Local adaptation of Nothofagus pumilio along the latitudinal gradient of the Andes

鉴于人为气候变化导致的逆境事件和逆境事件的增加，研究森林进化生态学中的适应潜力是一个重要而又充满活力的研究领域。然而，这一研究领域的成功仍然受到相当有限的基因组资源、小规模环境信息的缺乏以及自然种群中表型树所面临的巨大挑战的阻碍。在这个项目中，我们利用i)安第斯纬度和地理梯度提供的独特机会来研究与光和气候有关的路径中的局部适应，以及ii)在H2020基因组树项目框架内为七个欧洲树种创建的基因组和表型资源。本研究的目标是i)确定在生态和经济上重要的巴塔哥尼亚树种中局部适应的遗传和表型基础Ii)确定人口历史、自然选择、基因流和主要环境驱动因素塑造遗传多样性和局部适应的空间尺度，以及iii)测试局部适应在南方山毛榉和欧洲树种之间是否一致进化。为此，我们将相关途径的约1,000个候选基因的遗传变异与来自树木年轮数据的表型(树状表型)联系起来，以量化个体和种群对沿安第斯山脉纬度和气候东西向气候梯度的环境差异的基因组反应。此外，利用树状表型，我们将研究树木对与这些梯度无关的胁迫事件的反应，即与ENSO相关的气候变异性和虫害爆发。同时，我们将使用中性遗传标记在关联研究中考虑种群的人口历史，并确定基因流动距离。最后，我们试图调查来自巴塔哥尼亚和欧洲的树种是否一致地适应了所调查的选择压力。为此，我们将把我们的结果与目前正在进行的在七个欧洲树种上进行的相同实验设计的研究进行比较。这些树种包括近缘关系较近的树种，以及近缘关系较远的针叶树云杉。除了更好地了解关键途径中地方适应的遗传基础外，确定遗传多样性、基因流动和地方适应的规模将有助于林农实施更有针对性的森林遗传资源管理战略。例如，我们的结果可以被转化为对南美斑潜蝇种源区的识别。

In the light of increasing stress events and stress episodes due to anthropogenic climate change the investigation of the extent of adaptive potential is a crucial and vibrant research field in evolutionary forest ecology. However, the success of this research field in general is still hampered by rather limited genomic resources, by the lack of small-scale environmental information, and by the huge challenge to phenotype trees in their natural populations.In this project, we take advantage of i) the unique opportunity that the Andean latitudinal and orographic gradients offer to study local adaptation in pathways related to light and climate, and ii) the genomic and phenotypic resources created for seven European tree species in the framework of the H2020 GenTree project.The goals of this study are i) to identify the genetic and phenotypic basis of local adaptation in the ecologically and economically important Patagonian tree species Nothofagus pumilio, ii) to determine the spatial scale at which demographic history, natural selection, gene flow, and major environmental drivers shape genetic diversity and local adaptation, and iii) to test whether local adaptation evolved convergently among Southern beech and European tree species.For these purposes, we will link genetic variation in a set of ~1,000 candidate genes from relevant pathways with phenotypes derived from tree ring data (dendrophenotypes) to quantify the genomic response of individuals and populations to environmental differences along the latitudinal and the climatic east-west gradient of the Andes. In addition, using dendrophenotypes, we will investigate the response of trees to stress events unlinked to these gradients, namely ENSO related climatic variability and pest outbreaks. In parallel, we will use neutral genetic markers to take the demographic history of populations into account in association studies, and to determine gene flow distances. Finally, we seek to investigate whether tree species from Patagonia and Europe adapted convergently to the investigated selective pressures. For this, we will compare our results with currently ongoing studies of identical experimental design conducted in seven European tree species. These include the relatively closely related Fagus sylvatica and Quercus robur as well as the very distantly related conifer Picea abies. Aside from a better understanding of the genetic foundation of local adaptation in essential pathways, identifying the scale of genetic diversity, gene flow and local adaptation will help inform foresters to implement more targeted management strategies of forest genetic resources. For example, our results can be translated into the identification of provenance zones for N. pumilio.