Putting the genes into community genetics

As part of the long-term fusion of evolutionary biology and ecology (Ford, 1964), the field of community genetics has made tremendous progress in describing the impacts of plant genetic variation on community and ecosystem processes. In the "genes-to-ecosystems" framework (Whitham et al., 2003), genetically based traits of plant species have ecological consequences, but previous studies have not identified specific plant genes responsible for community phenotypes. The study by Barker et al. (2019) in this issue of Molecular Ecology uses an impressive common garden experiment of trembling aspen (Figure 1) to test for the genetic basis of tree traits that shape the insect community composition. Using a Genome-Wide Association Study (GWAS), they found that genomic regions associated with phytochemical traits best explain variation in herbivore community composition, and identified specific genes associated with different types of leaf-modifying herbivores and ants. This is one of the first studies to identify candidate genes underlying the heritable plant traits that explain patterns of insect biodiversity.