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Abstract Detail



Tropical Biology

Contreras Ortiz, Natalia [1], Kidner, Catherine [2], Hart, Michelle [2], Hudson, Andrew [3], Pennington, Toby [4], Richardson, James [5].

Phylogeography and adaptive genomic variation in Guazuma.

An understanding of how plants have adapted to climate change in the past may provide information on how adaptable they are to future change. Guazuma is a representative of the tribe Theobromeae (Malvaceae) with three accepted species: G. crinita (rain forest of Perú and Bolivia), G. ulmifolia (humid and dry areas in the Neotropics) and G. longipedicellata (dry forest, restricted to El Salvador). Species relationships, patterns of diversity and genetic structure have not been widely investigated including all species across their ranges of distribution. The genomics of local adaptation in the genus also require investigation. My project aims to explore the phylogeography and adaptive genomics of drought adaptation within Guazuma. Specifically, I aim to understand a) how barriers have impacted contemporary distributions and genetic structure and b) if tolerance to drought is correlated to the current phylogeographic structure. To accomplish this, a set of Hybrid Capture baits will be used to produce two set of sequences: a) Phylogenetically useful genes to infer species relationships and explore genetic divergence along with morphological data, and b) drought-related genes to uncover signs of selection by correlation with environmental variables. To select the target genes of interest I have obtained transcriptomic data using RNA-seq from a living plant of G. ulmifolia. Preliminary bioinformatic explorations of the transcriptomic data has shown close relationships to other members of the Theobromeae tribe, that includes rain forest restricted taxa, in particular the economically important source of chocolate, Theobroma cacao.


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1 - Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, Science, 20a Inverleith Row, Edinburgh, EDH, EH3 5LR, United Kingdom
2 - Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
3 - The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
4 - University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
5 - Universidad del Rosario, Bogotá, Colombia

Keywords:
Targeted enrichment
Transcriptome
Neotropics
Dry Forest
Theobromeae
Drought.

Presentation Type: Poster
Session: P3, Tropical Biology Posters
Location: Virtual/Virtual
Date: Wednesday, July 21st, 2021
Time: 5:00 PM(EDT)
Number: P3TB004
Abstract ID:813
Candidate for Awards:None


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