scholarly journals Grow with the flow: a latitudinal cline in physiology is associated with more variable precipitation inErythranthe cardinalis

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher D. Muir ◽  
Amy L. Angert
Keyword(s):  
Local Adaptation ◽  
Interannual Variation ◽  
Perennial Herb ◽  
Latitudinal Cline ◽  
Machine Learning Methods ◽  
Variable Environments ◽  
Selective Agents ◽  
Latitudinal Clines ◽  
Variable Precipitation ◽  
Insight Into

AbstractLocal adaptation is commonly observed in nature: organisms perform well in their natal environment, but poorly outside it. Correlations between traits and latitude, or latitudinal clines, are among the most common pieces of evidence for local adaptation, but identifying the traits under selection and the selective agents is challenging. Here, we investigated a latitudinal cline in growth and photosynthesis across 16 populations of the perennial herbErythranthe cardinalis(Phrymaceae). Using machine learning methods, we identify interannual variation in precipitation as a likely selective agent: Southern populations from more variable environments had higher photosynthetic rates and grew faster. We hypothesize that selection may favor a more annualized life history – grow now rather than save for next year – in environments where severe droughts occur more often. Thus our study provides insight into how species may adapt if Mediterranean climates become more variable due to climate change.

scholarly journals Transcriptional Controls for Early Bolting and Flowering in Angelica sinensis

Plants ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 1931
Author(s):  
Mengfei Li ◽  
Jie Li ◽  
Jianhe Wei ◽  
Paul W. Paré
Keyword(s):  
Developmental Pathways ◽  
Western China ◽  
Perennial Herb ◽  
Angelica Sinensis ◽  
Chinese Medicines ◽  
Flowering Genes ◽  
Transcript Profiles ◽  
Molecular Signals ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
Bolting And Flowering

The root of the perennial herb Angelica sinensis is a widely used source for traditional Chinese medicines. While the plant thrives in cool-moist regions of western China, early bolting and flowering (EBF) for young plants significantly reduces root quality and yield. Approaches to inhibit EBF by changes in physiology during the vernalization process have been investigated; however, the mechanism for activating EBF is still limited. Here, transcript profiles for bolted and unbolted plants (BP and UBP, respectively) were compared by transcriptomic analysis, expression levels of candidate genes were validated by qRT-PCR, and the accumulations of gibberellins (GA1, GA4, GA8, GA9 and GA20) were also monitored by HPLC-MS/MS. A total of over 72,000 unigenes were detected with ca. 2600 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) observed in the BP compared with UBP. While various signaling pathways participate in flower induction, it is genes associated with floral development and the sucrose pathway that are observed to be coordinated in EBF plants, coherently up- and down-regulating flowering genes that activate and inhibit flowering, respectively. The signature transcripts pattern for the developmental pathways that drive flowering provides insight into the molecular signals that activate plant EBF.

scholarly journals Does local adaptation along a latitudinal cline shape plastic responses to combined thermal and nutritional stress?

Evolution ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 74 (9) ◽  
pp. 2073-2087
Author(s):  
Avishikta Chakraborty ◽  
Carla M. Sgrò ◽  
Christen K. Mirth
Keyword(s):  
Local Adaptation ◽  
Nutritional Stress ◽  
Latitudinal Cline ◽  
Plastic Responses

scholarly journals Genetic and physiological mechanisms of freezing tolerance in locally adapted populations of a winter annual

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian J. Sanderson ◽  
Sunchung Park ◽  
M. Inam Jameel ◽  
Joshua C. Kraft ◽  
Michael F. Thomashow ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Local Adaptation ◽  
Freezing Tolerance ◽  
Adaptive Response ◽  
Sequence Polymorphism ◽  
Loss Of Function ◽  
Physiological Mechanisms ◽  
Naturally Occurring ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Winter Annual ◽  
Insight Into

ABSTRACTPremise of the studyDespite myriad examples of local adaptation, the phenotypes and genetic variants underlying such adaptive differentiation are seldom known. Recent work on freezing tolerance and local adaptation in ecotypes of Arabidopsis thaliana from Sweden and Italy provides the essential foundation for uncovering the genotype-phenotype-fitness map for an adaptive response to a key environmental stress.MethodsHere we examine the consequences of a naturally occurring loss of function (LOF) mutation in an Italian allele of the gene that encodes the transcription factor CBF2, which underlies a major freezing tolerance locus. We used four lines with a Swedish genetic background, each containing a LOF CBF2 allele. Two lines had introgression segments containing of the Italian CBF2 allele, and two were created using CRISPR-Cas9. We used a growth chamber experiment to quantify freezing tolerance and gene expression both before and after cold acclimation.Key resultsFreezing tolerance was greater in the Swedish (72%) compared to the Italian (11%) ecotype, and all four experimental CBF2 LOF lines had reduced freezing tolerance compared to the Swedish ecotype. Differential expression analyses identified ten genes for which all CBF2 LOF lines and the IT ecotype showed similar patterns of reduced cold responsive expression compared to the SW ecotype.ConclusionsWe identified ten genes that are at least partially regulated by CBF2 that may contribute to the differences in cold acclimated freezing tolerance between the Italian and Swedish ecotypes. These results provide novel insight into the molecular and physiological mechanisms connecting a naturally occurring sequence polymorphism to an adaptive response to freezing conditions.

scholarly journals Evaluation of Virtual Screening Strategies for the Identification of γ-Secretase Inhibitors and Modulators

Molecules ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 176
Author(s):  
Alicia Ioppolo ◽  
Melissa Eccles ◽  
David Groth ◽  
Giuseppe Verdile ◽  
Mark Agostino
Keyword(s):  
Small Molecules ◽  
Rational Drug Design ◽  
Bioactive Molecules ◽  
Cell Physiology ◽  
Rational Drug ◽  
Screening Strategies ◽  
Selective Agents ◽  
Progression Of Disease ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
Screening Approaches

γ-Secretase is an intramembrane aspartyl protease that is important in regulating normal cell physiology via cleavage of over 100 transmembrane proteins, including Amyloid Precursor Protein (APP) and Notch family receptors. However, aberrant proteolysis of substrates has implications in the progression of disease pathologies, including Alzheimer’s disease (AD), cancers, and skin disorders. While several γ-secretase inhibitors have been identified, there has been toxicity observed in clinical trials associated with non-selective enzyme inhibition. To address this, γ-secretase modulators have been identified and pursued as more selective agents. Recent structural evidence has provided an insight into how γ-secretase inhibitors and modulators are recognized by γ-secretase, providing a platform for rational drug design targeting this protease. In this study, docking- and pharmacophore-based screening approaches were evaluated for their ability to identify, from libraries of known inhibitors and modulators with decoys with similar physicochemical properties, γ-secretase inhibitors and modulators. Using these libraries, we defined strategies for identifying both γ-secretase inhibitors and modulators incorporating an initial pharmacophore-based screen followed by a docking-based screen, with each strategy employing distinct γ-secretase structures. Furthermore, known γ-secretase inhibitors and modulators were able to be identified from an external set of bioactive molecules following application of the derived screening strategies. The approaches described herein will inform the discovery of novel small molecules targeting γ-secretase.

scholarly journals Local adaptation contributes to gene expression divergence in maize

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Blanc ◽  
Karl A G Kremling ◽  
Edward Buckler ◽  
Emily B Josephs
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Local Adaptation ◽  
Cold Response ◽  
Expression Levels ◽  
Maize Populations ◽  
Maize Genotypes ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
History Of ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
Gene Expression Levels

Abstract Gene expression links genotypes to phenotypes, so identifying genes whose expression is shaped by selection will be important for understanding the traits and processes underlying local adaptation. However, detecting local adaptation for gene expression will require distinguishing between divergence due to selection and divergence due to genetic drift. Here, we adapt a QST−FST framework to detect local adaptation for transcriptome-wide gene expression levels in a population of diverse maize genotypes. We compare the number and types of selected genes across a wide range of maize populations and tissues, as well as selection on cold-response genes, drought-response genes, and coexpression clusters. We identify a number of genes whose expression levels are consistent with local adaptation and show that genes involved in stress response show enrichment for selection. Due to its history of intense selective breeding and domestication, maize evolution has long been of interest to researchers, and our study provides insight into the genes and processes important for in local adaptation of maize.

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