SPP 1529: Evolutionary Plant Solutions to Ecological Challenges: Molecular Mechanisms Underlying Adaptive Traits in the Brassicaceae s.l. (Adaptomics)

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In times of rapid global environmental change, the improvement of our understanding of evolutionary processes is particularly important. The central scientific objective of this Priority Programme is to obtain fundamentally novel, comprehensive and increasingly predictive insights into the molecular solutions that evolution brings about, which result in plants matching local environmental demands. This goal requires the elucidation of the genetic basis underlying adaptive traits, and the integration of disciplines, such as ecology, plant physiology, systematics, biochemistry, molecular biology and population genetics, that traditionally work in isolation. By concentrating on the Brassicaceae family that exhibits remarkable ecological diversity, this Priority Programme takes advantage of progress in the molecular understanding of the Brassicaceae model plant Arabidopsis thaliana and capitalises on recent seminal advances in sequencing technology and bioinformatics. We propose to (1) analyse and classify natural diversity in the Brassicaceae, (2) apply the highest standards in molecular genetics to dissect the molecular basis of diversified traits, (3) test their evolutionary relevance and (4) develop the infrastructure to maximise common benefits from genetic, genomic, ecological and systematics tools.