On 20 January 2025, Ute Krämer will present insights to her current research as part of the SNP2Prot Colloquium Series.
Speaker: Ute Krämer (Ruhr University Bochum)
Title: “The genetic basis of adaptive physiological traits in the extremophile Arabidopsis halleri”
Date: 20 January 2025
Time: 3:00 pm
Location: Lecture hall E.02, Theodor-Lieser-Strasse 9 (Heide Süd Campus), 06120 Halle (Saale)
Abstract: The extremophile metal hyperaccumulator Arabidopsis halleri is a diploid outcrossing stoloniferous perennial among the closest relatives of Arabidopsis thaliana. A. halleri is known for a vast phenotypic range of its leaf ionome, with leaf Zn concentrations far above critical toxicity thresholds of ordinary plants, and for its exceptionally broad edaphic range that includes soils containing toxic levels of heavy metals. Our objective is to unravel the genetic and physiological basis of phenotypic divergence both within A. halleri and by comparison to closely related species, in an ecological context. I will briefly outline earlier insights related to metal homeostasis from cross-species comparative approaches and then sketch some recent further developments of this work. We established a biodiversity resource of ca. 1,000 accessions of European A. halleri collected in the field, which are edaphically and ionomically indexed, that is, leaf and soil elemental composition at the site of origin are known for each genotype. I will present results from QTL mapping using the F2 progeny of crosses of phenotypically contrasting parents, and also from environmental association studies. Then I will show how haplotype-phased genome assemblies helped to identify structural variation at candidate loci. A subset of the identified genomic regions are under study towards the identification of causal genes and polymorphisms. Our results provide examples of the genetic architectures, genomic alterations, and gene functions underlying naturally selected extreme physiological traits in plants. At least in part, the exceptionally large phenotypic range of A. halleri may reflect how plants utilize metals in mineral co-option for functions outside the nutritional requirements of the metalloproteome, which are largely shared among. Our work provides insights into how plants cope with environmental change, and can inform crop improvement and the development of plant-based technologies such as phytomining and phytoremediation.
If you like to meet with the speaker, please contact the host, Steffen Abel in advance.
Interested in plant science? – Find more Halle Plant Science Colloquium (HPSC) events listed here: https://www.landw.uni-halle.de/prof/pflanzenernaehrung/hpsc/