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出现。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是总是清楚的。分析几十个地点的数十个向日葵田间试验，我们将评估特定的植物基因型如何在不同的田间条件下生长、开花和结籽，以及它们的开花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表征在不同气候条件下影响开花时间和表现的特定基因。这项研究将促进提高气候适应能力的育种，这对粮食安全和降低农业生产的环境成本至关重要。物候变化是记录最充分的对气候变化的生物特征反应。然而，在模型系统之外，这些变化的遗传基础及其适应意义在很大程度上是未知的。本研究旨在量化向日葵(Heliantus annuus L.)物候对植株表现的重要性。在不同的田间环境中生长，包括检查与关键气候变量有关的开花时间的可塑性；确定开花时间和可塑性背后的遗传变异；并将这些信息纳入向日葵育种计划。开花时间(物候学)由一个特征明确的基因网络调节，该网络在向日葵和其他物种的受控条件下对已知的环境和发育信号做出反应。我们的研究建立在这项基础性工作的基础上，研究气候适应的遗传学，并将功能性遗传信息转化为异质田间条件下植物表现的预测模型。使用50年来种植在数十个田间地点的数千种基因的产量、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影响广泛的时空尺度上的物候和适合度的假设。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势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.