All flowering plants are ancient and/or recent polyploids (possessing two or more copies of every chromosome as a result of whole genome duplication). This phenomenon is thought to be a main driver of biological adaptation and range expansion, yet exactly how polyploidy contributes to biodiversity, and which genomic mechanisms or functional traits underlie the success of polyploids, remain unanswered questions. The work will use the wild strawberry genus (Fragaria) to address long standing questions and test fundamental hypotheses. Through the use of deep phylogenetic and population genomic sampling combined with characterization of trait and gene expression under climatically diverse field gardens, the work will identify where functional/genetic diversity resides in a polyploid/diploid lineage, and inform efforts to predict the effect of whole genome duplication on ecological and evolutionary responses to environmental change in numerous other plant lineages.
This project will accelerate our understanding of how polyploidy confers success, and how it contributes to biodiversity across geographic and evolutionary scales by tightly interlinking the ecological and genomic consequences of polyploidization. Moreover, this deeply integrated comparative study of the wild relatives of the cultivated strawberry will provide foundational knowledge on a species of world-wide economic importance. In addition, the research will contribute unparalleled resources that may be harnessed in efforts to ensure sustainability of strawberry and related crops such as cherry, peach, pear and apple, in the face of abiotic stress. The work will promote training by broad participation and international collaboration, and novel hands-on science curricula for middle school and undergraduate students.
