Pleiotropy does not facilitate local adaptation in the silverleaf sunflower Helianthus argophyllus

Populations of H. argophyllus exhibit bimodal life history strategies, with tall, late-flowering and short, early-flowering forms coexisting in close proximity. We hypothesized that local adaptation in these populations is influenced by highly pleiotropic genes. Using spatial selection analysis, selective sweeps, and tests for adaptation signatures, we found that candidate locally adapted genes had significantly lower connectivity and less central roles in gene coexpression networks compared to non-adapted genes.