Elucidating the Mechanisms of Parallel Evolution in Wild Plants through Ecological Genomics

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 21H02565
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 45040:Ecology and environment-related
• Research Institution: Kyoto University
• Principal Investigator: Sakaguchi Shota 京都大学, 人間・環境学研究科, 助教 (50726809)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 久保田 渉誠 株式会社ファスマック, バイオ研究支援事業部, 研究員(移行) (10771701) ; 石川 直子 大阪公立大学, 大学院理学研究科, 特任講師 (20771322) ; 福島 慶太郎 福島大学, 食農学類, 准教授 (60549426)
• Project Period (FY): 2021-04-01 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: 平行適応 / 集団ゲノミクス / 特殊土壌 / 野生植物

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This study aimed to elucidate the mechanisms of parallel adaptation in plants to geographically separated stress soils. Whole-genome sequencing was conducted on paired populations growing in serpentine and non-serpentine soils in five regions across Japan, and genes showing significant differentiation between soil types were identified. Approximately 90% of the extracted candidate adaptive genes exhibited region-specific differentiation; however, 547 genes were commonly differentiated in two regions, 41 genes in three regions, and 3 genes in four regions. Many of the commonly differentiated genes were involved in cation transport, suggesting that they were also functionally selected in serpentine soils. This suggests that the parallel adaptation to serpentine soils in the studied species may have been partly facilitated by adaptive variations retained in the ancestral population.

Free Research Field

進化生態学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究では，野生植物の平行的な環境適応をゲノムレベルで分析した結果，約10%の適応候補遺伝子が複数回の土壌適応に関与していることが明らかになった．生物はしばしば高ストレス環境に短期間で適応することがあるが，本研究では，こうした迅速な適応を可能にする進化的機構として，適応変異の再利用が重要な役割を果たした可能性を示すことができた。本研究で得られた成果は，変動する野外環境に生物がどのように適応するかを予測するのに役立つと考えられる．