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Harnessing cold adaptation for post-glacial colonisation: galactinol synthase expression and raffinose accumulation in a polyploid and its progenitors
  • +11
  • Andrew G. Griffiths,
  • Lavinia Ioana Fechete,
  • Anna Larking,
  • Angus Heslop,
  • Rina Hannaford,
  • Craig Anderson,
  • Won Hong,
  • Sushma Prakash,
  • Wade Mace,
  • Salome Alikhani,
  • Rainer Hofmann,
  • Marni Tausen,
  • Mikkel Heide Schierup,
  • Stig Uggerhøj Andersen
Andrew G. Griffiths
AgResearch Ltd Grasslands Research Centre

Corresponding Author:andrew.griffiths@agresearch.co.nz

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Lavinia Ioana Fechete
Aarhus Universitet Institut for Molekylarbiologi og Genetik
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Anna Larking
AgResearch Ltd Grasslands Research Centre
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Angus Heslop
AgResearch Ltd Lincoln Research Centre
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Rina Hannaford
AgResearch Ltd Grasslands Research Centre
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Craig Anderson
AgResearch Ltd Grasslands Research Centre
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Won Hong
AgResearch Ltd Grasslands Research Centre
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Sushma Prakash
AgResearch Ltd Grasslands Research Centre
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Wade Mace
AgResearch Ltd Grasslands Research Centre
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Salome Alikhani
Lincoln University
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Rainer Hofmann
Lincoln University
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Marni Tausen
Aarhus Universitet Institut for Molekylarbiologi og Genetik
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Mikkel Heide Schierup
Aarhus Universitet Institut for Molekylarbiologi og Genetik
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Stig Uggerhøj Andersen
Aarhus Universitet Institut for Molekylarbiologi og Genetik
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Abstract

Allotetraploid white clover formed during the last glaciation through hybridisation of two European diploid progenitors from restricted niches: one coastal, the other alpine. Here, we examine which hybridisation-derived molecular events may have underpinned white clover’s post-glacial niche expansion. We compared the transcriptomic frost responses of white clovers (inbred line and an alpine-adapted ecotype), extant descendants of its progenitor species and a resynthesised white clover neopolyploid to identify genes that were exclusively frost-induced in the alpine progenitor and its derived subgenomes. From these analyses we identified galactinol synthase, the rate-limiting enzyme in biosynthesis of the cryoprotectant raffinose, and found that the extant descendants of the alpine progenitor as well as the neopolyploid white clover rapidly accumulated significantly more galactinol and raffinose than the coastal progenitor under cold stress. The frost-induced galactinol synthase expression and rapid raffinose accumulation derived from the alpine progenitor likely provided an advantage during early post-glacial colonisation for white clover compared to its coastal progenitor.
Submitted to Plant, Cell & Environment
23 Feb 2024Editorial Decision: Revise Minor
21 Mar 20241st Revision Received
21 Mar 2024Submission Checks Completed
21 Mar 2024Assigned to Editor
21 Mar 2024Review(s) Completed, Editorial Evaluation Pending
07 Jun 2024Editorial Decision: Accept