Population Genomics of Cold Adaptation in Poplar

PI: Matthew S. Olson，德克萨斯理工大学copi: Peter Tiffin，明尼苏达大学opulus物种在经济、生态和环境方面都很重要；它们被用于生产纸浆和刨花板，并在二氧化碳生物封存和生物燃料生产中发挥重要作用。杨树也是阔叶树基因组学和生理学的模式生物。种群遗传工具对于识别在生态和经济上重要性状变异基础上的基因越来越有用，但目前还没有在杨树中可用。本项目将开发这些工具，用于鉴定白杨芽集表型变异的遗传基础（芽集是冷适应和生长速度的重要决定因素）。本研究还将检验北美凤仙花和欧洲凤仙花的芽座变异和适应进化是否具有相同的基因。这些目标将通过与加拿大研究人员的合作来实现，他们正在建立长期的香茅共同花园。这些公共花园将作为一种长期资源加以维护，并可供更广泛的科学界使用；因此，我们生成的数据将极大地促进未来对其他经济和生态重要性状（木材密度、耐旱性等）的基因型-表型关联分析。通过与瑞典于默奥大学的同事合作，将完成对北纬地区适应性的比较种群基因组分析，他们正在对欧洲白杨（白杨）进行补充研究。更广泛的影响和智力价值：该项目将为本科生，研究生和博士后研究人员提供大量的植物基因组学和生物信息学培训机会。对本科生的培训将侧重于开展和开展科学研究以及成果的书面和口头交流。研究机会将通过阿拉斯加费尔班克斯大学ANSEP计划提供给阿拉斯加本土学生。研究生和博士后研究人员将在科学探究、成果交流和指导方面得到更深入的培训。这项研究将为DNA序列分析、种群基因组学和关联图谱等本科课程的实验室练习奠定基础。这些练习将在阿拉斯加大学和明尼苏达大学教授的课程中进行，并通过我们的项目网站和植物基因组外展门户网站（http://www.plantgdb.org/PGROP/pgrop.php）免费提供给更大的教育界。最后，本研究将阐明北极寒带群落和北美最北端分布的树木的关键物种的种群基因组学，以补充国际极地年（2007-2008）的主题。该项目产生的所有基因组工具、数据和生物材料将通过项目网站http://biotech.inbre.alaska.edu/PPG/和Poplar基因组门户http://www.populusgenome.org/向公众提供。这些材料将极大地促进未来杨树功能重要基因的关联分析，在时间和金钱上。

PI: Matthew S. Olson, Texas Tech UniversityCoPI: Peter Tiffin, University of MinnesotaPopulus species are economically, ecologically, and environmentally important; they are harvested for paper pulp and particle board production, and hold potential for playing important roles in CO2 biosequestration and biofuel production. Populus also is the model organism for hardwood tree genomics and physiology. Population genetic tools are increasingly useful for identifying genes that underlie variation in ecologically and economically important traits, but are not presently available in Populus. This project will develop these tools for Populus balsamifera, use them to identify the genetic basis for phenotypic variation in bud set (an important determinant of cold adaptation and growth rate). This research also will test whether the same genes responsible for variation and adaptive evolution of bud set in North American P. balsamifera and European P. tremula. These objectives will be accomplished through collaboration with Canadian researchers who are establishing long-term common gardens of P. balsamifera. These common gardens will be maintained as a long term resource and are available to the wider scientific community; therefore, the data we generate will greatly facilitate future genotype-phenotype association analyses on additional economically and ecologically important traits (wood density, drought tolerance, etc.). The comparative population genomic analyses of adaptation to northern latitudes will be accomplished through collaboration with colleagues at the University of Umea, Sweden, who are conducting complementary research in European aspen (P. tremula).Broader impacts and intellectual merit: This project will provide numerous training opportunities in plant genomics and bioinformatics for undergraduate students, graduate students, and post-doctoral researchers. Training for undergraduate students will focus on developing and conducting scientific research and written and verbal communication of results. Research opportunities will be made available to Native Alaskan students through University of Alaska Fairbanks ANSEP Program. Graduate students and post-doctoral researchers will receive more in-depth training in scientific inquiry, communication of results, and mentoring. The research will form the basis for the development of laboratory exercises in DNA sequence analysis, population genomics, and association mapping for undergraduate courses. These exercises will be developed in courses taught at the University of Alaska and the University of Minnesota and made freely available to the larger educational community through our project web site and the plant genome outreach portal (http://www.plantgdb.org/PGROP/pgrop.php). Finally, this research will illuminate the population genomics of a keystone species of Arctic boreal communities and the tree with the northernmost distribution in North America, complementing the themes of International Polar Year (2007-2008).All genomic tools, data, and biological materials generated by this project will be made publicly available through the project website at http://biotech.inbre.alaska.edu/PPG/ and through the Poplar Genome Portal http://www.populusgenome.org/. These materials will greatly facilitate, in time and money, future association analyses of functionally-important genes in poplar.