Population Genomics of Cold Adaptation in Poplar

PI：马修·S·奥尔森，阿拉斯加大学费尔班克斯分校CoPI：明尼苏达大学Peter Tiffin，明尼苏达大学杨树物种具有重要的经济、生态和环境价值；它们被收获用于纸浆和刨花板生产，并具有在二氧化碳生物分离和生物燃料生产中发挥重要作用的潜力。杨树也是阔叶树基因组学和生理学的模式生物。群体遗传学工具在鉴定构成生态和经济重要性状变异基础的基因方面越来越有用，但目前在杨树上还没有。本项目将为苦杨开发这些工具，用它们来确定花蕾集表型变异的遗传基础(冷适应和生长速度的重要决定因素)。这项研究还将测试北美香茅和欧洲香菇中负责花蕾集变异和适应性进化的相同基因是否相同。这些目标将通过与加拿大研究人员的合作来实现，加拿大研究人员正在建立长期的苦艾树公共花园。这些普通花园将作为长期资源得到维护，并可供更广泛的科学界使用；因此，我们生成的数据将极大地促进未来对其他重要经济和生态性状(木材密度、抗旱性等)的基因型-表型关联分析。对北纬适应的比较种群基因组分析将通过与瑞典乌梅亚大学的同事合作完成，他们正在进行欧洲杨树(P.tremula)的补充研究。广泛的影响和智力优势：该项目将为本科生、研究生和博士后研究人员提供大量植物基因组学和生物信息学方面的培训机会。对本科生的培训将侧重于发展和开展科学研究以及成果的书面和口头交流。阿拉斯加大学费尔班克斯分校的ANSEP计划将为阿拉斯加原住民学生提供研究机会。研究生和博士后研究人员将接受更深入的科学探究、成果交流和指导方面的培训。这项研究将为开发DNA序列分析、种群基因组学和本科生课程的关联图谱的实验室练习奠定基础。这些练习将在阿拉斯加大学和明尼苏达大学教授的课程中进行，并通过我们的项目网站和植物基因组推广门户(http://www.plantgdb.org/PGROP/pgrop.php).)免费提供给更大的教育界最后，这项研究将阐明北极北部群落的关键物种和北美最北端分布的树木的种群基因组学，以补充国际极地年(2007年至2008年)的主题。该项目产生的所有基因组工具、数据和生物材料将通过我们的项目网站http://biotech.inbre.alaska.edu/PPG/和杨树基因组门户网站http://www.populusgenome.org/.公开提供这些材料将在时间和金钱上极大地促进未来对杨树重要功能基因的关联分析。

PI: Matthew S. Olson, University of Alaska FairbanksCoPI: Peter Tiffin, University of MinnesotaPopulus species are economically, ecologically, and environmentally important; they are harvested for paper pulp and particle board production, and hold potential for playing important roles in CO2 biosequestration and biofuel production. Populus also is the model organism for hardwood tree genomics and physiology. Population genetic tools are increasingly useful for identifying genes that underlie variation in ecologically and economically important traits, but are not presently available in Populus. This project will develop these tools for Populus balsamifera, use them to identify the genetic basis for phenotypic variation in bud set (an important determinant of cold adaptation and growth rate). This research also will test whether the same genes responsible for variation and adaptive evolution of bud set in North American P. balsamifera and European P. tremula. These objectives will be accomplished through collaboration with Canadian researchers who are establishing long-term common gardens of P. balsamifera. These common gardens will be maintained as a long term resource and are available to the wider scientific community; therefore, the data we generate will greatly facilitate future genotype-phenotype association analyses on additional economically and ecologically important traits (wood density, drought tolerance, etc.). The comparative population genomic analyses of adaptation to northern latitudes will be accomplished through collaboration with colleagues at the University of Umea, Sweden, who are conducting complementary research in European aspen (P. tremula).Broader impacts and intellectual merit: This project will provide numerous training opportunities in plant genomics and bioinformatics for undergraduate students, graduate students, and post-doctoral researchers. Training for undergraduate students will focus on developing and conducting scientific research and written and verbal communication of results. Research opportunities will be made available to Native Alaskan students through University of Alaska Fairbanks ANSEP Program. Graduate students and post-doctoral researchers will receive more in-depth training in scientific inquiry, communication of results, and mentoring. The research will form the basis for the development of laboratory exercises in DNA sequence analysis, population genomics, and association mapping for undergraduate courses. These exercises will be developed in courses taught at the University of Alaska and the University of Minnesota and made freely available to the larger educational community through our project web site and the plant genome outreach portal (http://www.plantgdb.org/PGROP/pgrop.php). Finally, this research will illuminate the population genomics of a keystone species of Arctic boreal communities and the tree with the northernmost distribution in North America, complementing the themes of International Polar Year (2007-2008).All genomic tools, data, and biological materials generated by this project will be made publicly available through our project website at http://biotech.inbre.alaska.edu/PPG/ and through the Poplar Genome Portal http://www.populusgenome.org/. These materials will greatly facilitate, in time and money, future association analyses of functionally-important genes in poplar.