Genetic basis of metabolic and phenotypic plasticity and its relation to plant fitness

表型可塑性是生物体根据环境变化而改变其表型的能力，是无根植物适应快速环境变化的一种特别重要的特性。尽管可塑性可以提供适应性优势并减轻人为环境扰动的负面影响，但其遗传基础仍在很大程度上未知。通过利用拟南芥的全球和局部资源，我们将继续研究揭示可塑性的遗传机制。第一个资助期的结果将是实验验证的代谢可塑性理论，使我们能够确定在模拟和测试环境下影响代谢和表型可塑性的基因。在第二阶段，我们将进一步实验表征这些基因，并使用收集到的数据集来完善模型，以识别控制可塑性的基因。此外，我们将扩展理论框架和实验证据，以了解代谢和表型可塑性与植物适应性之间的关系。

Phenotypic plasticity is the ability of an organism to modify its phenotype in response to changes in their environment and it is particularly important trait for sessile plants to adapt to rapid environmental changes. Although plasticity can provide fitness advantage and mitigate negative effects of antropogenic environmental perturbations, its genetic basis is still largely unknown. By using global and local accessions of Arabidopsis thaliana, we will continue our research on unraveling the genetic mechanisms of plasticity. The outcome of the first funding period will be an experimentally validated theory of metabolic plasticity that allows us to pinpoint genes which influence metabolic and phenotypic plasticity under simulated and tested environments. In the second phase, we will further experimentally characterize these genes and in addition use the gathered datasets to refine the models for identification of genes controlling plasticity. Moreover, we will expand the theoretical framework and experimental evidence to understand the relationship between metabolic and phenotypic plasticity and plant fitness.