Adaptiv populationsdifferentiering hos växter

An understanding of the ecological and genetic mechanisms governing plant adaptation to environmental conditions is of fundamental interest in evolutionary biology, but also for meeting the challenges of global change in applied fields such as conservation biology and plant breeding. In this project, we integrate ecological and genomic approaches in field and lab experiments in a study of the functional and the genetic basis of plant adaptation. Our study systems are natural populations of the prime plant model organism, the selfing annual A. thaliana, and its close relative, the outcrossing perennial herb A. lyrata. Recombinant inbred lines, near-isogenic lines, and segregating F2 populations will be used in experiments designed to (a) identify traits and genomic regions subject to selection in the field and under experimental conditions, (b) examine the genetic basis of differences in putative adaptive traits between populations, (c) determine the extent to which phenotypic and genetic trade-offs constrain adaptation to different environments, and (d) identify agents of selection in the native habitats. The recombinant inbred lines were produced from a cross between two ecologically well characterized A. thaliana populations that exhibit striking adaptive differentiation. They therefore represent a uniquely suited genetic resource to study the functional and genetic basis of plant adaptation.