Dimensions NASA: Collaborative Research: The biogeography and evolution of drought tolerance in grasse

干旱是构成全球草原结构的一个普遍因素。然而，关于耐旱性的遗传基础、耐旱性是如何演变的、它在地理上是如何分布的，以及它在决定未来草原生产力方面的潜在作用，人们知之甚少。在这项研究中，研究人员将确定分布在八个主要进化类群和广泛的地理和环境范围内的400种草的生理耐旱性和相关的解剖和生理特性。为了更好地了解草的遗传学，我们将研究基因表达以及根和叶的解剖、形态和生理。随着新的序列数据补充目前的努力，将确定400个物种及其环境生态位空间之间的系统发育关系。这项研究还将在干旱背景下将全球生产力的模型参数化，将抗旱性数据与气体交换和环境数据结合起来，这将是建模植被对未来气候变化反应的关键。理解抗旱性和光合作用的不同维度将有助于我们广泛地了解草原，从作物选择到对未来全球功能的预测，都可能产生影响。此外，该项目将在研究生和博士后水平上招募代表性不足的个人，将为多个公共数据集做出贡献，并将开发教育材料，例如向位于肯塔基州曼哈顿的新弗林特山发现中心展示草类和草根的系统学临时展览。

Drought is a pervasive factor that structures grasslands worldwide. Yet little is known about the genetic basis of drought tolerance, how drought-tolerance has evolved, how it is distributed geographically, and what its potential role is in determining future grassland productivity. In this research, the investigators will determine physiological drought tolerance and associated anatomical and physiological traits for 400 species of grass distributed across eight major evolutionary groups and broad geographic and environmental ranges. To better understand the genetics of grasses, gene expression will be examined as well as root and leaf anatomy, morphology, and physiology. With new sequence data complementing current efforts, the phylogenetic relationships among the 400 species and their environmental niche spaces will be determined. The research will also parameterize models of global productivity in the context of drought, coupling data on drought tolerance with gas exchange and environmental data, which will be critical in modeling responses of vegetation to future climate change.Understanding the different dimensions of drought tolerance and photosynthesis will contribute broadly to our understanding of grasslands in a way that could impact everything from crop selection to predictions of future global function. Additionally, this project will recruit underrepresented individuals at the graduate and post-doctoral level, will contribute to multiple public datasets, and will develop educational materials such as a temporary exhibit on the phylogeny of grasses and grass roots to the new Flint Hills Discovery Center in Manhattan, KS.