Influence Of Seasonal Cues On Plant Interaction
Abstract
Phenotypic plasticity is the ability of an organism to express different phenotypes
in response to environmental changes. A given genotype may change their morphology,
physiology, developmental timing, and/or behavior in response to changes in biotic
factors (e.g. presence/absence of neighbors) and/or abiotic factors (e.g. temperature). For
example, the annual plant Arabidopsis thaliana responds to seasonal temperature cues by
altering its flowering schedule. When seeds are cold treated (cold stratification,
germinating after winter) plants flower earlier than if not (germinating before winter).
They may also flower earlier if shaded by a neighbor. Plants rarely experience only one
environmental factor and their plastic ability depends on their genotype. To test the
hypothesis that plasticity to seed stratification influences plant interactions, I planted 3
inbred genotypes of A. thaliana with different flowering time responses to cold
stratification in the center of a 3x3 grid (1.5 cm apart) with other plants (interaction) or
with no surrounding plants (no interaction). To test if plants respond to differences in
genotype of surrounding plants, they were planted in all possible inter- and intra-strain
combinations. Replicates of interaction treatments were cold stratified or not and the
center plant monitored for age at first flowering and number of fruits. To examine whole
genome expression patterns in these environments, leaf tissues were harvested for
hybridization to microarrays. We found that A. thaliana RILs are capable of recognizing
neighbor genotypes but this ability was influenced by cold stratification of seeds.
Additionally, A. thaliana RILs differentially expressed different genes in response to cold
stratification of seeds and neighbor interaction.
Subject
Phenotypic plasticity
Growth (Plants)
Climatic changes
Arabidopsis thaliana
Permanent Link
http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1793/54801Description
A Thesis Submitted In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of Master of Science - Biology