Environmental impact assessments by genome-wide gene expression profile in Siebold's beech forests

2017 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 26281030
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)
• Allocation Type: Partial Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Environmental impact assessment
• Research Institution: Hokkaido University
• Principal Investigator: Saito Hideyuki 北海道大学, 農学研究院, 講師 (70312395)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 瀬々 潤 国立研究開発法人産業技術総合研究所, 人工知能研究センター, 研究チーム長 (40361539) ; 小倉 淳 長浜バイオ大学, バイオサイエンス学部, 准教授 (60465929) ; 山口 高志 地方独立行政法人北海道立総合研究機構, 環境科学研究センター, 研究員 (90462316)
• Research Collaborator: NOGUCHI Izumi ; SAITO Hiroshi ; TANIWAKI Tohru ; YAGO Hiroaki ; MURANAKA Yasuhide ; SUDA Kouichi
• Project Period (FY): 2014-04-01 – 2017-03-31
• Keywords: 環境影響評価 / ブナ林 / ゲノム / 遺伝子発現

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Forest ecosystem management requires accurate evaluation on environmental impacts on trees under multiple stressors and complex physiological processes. Here we studied a method of environmental impact assessments by genome-wide gene expression profile of leaf in Siebold's beech forests. Over hundreds number of indicator-genes for decline of tree vigor and impact of stressors; oxidation, high-temperature and drought were screened out, and their expression pattern were indexed by PCA. The increasing score of decline index was positively correlated with score of oxidation and/or drought. The oxidation index was positively correlated with tropospheric ozone across Japan. Bayesian networks analysis based on gene expression profile resulted in a causality inference in which high ozone caused low shoot growth with dysfunctional many genes activity in a beech forest. Our studies showed genomic approach provides a promising technique of environmental impact assessments on forest trees.

Free Research Field

森林生理生態学およびゲノム学