TRR 341:  Plant Ecological Genetics

• Subject Area: Biology
• Term: since 2022
• Website: Homepage
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 456082119

Ecosystems are threatened worldwide by anthropogenic degradation, fragmentation and rapid climate change. Plants are critical for nearly all food webs and thus for the functioning of ecosystems. In this CRC, we therefore address the fundamental question: What are the genetic underpinnings of plant responses and adaptation to environmental change? To address this question, we will dissect the genetics of adaptation in plant species with contrasting abilities to grow under limited resources, abiotic stress, and competition with other plants. Using state-of-the-art genetic technologies with a combination of field surveys and controlled environmental manipulations, we will identify the genetic variation that controls survival and reproduction in response to altered resource availability, abiotic stress and plant-plant competition pressures. By comparing closely and distantly related species, we will assess whether the function of genes for adaptation to a particular environmental condition is species-specific or conserved over evolutionary time. For this purpose, our consortium is organized into two key research areas. Research area A will determine the importance of candidate genes and traits for survival and reproduction in challenging environments. Research area B will use quantitative and population genetics methods to isolate the variants in plant genomes that contribute to plant adaptation to natural environments. A common database will assemble all generated results and support the synthesis of findings across plant species, traits, genes, and environments. Our CRC includes an interdisciplinary training program in Molecular Biology and Ecology for early career scientists, who will be crucial for reaching our goals and disseminating our results. Ultimately, work in this consortium will provide key information on the traits, genes and (epi-)genetic variants promoting adaptations to environmental change in plants, and assist future efforts to preserve natural ecosystems.

• DFG Programme: CRC/Transregios

Current projects

• A01 - Adaptive potential of the leaf economics spectrum in the Brassicaceae (Project Head Weber, Andreas P.M. )
• A02 - Fitness effects of molecular variants affecting leaf area and economics spectrum of Hordeum vulgare (Project Head Stich, Benjamin )
• A03 - Adaptive potential of temperature mediated plasticity in Cardamine hirsuta (Project Heads Laurent, Ph.D., Stefan ;  Tsiantis, Miltos )
• A04 - Genetic basis and ecological importance of adaptive myxospermic strategies to drought stress in the Camelineae tribe and the Brassicaceae family (Project Head Usadel, Björn )
• A05 - Genetic basis of ecological variation in meiotic recombination rates (Project Head Schneeberger, Korbinian )
• A06 - Ecological importance of multi-trait regulation by a gene regulatory network (Project Head Hülskamp, Martin )
• A07 - Adaptive potential of light-signalling genes in Arabidopsis thaliana (Project Head Höcker, Ute )
• A08 - Adaptive potential of iron (Fe) management in Arabidopsis thaliana in alkaline calcareous soils (Project Head Bauer, Petra )
• A09 - Evolutionary adaptation to local soil pH in Arabidopsis halleri (Project Head Krämer, Ute )
• A10 - Adaptive potential of sulfate content in Arabidopsis thaliana and Hordeum vulgare (Project Head Kopriva, Stanislav )
• A11 - Ecological importance and genetic basis of plant-microbe associations in Brassicaceae and Hordeum species exposed to environmental challenges (Project Head Zuccaro, Alga )
• A12 - Comparative analysis of gene-specific adaptive potentials across changing environments in A. thaliana (Project Heads Höcker, Ute ;  de Meaux, Juliette )
• A13 - Adaptive potential of protein and amino acid metabolism in Arabidopsis thaliana (Project Head Hildebrandt, Tatjana )
• A14 - Adaptive potential of dynamic photosynthesis in Arabidopsis thaliana (Project Head Armbruster, Ute )
• B01 - Ecological diversification in urban habitats: A comparative approach across four ruderal Brassicaceae species (Project Heads Linstädter, Anja ;  de Meaux, Juliette )
• B02 - Adaptation of perennial Arabis alpina along a latitudinal gradient in Scandinavia (Project Heads Coupland, Ph.D., George ;  Fulgione, Ph.D., Andrea )
• B03 - Adaptation to the afroalpine environment in Brassicaceae species with contrasting ecological strategies (Project Head Hancock, Ph.D., Angela )
• B04 - Adaptation via geneflow in endangered Arabis floodplain species (Project Head de Meaux, Juliette )
• B05 - Evolutionary signatures in gene copy-number variation in Brassicaceae (Project Heads Rose, Laura ;  Wiehe, Thomas )
• B06 - The role of polygenic adaptation and pleiotropy in the establishment of trait-syndromes (Project Heads Krug, Joachim ;  Stetter, Markus )
• B07 - Adaptation in ecologically diverse Hordeum species: a comparative intra- and inter-species approach (Project Heads von Korff Schmising, Maria ;  Lampei Bucharova, Ph.D., Anna )
• INFZ03 - Data Management and central Database for CRC projects (Project Heads Usadel, Björn ;  Valencia-Schneider, Monica )
• MGKZ04 - Integrated Research Training Group (iRTG) - Graduate School in Ecological Genetics (GEcoGen) (Project Heads Kopriva, Stanislav ;  Rose, Laura )
• Z01 - Central Coordination (Project Head de Meaux, Juliette )
• Z02 - Enabling platform: Plant cultivation and phenotyping (Project Heads Höcker, Ute ;  von Korff Schmising, Maria )
• ÖZ05 - Citizen science (CS) in Ecological Genetics (Project Head Bauer, Petra )

• Applicant Institution: Universität zu Köln
• Co-Applicant Institution: Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf
• Participating Institution: Max-Planck-Institut für Pflanzenzüchtungsforschung
• Participating University: Philipps-Universität Marburg; Ruhr-Universität Bochum; Universität Potsdam
• Spokesperson: Professorin Dr. Juliette de Meaux