Tomomi Wakabayashi

Assistant Professor, Graduated School of Science and Technology, Division of Biological Science, Nara Institute of Science and Technology *Profile is at the time of the award.

2023Inamori Research GrantsBiology & Life sciences

Research topics
Intraspecific flowering time variation by critical daylength and local adaptation in Lotus japonicus
Keyword
Summary
Flowering time is an important factor for plant species. It is known that this timing is decided by sensing environmental factors, such as temperature and daylength. Depending on growing environments, the adequate season is different. In this study, I focus on an intraspecific flowering time variation and aim to reveal an adaptive evolution mechanism with Lotus japonicus, which is distributed over Japanese archipelago. Focusing on differences in daylength requirements, I would like to compare the critical daylength among ecotypes derived from different photoperiod environments, identify the responsible genes, and clarify the molecular evolution of the genes.

Comment

I am very honored to have been selected for the Inamori Research Grant. I would like to utilize the techniques of molecular biology and genomics to macrobiology research and work hard to contribute to the elucidation of the mechanism of adaptive evolution.

Outline of Research Achievments

In this study, I hypothesized that intraspecific polymorphism in flowering time in Lotus japonicus, which is widely distributed in the Japanese archipelago with its large environmental gradient, is due to the critical day length. First, I estimated the critical day length for each ecotype by analyzing flowering time data obtained in a common field experiments. I also performed a comparative analysis of genome-wide gene expression in three accessions with different critical day lengths to detect candidates for genetic factors related to flowering time difference. I found a tendency of natural selection of diversifying genotypes in the genome regions containing these genes.


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Biology & Life sciences