Abstract Detail

Functional Genetics/Genomics

Using Genome of South American Marsh Pitcher Plant Heliamphora to Understand the Emergence of Plant Carnivory in the Lesser-known Carnivorous Lineage in Ericales and the Convergent Evolution of Plant Carnivory.

Plant carnivory is a convergently evolved trait in angiosperms. The convergence of plant carnivory is not only observed on ecological or morphological levels, but also on genomic level. This proposal aims to investigate the emergence of plant carnivory in the less studied but highly diverse carnivorous Ericales lineage. Using genomic and transcriptomic data generated from the focal genus Heliamphora compared to available data from other representative species in the carnivorous Ericales, we will understand the timing and mode of molecular adaptations for plant carnivory in this clade. Specifically, we will test 1. whether carnivory emerged in the ancestral carnivorous Ericales, further lost in non-carnivorous Actinidiaceae or 2. it has emerged independently in Roridulaceae and Sarraceniaceae. This study will be the first to investigate the emergency of carnivory in the carnivorous Ericales and provide crucial evidence for convergent evolution of carnivorous plants on the genomic level.

1 - University Of Colorado Boulder, 2475 Windrow Lane, Lafayette, CO, 80026, United States
2 - University Of Colorado Boulder, EBIO, 3050 Baylor Drive, Boulder, CO, 80305, United States

Keywords:
carnivorous plant
Evolution
carnivorous
genome
transcriptome.

Presentation Type: Poster
Number: PCG008
Abstract ID:1034
Candidate for Awards:None