Evolution and conservation of biodiversity in forest and agricultural landscapes:insights from phylogeny and endophytic fungal microbiome of the forest tree genus Populus

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The long term goal of my research program is to gain a deeper understanding of the processes underlying the evolution and conservation of biodiversity in forest and agricultural landscapes through comparative analyses of relevant data in ecological and phylogenetic context. The biodiversity (genes through species and communities) in forests plays a vital role in providing us with ecosystem services such as clean water, air food and shelter. The evolution of forest trees, the major structural component of forests, is influenced by plant microbe interactions, and endophytic fungi (group of fungi living inside host plant tissues without causing visible symptoms) are emerging as important players in shaping the evolutionary trajectory of forest trees and overall biodiversity in forest landscapes. Analyzing endophytic fungal data along with morphological, biogeographical, genetic and ecological information within a framework of well resolved phylogeny of an ecologically and morphologically diverse group of forest trees is crucial for a thorough understanding of the evolutionary process in forests. The widely distributed, ecologically and economically important forest tree genus Populus is an ideal system for such an approach. Thus, I propose to conduct detailed studies of the endophytic fungal microbiome and phylogeny of Populus to gain insights into the evolution of biodiversity in forest landscapes. As short term objectives over the next five years, I along with my research team will i) Reconstruct robust phylogenetic tree(s) of the genus Populus based on DNA sequences of nearly complete nuclear and chloroplast genomes to understand the evolutionary history of the genus and provide a framework for evolutionary hypotheses testing, ii) Characterize the composition, structure and assembly of endophytic fungal communities in selected Populus species, iii) Investigate if closely related Populus species harbor similar endophytic fungal microbiome showing a correlation between host (Populus) phylogeny and endophytic fungal microbiomes commonly referred as "Phylosymbiosis" and iv) Investigate if isolated endophytic fungi show host preference as an evidence for "habitat filtering". The resulting phylogenetic trees will allow detailed examination of evolutionary trends within the genus Populus, and rigorous testing of hypotheses related to the evolution of forest trees using Populus as a model. The proposed endophytic mycobiomics work represents an original effort of detailed characterization of fungal communities in both root and aerial parts of a wide range of Populus species including hybrids and infers assembly of endophytic fungal communities within a phylogenetic and community ecology framework. This program will provide an opportunity to train at least 14 next generation research professionals in the areas of plant systematics, evolution, microbiomics and biodiversity conservation, contributing to fulfil environmental and socioeconomic needs of Canada.