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