The Quantitative Genetics of Plant Growth Response to Precipitation Extremes in Arabidopsis thaliana
Level of Education of Students Involved
Undergraduate
Faculty Sponsor
Jane Kenney-Hunt
College
Arts and Sciences
Discipline(s)
Biology, Genetics
Presentation Type
Poster Presentation
Symposium Date
Spring 4-25-2024
Abstract
Spring floods, summer droughts, and other unpredictable climate events are becoming increasingly common in the Midwestern United States with climate change. Rapid changes in precipitation create challenges to plant life in the region, with impacts on conservation and agriculture. We stimulated the effects of these extremes in precipitation on 100 Arabidposis thaliana recombinant inbred lines (RIL) to investigate gene-by-environment interactions on five growth and development phenotypes. We calculated the genetic variance, correlation, and heritability of the phenotypes. We also preformed a quantitative trait locus (QTL) analysis to identify regions of the genome that have effects on the timing of growth in plants that were watered optimally and plants that were subject to early flood/late drought conditions. Through this QTL analysis, we were able to identify QTL for time-to-flower and two QTL for time-to-bolt. The long-term goal of the project is to identify genes with an effect on plant survival and fitness in the changing environment of the 21st century.
Recommended Citation
Kaur, Simranjit; Boyle, Abby; Eckstein, Cassidy; Peterson, Grace; Ives, Marilyn; Martens, Sydney; and Kenney-Hunt, Jane, "The Quantitative Genetics of Plant Growth Response to Precipitation Extremes in Arabidopsis thaliana" (2024). Symposium on Undergraduate Research and Creative Expression (SOURCE). 1325.
https://scholar.valpo.edu/cus/1325
