Genomics of Adaption to Climate Change in Rice

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Feeding a growing population sustainably in the face of climate change requires us to resolve the genetic basis of crop tolerance to stress (especially temperature, precipitation and edaphic factors). Crops have reduced genetic diversity for stress tolerances compared to wild species; the analysis of crop-wild relatives can lead to the identification of adaptive genetic variation that can be bred into commercial cultivars. In this project, the student will use genome-scale data for wild rice to identify genes involved in environmental adaptation, confirm the role of these genes, and determine if the distributions of adaptive alleles have changed over time. Rice is a staple for almost half of the world population, therefore plentiful genomic data and seed material exists. Yet the data has not been exhaustively analysed, and we have identified a novel cutting-edge way to identify adaptive genetic variation. The three key stages are: Genomes of locally adapted wild rice and locally important cultivars will be analysed to identify genes involved in adaptation to soil and climate. Candidate genes will be functionally tested using transgenics. Sequencing of adaptive alleles from 20-100-year-old herbarium samples will assess how allele frequencies change over time, with implications for climate change resilience.