Dr. Rebecca Batstone Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign The complex genetics of symbiotic extended phenotypes in a model mutualism A goal of modern biology is to develop the genotype-to-phenotype (G-P) map, a predictive understanding of how genomic information generates the organismal trait variation present in natural and managed communities. As microbiome research advances, however, it has become clear that many of these traits are governed by genetic variation encoded not only by the host’s own genome, but also by the genomes of myriad cryptic symbionts. Thus many ecologically-important traits, such as plant yield and pathogen resistance in agriculture, are actually symbiotic extended phenotypes, and this recognition adds even more complexity to our conceptions of the G-P map. Here, I present recent work (see bioRxiv links below) examining naturally-occurring genetic variation in 191 strains of the model N-fixing symbiont, Ensifer meliloti, in four association mapping studies. Using this data, I identify three key features of the G-P map that must be accounted for if we want to predict the evolution of symbiotic extended phenotypes: i) genotype-by-environment (G x E) interactions, ii) genotype-by-genotype (G x G) interactions; and iii) symbiotic pleiotropy, whereby loci influence traits not only of their bearer, but also of interacting individuals. I hope to convince you that the identity and function of loci underlying symbiotic extended phenotypes are largely environmentally-dependent, yet we can nonetheless identify universal loci that are likely important in all or most environments, and thus, serve as excellent targets both for genetic engineering and future coevolutionary studies of symbiosis.
bioRxiv links: https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.08.03.454976v2.full https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.07.19.452989v2.full Comments are closed.
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