Genetics of Drought Adaptation in Arabidopsis

A long-standing problem and ‘grand challenge’ in modern biology is elucidation of how genes interact with variable environments to produce complex phenotypes. In agricultural and natural species, genotype by environment interactions (GxE) are ubiquitous, and can be exploited to stabilize productivity and yield/fitness across variable environments. My goal is to understand the mechanistic basis of GxE by explicitly incorporating genetic differences in sensing, signalling and acclimating physiology to variable environments. I will present studies on dehydration avoidance in Arabidopsis thaliana, where genotypes differ in plastic responses to minimize water loss in an environment of limiting soil moisture. I will also discuss some of my current research on adaptation to natural environments that differ in temperature and other aspects of climate.