Integrative “omics” to study the role of terpenoids in drought stress tolerance of Norway spruce

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200210213

Norway spruce (Picea abies (L. Karst.) is one of the ecologically and economically most important forest tree species in Europe. Based on predicted climate change and the high sensitivity of Norway spruce to drought, its distribution is expected to decrease drastically in most European regions. However, it is unclear which populations may be more tolerant to the upcoming drought. Furthermore, there is a distinct lack of knowledge on the metabolic, molecular and genetic basis of drought tolerance in this tree species, especially on the role of terpenoids, which have hardly been studied. In this project, we aim to investigate the adaptive potential and underlying mechanisms of drought tolerance in Norway spruce populations throughout the species’ range. For this purpose, seedlings of Norway spruce from 80 different populations (seed sources) covering the entire climatic range will be subjected to drought stress in a highly controlled environment (climatic chamber) and phenotyped using a joint automated high-throughput phenotyping platform at PHENOPlant (Vienna BioCenter, Austria). We will first integrate 1) high-throughput phenotyping data obtained from RGB, chlorophyll fluorescence and hyperspectral imaging; 2) secondary metabolites (terpenoids, phenolics, and phytohormones) and 3) mRNA-seq profiles. Next, genomic data of populations exhibiting extreme phenotypes will be explored by XP-GWAS, and finally, our integrative approach will allow us to identify adaptive populations in nature to examine our results and define the underlying basis of drought tolerance.