ROA: Somatic Mutation and Rapid Genomic Change in Plants

这里提出的工作将研究体细胞的影响， 植物种群生物学和进化的变化， 检查核DNA的体细胞变化。 基因组学的两个方面 将研究的变化：1）快速基因组的发生 （1）环境变化的影响;（2） 体细胞突变的积累。 植物被选为 模型系统，因为它们特别适合研究 身体的变化。 植物可以达到很大的年龄， 随着时间积累。 此外，植物似乎有 适应环境压力的灵活基因组。 的 拟议的研究将测量体细胞的积累， 在长寿的长叶松个体中的突变， 狐尾松，以及在古老的一枝黄花克隆中， 不受干扰的草原物种。 核糖体的体细胞变化 DNA和乙醇脱氢酶基因将被确定 使用标准的DNA技术。 这些研究将决定 随着时间的推移，体细胞变化的速率和体细胞的影响 突变是指种群内的遗传变异。 的 实验诱导快速基因组变化， 将在Solidago和 蒲公英属，一种无性繁殖的植物。 工作提出的 这里研究的基本遗传过程， 对植物物种的遗传学和进化的重要性。 此外，体细胞变异发生在所有生物体中， 在衰老过程中以及在 肿瘤 这里提出的工作将提供详细的 了解体细胞变异的速率和积累， 因此，将提供可能用于 研究人类的年龄依赖性遗传变化。

The work proposed here will study the effects of somatic variation on the population biology and evolution of plants by examining somatic changes of nuclear DNA. Two aspects of genomic change will be studied: 1) the occurrence of rapid genomic changes in response to environmental variation, and 2) the accumulation of somatic mutation. Plants have been chosen as model systems because they are particularly amenable to the study of somatic change. Plants can attain great ages, thus mutations accumulate over time. In addition, plants appear to have flexible genomes which respond to environmental pressures. The proposed studies will measure the accumulation of somatic mutations in long-lived individuals of Pinus longaeva, the Bristlecone Pine, and in ancient clones of Solidago altissima, a species of undisturbed prairies. Somatic changes in ribosomal DNA and in the alcohol dehydrogenase gene will be determined using standard DNA technologies. These studies will determine the rate of somatic change over time and the influence of somatic mutation on genetic variation within populations. The experimental induction of rapid genomic change in response to variable environments will be studied in both Solidago and Taraxacum, an asexually reproducing species. The work proposed here examines fundamental genetic processes which have potential importance for the genetics and evolution of plant species. Moreover, somatic variation occurs in all organisms and has been implicated in the process of ageing and in the generation of tumoricity. The work proposed here will provide detailed knowledge of the rate and accumulation of somatic variation and thus will provide information which is of potential use in the study of age dependent genetic changes in humans.