ORCC: Uniting long-term field experiments and modern genomics to prepare sustainable crops for the future

随着全球气候变暖，开花时间，动物迁徙，昆虫出现和其他春天的预兆平均比过去几个世纪更早。然而，这些变化背后的遗传和环境驱动因素并不总是清楚的，时间变化的后果也不清楚。通过分析数十年来在数十个地点进行的向日葵田间试验，我们将评估特定植物基因型如何在不同的田间条件下生长、开花和结籽，以及它们开花的时间如何与环境相互作用以影响产量。然后，我们将使用详细的基因组信息来描述在不同气候条件下开花时间和表现的特定基因。这项研究将促进育种，以提高对粮食安全至关重要的气候适应能力，并降低农业生产的环境成本。物候变化是最有据可查的生物特征对气候变化的反应。然而，这些变化的遗传基础及其适应意义在模型系统之外基本上是未知的。我们的目的是量化的重要性，物候植物性能在向日葵（向日葵L。）在不同的田间环境中生长，包括检查与关键气候变量相关的开花时间的可塑性;确定开花时间和可塑性的遗传变异;并将这些信息纳入向日葵育种计划。开花时间（物候学）是由一个良好的特征网络的基因，响应已知的环境和发育信号在受控条件下在向日葵和其他物种。我们的研究建立在这一基础性工作的基础上，研究气候适应的遗传学，并将功能遗传信息转化为异质田间条件下植物性能的预测模型。利用50多年来在几十个田间种植的数千种基因型的产量、时间、基因组和性状数据，我们将评估关于整个基因网络如何在广泛的空间和时间尺度上影响物候和适应性的假设。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

As climate warms globally, flowering time, animal migrations, insect emergence, and other harbingers of spring occur earlier on average than in centuries past. However, the genetic and environmental drivers behind these changes is not always clear, nor are the consequences of shifts in timing. Analyzing decades of sunflower field trials across dozens of sites, we will evaluate how particular plant genotypes grow, flower, and set seed under varying field conditions, and how the timing of their flowering interacts with environment to affect yield. We will then use detailed genomic information to characterize the specific genes underlying flowering time and performance under a diversity of climate conditions. This research will facilitate breeding for improved climate resilience critical for food security and for reducing environmental costs of agricultural production. Phenological shifts are the most well-documented organismal trait response to climate change. However, the genetic underpinnings of these changes and their adaptive significance are largely unknown outside of model systems. We aim to quantify the importance of phenology to plant performance in sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) grown in diverse field environments including examining the plasticity in timing of flowering associated with key climate variables; identifying the genetic variation underlying flowering time and plasticity; and incorporating that information into sunflower breeding programs. Flowering timing (phenology) is regulated by a well-characterized network of genes that respond to known environmental and developmental signals in controlled conditions in sunflowers and other species. Our research builds on this foundational work to investigate the genetics of climate adaptation and translate functional genetic information into predictive models of plant performance under heterogeneous field conditions. Using yield, timing, genomic, and trait data for thousands of genotypes planted in dozens of field sites over 5 decades, we will evaluate hypotheses about how an entire network of genes affects phenology and fitness across broad spatial and temporal scales.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.