Learning from past generations - Adaptive transgenerational memory in clonal plants

Grunddaten zu diesem Projekt

Beschreibung

The aim of the proposed project is to assess which plant responses that are induced by copper excess are memorized for multiple generations in the absence of stress, and whether this 'soft inheritance' benefits offspring fitness under recurring stress conditions. Therefore, a novel model system, the fresh-water plant Spirodela polyrhiza, and a genetic approach will be used to substantiate the radical hypothesis that environment-acquired traits are transmitted over multiple generations and thereby benefit offspring fitness. (I) Genes and traits that are transgenerationally inherited under recurring copper stress will be identified. (II) Genes involved in natural variation of transgenerational-inherited traits and fitness differences will be resolved. (III) A causal link between transgenerational inherited phenotype and fitness will be established. If successful, the project will reveal the physiological mechanisms underlying adaptive transgenerational stress memory in clonal plants. The project may establish a new concept in which long-term stress memory over multiple generations alters plant fitness, and will stimulate new research directions to investigate how vertically transmitted traits modify species' evolutionary responses under the current environmental challenge.