The relationship between genome, epigenome, and performance in long-live plants

不动的生物体不能简单地逃避不利的、有压力的条件。然而，它们可以在不同的环境条件下表现出非凡的灵活性，以确保生长和生存。尤其是像树木这样的长寿植物表现出如此惊人的灵活性。除了遗传成分外，表观遗传机制在促成这种“表型可塑性”方面也发挥着关键作用。表观遗传学，字面意思是“高于遗传学”，是指对基因功能变化的研究，这些变化可以响应内部或外部信号而诱导，可以在细胞分裂过程中遗传，但不是由生物体 DNA 的变化引起的。因此，表观遗传标记可以在分子水平上提供额外的可塑性。我的研究目标是调查表观基因组的重塑如何与长寿植物的应激“记忆”和生命周期特征相关。在接下来的五年中，我的实验室将使用杨树作为树种模型来解决以下三个相互关联的研究目标。 1：我们将提供长寿植物表观遗传库存的深入表征，重点关注基因功能、保护和多样化。这将产生后续实验所需的信息，并将为表观遗传机制的功能提供新的见解。 2：我们将使用将生理学和分子模式与系统级数据分析相结合的综合方法来分析长寿植物中胁迫诱导的表观遗传模式。这项工作将使我们能够更深入地了解植物与环境相互作用的可塑性以及表观遗传机制在应激“记忆”中所发挥的作用。 3. 我们将通过针对树木表观遗传机制的选定组成部分来探索人工诱导的表观遗传多样性。这将使我们能够在不直接改变植物基因组成的情况下创造分子和功能变异，补充我们对自然诱导的表观遗传多样性的理解，并为替代树木育种策略提供材料。 拟议研究的结果将为迄今为止长寿植物的表观基因组功能、应激“记忆”和表型可塑性提供最全面的了解。这些发现不仅具有科学意义，还将对种植园、育种策略以及我们对气候变化下树木表现的理解产生影响。 高素质人员 (HQP) 将是拟议研究各个方面的关键。 HQP 将获得最先进技术和方法（表观遗传学、树木生理学、生物信息学）的独特组合的专业知识，这将为未来的科学领导者提供在现代研究和创新职业中取得成功所需的技能。

Immobile organisms cannot simply evade unfavorable, stressful, conditions. They can, however, show a remarkable flexibility under varying environmental conditions that ensures growth and survival. Especially long-lived plants like trees exhibit such an astonishing flexibility. In addition to a genetic component, epigenetic mechanisms play key roles in contributing to this “phenotypic plasticity”. Epigenetics, literally “above genetics”, refers to the study of changes in gene function that can be induced in response internal or external signals, that can be heritable across cell division but that do not result from changes in an organism's DNA. Thus, epigenetic marks can provide an additional layer of plasticity at the molecular level. The goal of my research is to investigate how remodeling of the epigenome relates to stress “memory” and life cycle characteristics in long-lived plants. In the next five years, my lab will address the following three interconnected research objectives, using the poplar as model for tree species. 1: We will provide an in-depth characterization of the epigenetic inventory in a long-lived plant with focus on gene function, conservation and diversification. This will generate information necessary for subsequent experiments, and it will provide novel insights into the function of the epigenetic machinery. 2: We will analyze stress-induced epigenetic patterns in long-lived plants by using an integrated approach that combines physiology and molecular patterns with systems-level data analyses. This work will allow us to gain deeper insights into the plasticity of plant-environment interactions and the role that epigenetic mechanisms play in contributing to stress “memory”. 3. We will explore artificially-induced epigenetic diversity by targeting selected components of the epigenetic machinery in trees. This will allow us to create molecular and functional variation without altering the genetic makeup of the plant directly, complementing our understanding of naturally-induced epigenetic diversity and providing the material for alternative tree breeding strategies. Results from the proposed research will provide the most comprehensive understanding of epigenome function, stress "memory" and phenotypic plasticity in long-lived plants to date. The findings will not only be of scientific interest, they will have implications for plantations, breeding strategies, and our understanding of tree performance in light of climate change. Highly qualified personnel (HQP) will be key to all facets of the proposed research. HQP will gain expertise in a unique combination of state-of-the-art techniques and approaches (epigenetics, tree physiology, bioinformatics), that will provide future scientific leaders with the skills needed to succeed in modern careers in research and innovation.