Can long-lived species experience rapid evolution in response to changing climate? (2019-2021)
Zuzana Münzbergová, Věra Hadincová, Maria Šurinová
Rapid evolution is potentially important mechanism of species ability to adapt to novel climates. We aim to identify signs of rapid evolution in response to novel climates in long-lived clonal polyploid plant and extend the existing knowledge on possibilities of evolution at the ecological time scale that was up to date studied mostly on short-lived organisms such as bacteria, fruit flies and rarely annual plants. We will do so by combining analyzes of EST and genomic SSR markers and phenotypic traits of plants established from common gene pools in reciprocal sowing and transplant experiments in the field. We will make use of already established experiments and existing dataset of plant traits obtained in the previous project. Here we will continue monitoring the experiments and complement our data with novel genetic data, out of which the EST SSR markers will enable linking the observed changes to specific genes. We will obtain multiple pieces of novel evidence for rapid evolution in species, in which this mechanism of adaptation to novel conditions has not been explored.