution of cyto-
types within mixed-ploidy-level populations is needed to
assess the relative importance of various coexistence
mechanisms.
Third, the present-day complex distribution patterns of
ploidy levels and high proportion of mixed-ploidy populations
may also reflect human impact (Balfourier et al., 2000;Perny
´
et al., 2008), i.e. the weedy character of A. oleraceum
(Duchoslav, 2001a). The spread of the species was indeed
influenced by agricultural practices and transport of crops
and hay. Its frequent present-day occurrence along roadsides
and field margins is evidence of its past abundance in arable
land before the implementation of subsoil ploughing and the
use of selective herbicides (Ha
˚kansson, 1963;Willmans,
1985;Duchoslav, 2001a). In the face of these equilibrium-
disrupting processes, the abilities of niche differentiation and
competitive exclusion to limit co-occurrence of cytotypes
may be weakened.
General pattern of ploidy-level distribution in Europe
and hypothetical origins of polyploidy
The pattern of ploidy-level distribution observed by us in
the Czech Republic contrasts with that seen on the European
scale. Because published karyological data on A. oleraceum
are based on chromosome counting in small numbers of
plants, such an approach is able to detect the most frequent
cytotypes but fails to detect rare ones (Burton and Husband,
1999;Halverson et al., 2008). It can therefore evaluate fre-
quencies and large-scale spatial patterns of detected cytotypes
inaccurately. Hence, it is highly possible that the current
understanding of cytotype distribution patterns in Europe is
inaccurate.
The origin of A. oleraceum is still not fully understood.
Polyploid A. oleraceum could be of autopolyploid and/or of
allopolyploid origin. We consider Levan’s (1938) experimen-
tal results, i.e. the creation of tetraploids in one step from
diploids, to provide a highly probable explanation for the
origin of A. oleraceum. The A. paniculatum group is an extre-
mely complicated set of species of the section Codonoprasum
that occurs from the westernmost parts of Macaronesia, north-
ern Africa (de Wilde-Duyfjets, 1976) and the Iberian peninsula
(Pastor and Valdes, 1983) through the whole Mediterranean
area (Zahariady, 1975;Stearn, 1980;Jauzein and Tison,
1999,2001;Brullo et al., 1996,2001)toIran(Wendelbo,
1971) and south-western Siberia (Frizen, 1988). This group
could represent the hypothetical parents. Furthermore, they
are not only diploid, as were used by Levan, but also triploid,
tetraploid and pentaploid. Thus, the high variation in ploidy
levels of A. oleraceum from triploid to hexaploid might be
the result of independent crosses between different members
of this complex. At present, this hypothesis is supported by
the occurrence of two types of hexaploids found by us: one
type is represented by populations that differ from tetra- and
pentaploids in their ecological requirements, and the second
hexaploid type comprises rare individuals admixed in popu-
lations of tetraploid plants that probably originated from
fusion of reduced and unreduced gametes.
No triploid plants were detected during our detailed screen-
ing within the Czech Republic, and only extremely rare records
of triploids are known, all of which are from the northern edge
of the ranges of the supposed diploid progenitors (Vakhtina,
1984;Krahulcova
´, 2003). Triploids probably result from the
hybridization of reduced and unreduced gametes of diploid
progenitors, but they may arise from pollinations between
ancestor diploid and tetraploid A. oleraceum (Type I hybrids;
Duchoslav et al. — Ploidy level distribution in Allium oleraceum 731

Petit et al., 1999). Currently, it is not possible to differentiate
between these two hypotheses.
Both tetra- and pentaploids are widely distributed and prob-
ably sympatric (Karpavic
ˇiene
˙, 2007; present study) throughout
Europe, even in northern areas that were covered by glaciers
during the last glacial maximum (Huntley & Birks, 1983).
By contrast, hexaploids are presently known just in the
Czech Republic, Austria and Spain (Table 1). Pastor (1982)
mentioned that higher cytotypes (5x,6x) probably arose in tet-
raploid populations through the production of (un)reduced
gametes and interploidy crosses, and this mode is partially
(6x) supported by the present data. However, alternative
origins of the higher cytotypes cannot yet be ruled out, includ-
ing backcrosses of triploids or tetraploids with parental taxa
and eventual polyploidization, and even polyphyletic crosses
(see above). Apart from the origin of ploidy levels, the wide
present-day distribution of tetra- and pentaploids probably
reflects their superior colonization abilities, as evidenced by
the breadth of their ecological niches, which were found to
be greater than that of hexaploids. Alternatively, the
common occurrence of hexaploids in the Czech Republic
may represent evidence of a recent range expansion of a
newly established hexaploid type in anthropogenic habitats.
Conclusions
A detailed investigation of the distribution of different ploidy
levels of A. oleraceum showed a distribution pattern much more
complex than could be deduced from published chromosome
counts. Individual cytotypes differ in their ecological require-
ments at the regional scale and this contributes to the distribution
patterns observed. Local cytotype coexistence is, however,
widespread. It is therefore considered that high frequency of
mixed-ploidy populations is a result of both the cumulative
effects of various isolating mechanisms, including niche differ-
entiation, localized dispersal and prevailingly asexual propa-
gation, and equilibrium-disrupting processes, i.e. agricultural
practices. Distributional data support the existence of both
primary and secondary zones of cytotype contact.
The extensive distribution range of A. oleraceum over most
parts of Europe, as compared with the narrower distribution of
its supposed diploid (and perhaps also polyploid) progenitors
(species of the A. paniculatum group) in southern Europe, is
consistent with the idea that polyploids are more ecologically
tolerant and therefore are able to colonize harsher environ-
ments than their diploid progenitor(s). We suggest the recur-
rent formation of particular cytotypes and consider their
polyphyletic origin as highly probable. A logical extension
of this research would be to determine whether the present
results could be extrapolated outside central Europe. The
growing number of chromosome counts reported from individ-
ual regions suggests an increasingly complex cytogeographical
pattern.
SUPPLEMENTARY DATA
Supplementary data are available online at www.aob.oxford-
journals.org and include a list of Allium oleraceum localities
accompanied by brief descriptions of habitats, geographical
coordinates and ploidy levels for data presented in this study.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We thank J. Ohryzek, H. Stan
ˇkova
´, M. Fialova
´, M. Jandova
´,
A. Jı
´rova
´, J. Duchoslavova
´and R. Slı
´pkova
´for their help
with fieldwork and maintenance of samples in the experimen-
tal garden, and to M. Danc
ˇa
´k, B. Tra
´vnı
´c
ˇek, R. J. Vas
ˇut,
A. Jı
´rova
´, M. Fialova
´, Z. Ska
´la and Z. Hradı
´lek for
sampling of some populations. Our thanks also go to
J. S. Heslop-Harrison and two anonymous reviewers for their
comments and advice on the manuscript. Conn Breen and
Fred Rooks kindly revised the English text. This work was
supported by the Grant Agency of the Czech Republic (grant
numbers 206/01/P097, 206/04/P115 and 206/09/1126 to
M.D., and 206/07/0706 to F.K.).
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