Utilizing a comparative approach to assess genome evolution during diploidization in Artemisia tridentata, a keystone species of western North America.

Premise: Polyploidization is often followed by diploidization. Diploidization is generally studied using synthetic polyploid lines and/or crop plants, but rarely using extant diploids or nonmodel plants such as Artemisia tridentata. This threatened western North American keystone species has a large genome compared to congeneric Artemisia species; dominated by diploid and tetraploid cytotypes, with multiple origins of tetraploids with genome size reduction.

A genotype × environment experiment reveals contrasting response strategies to drought between populations of a keystone species (; Asteraceae).

Western North America has been experiencing persistent drought exacerbated by climate change for over two decades. This extreme climate event is a clear threat to native plant communities. is a keystone shrub species in western North America and is threatened by climate change, urbanization, and wildfire.

Meta-Analysis Reveals Challenges and Gaps for Genome-to-Phenome Research Underpinning Plant Drought Response.

Severe drought conditions and extreme weather events are increasing worldwide with climate change, threatening the persistence of native plant communities and ecosystems. Many studies have investigated the genomic basis of plant responses to drought. However, the extent of this research throughout the plant kingdom is unclear, particularly among species critical for the sustainability of natural ecosystems.

A haploid pseudo-chromosome genome assembly for a keystone sagebrush species of western North American rangelands.

Increased ecological disturbances, species invasions, and climate change are creating severe conservation problems for several plant species that are widespread and foundational. Understanding the genetic diversity of these species and how it relates to adaptation to these stressors are necessary for guiding conservation and restoration efforts. This need is particularly acute for big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata; Asteraceae), which was once the dominant shrub over 1,000,000 km2 in western North America but has since retracted by half and thus has become the target of one of the largest restoration seeding efforts globally.

Potential distributional shifts in North America of allelopathic invasive plant species under climate change models.

Predictive studies play a crucial role in the study of biological invasions of terrestrial plants under possible climate change scenarios. Invasive species are recognized for their ability to modify soil microbial communities and influence ecosystem dynamics. Here, we focused on six species of allelopathic flowering plants-, , ssp.

A draft genome provides hypotheses on drought tolerance in a keystone plant species in Western North America threatened by climate change.

Climate change presents distinct ecological and physiological challenges to plants as extreme climate events become more common. Understanding how species have adapted to drought, especially ecologically important nonmodel organisms, will be crucial to elucidate potential biological pathways for drought adaptation and inform conservation strategies. To aid in genome-to-phenome research, a draft genome was assembled for a diploid individual of subsp.

G2PMineR: A Genome to Phenome Literature Review Approach.

There is a gap in the conceptual framework linking genes to phenotypes (G2P) for non-model organisms, as most non-model organisms do not yet have genomic resources readily available. To address this, researchers often perform literature reviews to understand G2P linkages by curating a list of likely gene candidates, hinging upon other studies already conducted in closely related systems. Sifting through hundreds to thousands of articles is a cumbersome task that slows down the scientific process and may introduce bias into a study.

Genetic insights into the evolution of genera with the eastern Asia-eastern North America floristic disjunction: a transcriptomics analysis.

Premise: Large disjunctions in species distributions provide excellent opportunities to study processes that shape biogeographic patterns. One such disjunction is the eastern Asia-eastern North America (EA-ENA) floristic disjunction. For many genera with this disjunction, species richness is greater in EA than in ENA; this pattern has been attributed, in part, to higher rates of molecular evolution and speciation in EA.

Identification and functional characterization of the (Asteraceae) Clade III Cytokinin Response Factor (CRF).

Cytokinin Response Factor (CRF) genes are a subgroup of AP2/ERF domain-containing transcription factors that are defined by the CRF domain, from which five clades of CRF genes have been identified. Clade III CRFs are strongly induced by cytokinin, as well as other abiotic stress factors, such as oxidative stress. While this appears well studied for the Clade III CRFs in Arabidopsis and tomato, there have been almost no studies done outside of these model systems.

Cytokinin Response Factor 5 has transcriptional activity governed by its C-terminal domain.

Cytokinin Response Factors (CRFs) are AP2/ERF transcription factors involved in cytokinin signal transduction. CRF proteins consist of a N-terminal dimerization domain (CRF domain), an AP2 DNA-binding domain, and a clade-specific C-terminal region of unknown function. Using a series of sequential deletions in yeast-2-hybrid assays, we provide evidence that the C-terminal region of Arabidopsis CRF5 can confer transactivation activity.