How Do Plant Genomes Develop Different Phenotypes Depending on Their Environment?

Abstract information

Once a plant has germinated in a particular location, it cannot change it anymore. This means its growth depends on its location with its particular context, such as soil, herbivores, or sunlight levels. Therefore plants have evolved sophisticated signal transduction systems that allow them to perceive the outside world and then modify their growth, morphology and chemicals production and develop different phenotypes. IAN BALDWIN and his research team investigate how exactly this process happens. As Baldwin describes in this video, the recently published genome of Nicotiana attenuata allows the researchers to examine the possibility that not only protein-coding genes but also non-coding RNA is involved in the regulatory process in the genome. Using RNAi to silence protein-coding genes, they take these engineered plants into the field and observe the differences. Their findings confirm the hypothesis that the small RNA machinery causes the change in phenotype.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21036/LTPUB10582

Researcher

Ian T. Baldwin is Founding Director of the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology in Jena, Germany, as well as Adjunct Professor at the Friedrich Schiller University Jena and the Brigham Young University (Provo, USA). His research focuses on the traits that enable plants to survive in the real world. In 2002, Baldwin founded the International Max Planck Research School (Jena). He also supports open access publishing as one of the senior editors of the open access journal eLife. The Thomson Reuters Web of Science ranked Ian Baldwin as one of “The World’s Most Influential Scientific Minds” in 2015 and he was a highly cited researcher on thomsonreuters.com in 2016.

Institution information

Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology

The Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology (MPI-CE) investigates how organisms communicate with each other via chemical signals. We study how plants best adapt to their respective environments and identify the chemical compounds they produce to attract pollinators, fend off herbivores and pathogens, or keep unpleasant competitors away. In the course of evolution, insects have adapted to the survival strategies of plants. We therefore analyze the genetics, physiology and behavior of herbivorous insects. Insects also make use of plant substances to protect themselves against predators: They sequester toxic compounds; some insects even signal by exhibiting their bright colors that they should better not be eaten. Microorganisms play a crucial role in the fitness of plants and insects. Some are pathogens, others are symbiotic partners and help to supply nutrients or boost the immune system. We want to determine who plays which role. The MPI-CE was founded in 1996 and is part of the Max Planck Society. Together with Friedrich Schiller University Jena, it runs the International Max Planck Research School Chemical Communication in Ecological Systems, a graduate school for excellent international graduates.

Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology

Original Publication

RNA-directed RNA Polymerase 1 (RdR1) Mediates the Resistance of Nicotiana Attenuata to Herbivore Attack in Nature

Shree P. Pandey

,

Ian T. Baldwin

Published in 2007

Argonaute 8 (AGO8) Mediates the Elicitation of Primary Defense Against Herbivory

Wild Tobacco Genomes Reveal the Evolution of Nicotine Biosynthesis

Shuqing Xu

,

Thomas Brockmöller

,

Aura Navarro‐Quezada

,

Heiner Kuhl

,

Klaus Gase

,

Published in 2017