Local adaptation to an elevational gradient of populations of Pitcairnia flammea Lindl. (Bromeliaceae) species complex in the southeast of Brazil

• Grant number: 23/05776-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate
• Effective date (Start): October 01, 2023
• Effective date (End): September 29, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Genetics - Plant Genetics
• Principal Investigator: Clarisse Palma da Silva
• Grantee: Paulo Aecyo Francisco da Silva
• Supervisor: Aureliano Bombarely Gomez
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biologia (IB). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Research place: Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Plantas (IBMCP), Spain
• Associated to the scholarship: 22/04700-6 - Local adaptation to an altitudinal cline of populations of Pitcairnia flammea Lindl (Bromeliaceae) species complex from the southeast of Brazil, BP.DR

Abstract

To disentangle the role of the different evolutive forces involved in populational divergence is an aim in molecular ecology. The local adaptation process - which may lead to population divergence and culminate in ecological speciation events - acts not only on Single Nucleotide Variations (SNVs), but also on Structural Variants (SVs) such as Presence-Absence Variations (PAVs) of genes. However, the role of SVs in local adaptation has been overseen specially on wild plant populations. Thus, we aim to understand how the process of local adaptation to an elevation gradient has contributed to the genetic divergence of populations of Pitcairnia flammea in a pangenomic perspective. For this purpose, we are finishing the assemble of two haploid solved chromosome-level genome for this plant, using PacBio HiFi, Omni-C reads and RNA-seq data. A resequencing approach in a medium coverage will be applied with 80 individuals to characterize all the variation of the gene pool of the species, that is, the pangenome. The pangenome will be used to (I) observe how SVs are structured among P. flammea populations; (II) discern the role of each evolutionary force in the process of population genetic divergence of P. flammea populations in the altitudinal cline in the Atlantic Forest; and (III) identify which genetic bases are responsible for the local adaptations of these populations and how the environment has influenced this process. In this sense, this project will contribute to the elucidation of the speciation process in one of the most biodiverse areas of the world and making predictions about the resilience of species in the face of climate changes. (AU)