Community-wide phenological study by transcriptome analysis in Southeast Asian tropical plant

2021 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 19K15875
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Early-Career Scientists
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Basic Section 40010:Forest science-related
• Research Institution: University of Miyazaki (2020-2021); Yokohama City University (2019)
• Principal Investigator: Tokumoto Yuji 宮崎大学, キャリアマネジメント推進機構, 准教授 (60780153)
• Project Period (FY): 2019-04-01 – 2022-03-31
• Keywords: フェノロジー / 熱帯林 / フタバガキ科 / マメ科 / カキ科

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This study aimed to clarifying the species-level and community-level phenology phenomena from the relationship among phenology, meteorological data, and expressed genes in the trees of Dipterocarpaceae, Leguminosae, and Ebenaceae families in Southeast Asian tropical forest. During the study period, precipitation decreased, community-wide synchronous flowering occurred, and many of the targeted individuals flowered. The expressed genes analysis revealed that the expression levels of either drought response genes and cold response genes or both were changed before flowering. This suggests that the two flowering factors, drought, and low temperature, which have been discussed as the triggers for synchronized flowering, have been confirmed from the level of expressed genes in multiple canopy tree species. This study suggested that many of the canopy trees might respond to the subtle changes in weather conditions followed by causing the phenological phenomena.

Free Research Field

森林生態学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究では東南アジア熱帯で林冠に到達するフタバガキ科、マメ科、カキ科の3つの分類群の樹木を対象に、2019年に起きた降水量の減少やその後の展葉、群集レベルの同調開花の期間において、種レベル及び種間で共通の環境応答性が明らかになった。これまで観察ベースで明らかになっていた東南アジア熱帯の群集レベルの同調開花現象について、発現遺伝子レベルから明らかになった事例として非常に学術的な意義がある。さらに種間での環境応答性の違いも確認され、これらのデータが気候変動後の熱帯樹木の動態や将来予測などの基盤的データとなりうることから、社会的な意義も非常に高い。