The Genetics and Genomics of Local Adaptation and Acclimation in Panicum Grasses

联合推荐人：Jeremy Schmutz （HudsonAlpha生物技术研究所）；Phil Fay（德克萨斯大学环境科学研究所）资深合作者：Tim Keitt（德克萨斯大学奥斯汀分校）；David Lowry（密歇根州立大学）：世界面临的一个主要挑战是，随着人口的增长和环境的变化，对能源的需求不断增长。尽管预测各不相同，但未来很可能会改变当前的天气模式，尤其是对温度和降水的影响。需要进行研究，以了解这些变化将如何影响农业生产力，并调查作物和本地植物的地理范围是否会发生变化。该项目使用遗传和基因组方法来发现长寿的草柳枝稷及其近亲如何能够自然地响应和适应各种栖息地的环境压力。该研究的一个主要重点是在美国确定与当地适应和干旱耐受性有关的基因。最终，这些信息将为了解植物如何适应不同的条件提供基础，并将为设计抗逆性作物提供工具。本科生将参与该项目，并将获得跨越学科和大陆边界的实践研究经验。尽管有令人信服的证据表明植物具有局部适应性，但这些适应性背后的遗传基础尚未完全了解。特别是，目前尚不清楚个体基因座上的遗传权衡是如何构成整体适应模式或这些影响的空间尺度的。此外，多年生植物对逆境的表观遗传“记忆”及其长期适应在很大程度上尚未被探索。本项目以禾本科禾本科植物为研究对象，对禾本科禾本科植物的本地适应与驯化进行了综合研究。具体目标是：(1)开展山地和洼地柳枝稷生态型的分化、局部适应和基因型-环境相互作用的田间QTL试验；(2)对二倍体白头草抗旱QTL进行精细定位和克隆；(3)研究干旱遗产效应的生态和分子驱动因素；(4)对白头草气候适应进行基因组扫描。另一个主要目标是通过一个类似reu的项目来培养下一代植物科学家，该项目让大一本科生在接受教育之初就参与研究。该项目的研究结果将促进正在进行的在干旱条件下提高作物性能的工作，干旱是农业生产力的主要限制之一。所有序列数据将存储在NCBI短读档案（http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sra）和Phytozome （http://phytozome.jgi.doe.gov/pz/portal.html）中。表型和其他数据将通过期刊出版物和项目网站（https://sites.cns.utexas.edu/juenger_lab/switchgrass）公开获取。

Co-PIs: Jeremy Schmutz (HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology); Phil Fay (University of Texas Environmental Science Institute)Senior Collaborators: Tim Keitt (University of Texas at Austin); David Lowry (Michigan State University)A major challenge facing the world is the growing demand for energy along with increasing populations and changing environments. Although predictions vary, it is likely that the future will bring alterations to current weather patterns, with impacts on temperature and precipitation in particular. Research is needed to understand how these changes will affect agricultural productivity and to investigate whether the geographical ranges of crops and native plants will shift. This project uses genetic and genomic approaches to discover how the long-lived grass switchgrass and its relatives are able to respond and adapt naturally to environmental stresses in a range of diverse habitats. A major focus of the research is to identify genes involved in local adaptation and drought tolerance across a latitudinal gradient in the US. Ultimately, this information will provide a basis for understanding how plants adapt to varying conditions and will provide tools to engineer stress resistance crops. Undergraduate students will be engaged in the project and will gain hands-on research experiences that span disciplinary and continental boundaries.Although there is compelling evidence for local adaptation in plants, the genetic basis underlying these adaptations is not fully understood. In particular, it is unclear how genetic trade-offs at individual loci underlie the overall pattern of adaptation or the spatial scale of those effects. Moreover, the role of epigenetic "memory" of stress in perennial plants and their long term adaptation is largely unexplored. The integrative research in this project investigates local adaptation and acclimation in Panicum grasses. The specific objectives are to (1) conduct field QTL experiments to test for divergence, local adaptation, and genotype-by-environment interaction in upland and lowland switchgrass ecotypes, (2) fine-map and clone drought tolerance QTL in diploid Panicum hallii, (3) investigate the ecological and molecular drivers of drought legacy effects, and (4) conduct genome scans of climate adaptation in Panicum hallii. Another major goal is to train the next generation of plant scientists through an REU-type program that engages Freshman undergraduate students in research at the start of their education. The findings from this project will facilitate ongoing efforts to engineer crops for higher performance under drought conditions, one of the major limitations in agricultural productivity. All sequence data will be deposited in the NCBI short read archive (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sra) and at Phytozome (http://phytozome.jgi.doe.gov/pz/portal.html). Phenotypic and other data will be publicly available through journal publications and the project website (https://sites.cns.utexas.edu/juenger_lab/switchgrass).