Gene expression profile in Bryum argenteum: responses to water and heat stress and sexual regulation under different environmental conditions

• Grant number: 25/09580-7
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Post-doctor
• Start date: November 01, 2025
• End date: October 31, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Ecology
• Principal Investigator: Fábio Pinheiro
• Grantee: Wagner Luiz dos Santos
• Supervisor: Rose A Marks
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biologia (IB). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, United States
• Associated to the scholarship: 23/14623-1 - A species, multiple places: how the ecology and evolution of silver moss Bryum argenteum are shaped across environmental gradients?, BP.PD

Abstract

Using molecular tools to understand adaptation is essential for untangling the evolutionaryhistory of species. In this project, we will investigate the transcriptomic changes associatedwith tolerance to water stress, thermal stress, and sexual expression in the moss Bryumargenteum Hedw., a model species due to its wide distribution and resistance to extremeconditions. Populations from dry (Caatinga) and humid tropical forests (Atlantic Forest) willbe compared across multiple conditions to identify differentially expressed genes in bothmale and female gametophytes. The experimental approach includes (1) desiccation andrehydration assays to evaluate water stress responses, (2) exposure to high temperatures(up to 120°C) to characterize thermotolerance, and (3) analysis of gene expression duringsexual development. RNA sequencing data will be generated and processed usingbioinformatics tools for transcriptome assembly, functional annotation, and identification ofdifferentially abundant transcripts. The results will contribute to understanding how molecularplasticity enables B. argenteum to adapt to environmental gradients, and reveal potentialsexual differences in stress tolerance. This study will not only advance knowledge aboutbryophyte evolution but also provide insights for biotechnology applied to climate resiliencein plants. The integration of ecology, genomics, and physiology will provide a systems levelview of evolutionary processes in widely distributed species. (AU)