Biological synchronization in natural environments

2018 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 26221106
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (S)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Research Field: Ecology/Environment
• Research Institution: Kyoto University
• Principal Investigator: Kudoh Hiroshi 京都大学, 生態学研究センター, 教授 (10291569)
• Research Collaborator: Nagano Atushi J.
• Project Period (FY): 2014-05-30 – 2019-03-31
• Keywords: フェノロジー / トランスクリプトーム / 遺伝子発現 / ヒストン修飾

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Synchronizations between individuals in biological responses are often observed under natural seasonal conditions. This project aimed to understand functions of mechanisms that underlie synchronization of plant reproduction, especially in natural fluctuating environments. By the combination of growth experiments, time-series transcriptomic and epigenomic analyses in a natural plant population, and mathematical analyses, we identified genes that alter degree of reproductive synchronization, evaluated roles of histone modification, H3K27me3, as a seasonal environmental memory, and developed the method that estimate plant virus infection from host transcriptome data.

Free Research Field

生態学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

野外での時系列トランスクリプトームや時系列エピジェネティクスが遺伝子制御の機能を理解する上で強力な手法であることが示された。本課題で公表した遺伝子発現の季節変化データベースは、植物にかかわる様々な学問分野に波及効果を持つ。また、植物のトランスクリプトームを病原生物のバイオマーカーとして用いる道が拓かれた。