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Testing the chilling- before drought-tolerance hypothesis in Pooideae grasses.
Aayudh Das1, Natalie Dedon1, Daniel J Enders1
1Department of Plant Biology, The University of Vermont, Burlington, Vermont, USA.
Molecular Ecology
|November 24, 2022
Summary
Chilling tolerance in temperate grasses (Pooideae) evolved early, before drought tolerance. Genes for cold response also helped develop drought tolerance multiple times.
Area of Science:
- Plant biology
- Evolutionary genetics
- Ecology
Background:
- Temperate Pooideae grasses are economically vital and adapted to cold, dry environments.
- Previous research suggests chilling tolerance evolved early in Pooideae, while drought tolerance evolved later and independently.
Purpose of the Study:
- To test the 'chilling-before-drought' hypothesis in temperate Pooideae.
- To compare the evolution of chilling and drought tolerance traits and gene expression.
Main Methods:
- Assessed conservation of whole plant and gene expression traits in response to chilling and drought.
- Compared trait responses across different Pooideae tribes.
Main Results:
- Plant and gene expression responses to chilling were more conserved across tribes than responses to drought.
- Found greater overlap in drought and chilling responsive genes within a species than across species for drought response.
Conclusions:
- Chilling tolerance likely evolved before the diversification of Pooideae tribes, supporting the chilling-before-drought hypothesis.
- Chilling tolerance genes may have been co-opted multiple times for the evolution of novel drought tolerance.
Keywords:
chilling stressclimate changedifferential gene expressiondrought stressgrassespre-adaptationMore Related Videos
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