The Genetics and Genomics of Local Adaptation and Acclimation in Panicum Grasses

合作伙伴：Jeremy Schmutz(HudsonAlpha生物技术研究所)；Phil Fay(德克萨斯大学环境科学研究所)高级合作者：Tim Keitt(德克萨斯大学奥斯汀分校)；David Lowry(密歇根州立大学)世界面临的主要挑战是随着人口增加和环境变化对能源的需求不断增长。尽管预测各不相同，但未来很可能会改变目前的天气模式，特别是对温度和降水的影响。需要进行研究，以了解这些变化将如何影响农业生产力，并调查作物和原生植物的地理范围是否会发生变化。该项目使用遗传和基因组方法来发现长寿的柳枝花及其近亲如何能够对一系列不同栖息地的环境压力做出反应和自然适应。这项研究的一个主要重点是确定与美国纬度梯度的当地适应和耐旱性有关的基因。最终，这些信息将为了解植物如何适应不同的条件提供基础，并将为设计抗逆性作物提供工具。本科生将参与该项目，并将获得跨越学科和大陆边界的实践研究经验。尽管有令人信服的证据表明植物在当地适应，但这些适应背后的遗传基础并不完全清楚。特别是，尚不清楚单个基因座的遗传权衡如何构成适应的整体模式或这些影响的空间规模。此外，表观遗传“记忆”在多年生植物及其长期适应中的作用在很大程度上还没有被探索。本项目的综合研究内容是对巴厘草的本地适应和驯化进行研究。本研究的具体目标是：(1)开展田间QTL实验，以检验旱地和低地柳枝枝草生态型之间的差异、局部适应性和品种与环境的互作；(2)精细定位和克隆二倍体柳枝条的耐旱性QTL；(3)研究干旱遗传效应的生态和分子驱动因素；(4)进行气候适应的基因组扫描。另一个主要目标是通过REU类型的项目培养下一代植物科学家，该项目让大一本科生在教育开始时从事研究。该项目的发现将有助于正在进行的努力，使作物在干旱条件下获得更好的表现，这是农业生产力的主要限制之一。所有序列数据将保存在国家生物信息学研究所短读档案(http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sra)和植物群(http://phytozome.jgi.doe.gov/pz/portal.html).)中表型数据和其他数据将通过期刊出版物和项目网站(https://sites.cns.utexas.edu/juenger_lab/switchgrass).公开提供

Co-PIs: Jeremy Schmutz (HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology); Phil Fay (University of Texas Environmental Science Institute)Senior Collaborators: Tim Keitt (University of Texas at Austin); David Lowry (Michigan State University)A major challenge facing the world is the growing demand for energy along with increasing populations and changing environments. Although predictions vary, it is likely that the future will bring alterations to current weather patterns, with impacts on temperature and precipitation in particular. Research is needed to understand how these changes will affect agricultural productivity and to investigate whether the geographical ranges of crops and native plants will shift. This project uses genetic and genomic approaches to discover how the long-lived grass switchgrass and its relatives are able to respond and adapt naturally to environmental stresses in a range of diverse habitats. A major focus of the research is to identify genes involved in local adaptation and drought tolerance across a latitudinal gradient in the US. Ultimately, this information will provide a basis for understanding how plants adapt to varying conditions and will provide tools to engineer stress resistance crops. Undergraduate students will be engaged in the project and will gain hands-on research experiences that span disciplinary and continental boundaries.Although there is compelling evidence for local adaptation in plants, the genetic basis underlying these adaptations is not fully understood. In particular, it is unclear how genetic trade-offs at individual loci underlie the overall pattern of adaptation or the spatial scale of those effects. Moreover, the role of epigenetic "memory" of stress in perennial plants and their long term adaptation is largely unexplored. The integrative research in this project investigates local adaptation and acclimation in Panicum grasses. The specific objectives are to (1) conduct field QTL experiments to test for divergence, local adaptation, and genotype-by-environment interaction in upland and lowland switchgrass ecotypes, (2) fine-map and clone drought tolerance QTL in diploid Panicum hallii, (3) investigate the ecological and molecular drivers of drought legacy effects, and (4) conduct genome scans of climate adaptation in Panicum hallii. Another major goal is to train the next generation of plant scientists through an REU-type program that engages Freshman undergraduate students in research at the start of their education. The findings from this project will facilitate ongoing efforts to engineer crops for higher performance under drought conditions, one of the major limitations in agricultural productivity. All sequence data will be deposited in the NCBI short read archive (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sra) and at Phytozome (http://phytozome.jgi.doe.gov/pz/portal.html). Phenotypic and other data will be publicly available through journal publications and the project website (https://sites.cns.utexas.edu/juenger_lab/switchgrass).