| Abstract Detail
Genetics Section Scott, Alison Dawn [1], Baum, David [2]. Unraveling the hexaploid origin of the coast redwood, Sequoia sempervirens. The majestic coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens; Cupressaceae) is one of the few polyploid conifers, and the only hexaploid (2n=6x=66). Coast redwoods are long-lived trees (some over 2,000 years) and are among the very tallest tree species in the world (up to 115 meters). Their geographical range is currently limited to the foggy coastal forests of central and northern California, but the fossil record suggests a much broader historical distribution of the genus throughout the Northern hemisphere.
The origin of hexaploidy in S. sempervirens has long been a source of speculation; various means of polyploidization and putative ancestral genome donors have been suggested, including the possibility of hybridization with another redwood lineage. Sequoia sempervirens is the only extant species in the genus Sequoia. The most closely related living species are the giant redwood, Sequoiadendron giganteum, endemic to interior central California, and the dawn redwood, Metasequoia glyptostroboides, native to China. South American alerce, Fitzroya cupressoides, is a Cupressaceous tetraploid (2n=4x=44) that shares some redwood morphology.
To identify genes for further analysis of the evolutionary history S. sempervirens, transcriptome sequence data were generated from foliage of S. sempervirens, and its close relatives S. giganteum, M. glyptostroboides, and F. cupressoides. Focusing on a subset of the identified genes, targeted sequencing of genomic DNA to isolate homeologous gene copies in S. sempervirens and subsequent phylogenetic analysis of the group will help unravel the ancient polyploidy origin of coast redwood. Broader Impacts:
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1 - UW - Madison, Department of Botany, Birge Hall, 430 Lincoln Drive, Madison, WI, 53706, USA
2 - University of Wisconsin, Department of Botany, Birge Hall, 430 Lincoln Drive, Madison, WI, 53706, USA
Keywords:
none specified
Presentation Type: Poster:Posters for Sections
Session: P
Location: Grand Salon A - D/Riverside Hilton
Date: Monday, July 29th, 2013
Time: 5:30 PM
Number: PGN005
Abstract ID:582
Candidate for Awards:Genetics Section Poster Award |
