Abstract Detail

Physiology & Ecophysiology

Mead, Alayna [1], Peñaloza Ramirez, Juan [2], Bartlett, Megan [3], Gugger, Paul F. [4], Wright, Jessica W. [5], Sack, Lawren [6], Sork, Victoria L. [7].

Variation in gene expression and ecophysiological response to water stress in valley oak seedling populations.

Valley oak (Quercus lobata) is an ecologically-important tree species that lives in a wide range of climates throughout California. Previous research showed that populations are genetically differentiated, consistent with expectations for local adaptation to their particular climate. However, it can be difficult to tell whether genes that vary among populations have adaptive value based only on environmental associations in nature. This study had two objectives: 1) To determine whether valley oak seedling populations from regions of disparate climates differ in patterns of gene expression and ecophysiological response to water stress treatment in a greenhouse experiment, and (2) to investigate associations between gene expression and ecophysiological traits. Seedlings from six different valley oak populations from sites throughout California with a wide range of environmental variation were grown in a greenhouse, and were subjected to experimental water stress to determine responses relative to well watered control plants. Leaf tissue was collected to assess gene expression using RNA-seq analysis; and key structural and ecophysiological traits, including height, leaf size and thickness, and the leaf water potential and turgor loss point (TLP), were measured during the experiment. The seedlings from contrasting populations and experimental treatments differed in gene expression and in phenotypic traits, including TLP. These data will enable exploration of the genetic basis of ecophysiological traits, especially to discover candidates for adaptive genetic variation.

1 - UCLA, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, 4140 Terasaki Life Sciences Building, 610 Charles E. Young Drive East, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA
2 - UCLA, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
3 - Princeton, Princeton Environmental Institute, Princeton Environmental Inst, Guyot Hall, Room 132
4 - University of Maryland, Center for Environmental Science, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, Appalachian Laboratory, 301 Braddock Road, Frostburg, MD, 21532, USA
5 - Institute Of Forest Genetics, 1100 West Chiles Road, Davis, CA, 95618, USA
6 - UCLA, 621 Charles E. Young Drive South, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA
7 - UCLA, ECOL & EVOL BIOL, Box 957239, LOS ANGELES, CA, 90095-7239, USA

Keywords:
drought
RNA-Seq
ecophysiology
Local adaptation
Quercus.

Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: 23, Physiology & Ecophysiology
Location: Fort Worth Ballroom 6/Omni Hotel
Date: Tuesday, June 27th, 2017
Time: 9:30 AM
Number: 23004
Abstract ID:531
Candidate for Awards:None