Project A.15
- PhD student: Enrico Diniz Rodrigues Batista
- Co-Supervisors: Meret Huber
- Further TAC-members: Andreas Wachter, Arturo Mari-Ordóñez
- Research Group
The mechanisms and extend by which traits are inherited across multiple generations without changes in DNA sequence remain largely unknown. Duckweed, an aquatic plant with rapid asexual reproduction, provides an ideal model to study this phenomenon. This project seeks to identify the molecular processes underlying non-genetic inheritance in duckweed, contributing to our understanding of plant adaptation and evolution.
Duckweed is the common name for a group of aquatic plants that belongs to the Araceae family. They are known for their small size, rapid growth, and vegetative reproduction. Due to their mode of reproduction and remarkably low mutation rate, duckweeds serve as an excellent model for studying the transmission of traits across generations without changes in DNA sequence.
Past research in our group has shown that pre-exposure to copper and aphid stress can alter the offspring's response to these stresses in duckweed, even after several generations. Even though there is evidence that methylation plays a role in this phenomenon, little is known about the molecular mechanisms in charge of such adaptation. Therefore, the main goal of this project is to improve our understanding of how non-genetic traits are inherited across generations in plants, shedding light on the mechanisms of adaptation and evolution in such plant species.
We aim to investigate the molecular mechanisms governing transgenerational epigenetic inheritance in giant duckweed (Spirodela polyrhiza) by employing gene editing techniques like CRISPR-Cas9, prime editing, and base editing, along with RNA interference, to generate mutants of genes associated with the establishment and maintenance of specific epigenetic marks (CG, CHG, and CHH methylation).
The effects of these genetic alterations on the plant's resilience to copper excess and aphid infestation will be assessed, alongside an evaluation of changes in the plant's methylome and secondary metabolite profiles. In summary, this project will uncover molecular pathways that are essential to duckweed non-genetically inherited resistance.
