Stress induced memory in clonal plants (2014-2016)
Vítek Latzel, Judit Fehrer, Jindřich Chrtek, Patrik Mráz
Transgenerational modification of phenotype (TP) allows plants to adapt to changing environments and can therefore play an important role in their ecology and evolution. Whereas this phenomenon is relatively well documented for sexual generations, almost nothing is known about the role of TP in asexual, i.e. clonal generations. In the proposed project we will focus on two species differing in the type of clonal reproduction –ramets vs. apomictic seeds. In a series of experiments we will test the role of environmental stress and its intensity on induction of TP and its role in transgenerational adaptation to new environments. We will also investigate the role of epigenetic variation in the observed TP and the role of different stress types and intensities in induction and heritability of epigenetic variation among asexual generations. The proposed project has a strong potential to provide one of the first and most detailed insights into ecological and evolutionary consequences of TP in clonal plants and can thus improve our knowledge about eco-evo processes in the plant kingdom.
Publications:
Rendina González AP, Dumalasová V, Rosenthal J, Skuhrovec J, Latzel V 2017. The role of transgenerational effects in adaptation of clonal offspring of white clover (Trifolium repens) to drought and herbivory. Evolutionary Ecology, DOI 10.1007/s10682-016-9844-5
Latzel V, Rendina González AP & Rosenthal J 2016. Epigenetic memory as a basis for intelligent behavior in clonal plants. Frontiers in Plant Science, doi: 10.3389/fpls.2016.01354
Rendina González AP, Chrtek J, Dobrev PI, Dumalasová V, Fehrer J, Mráz P, Latzel V 2016. Stress-induced memory alters growth of clonal off spring of white clover (Trifolium repens). American Journal of Botany 103: 1567-1574
Malíková L, Latzel V, Šmilauer P, Klimešová J 2016. Local adaptation of annual weed populations to habitats differing in disturbance regime. Evolutionary Ecology 30: 861-876
Latzel V 2015. Pitfalls in ecological research – transgenerational effects, Folia Geobotanica 50: 75-85