Temperature effects on the circadian clock of the Patagonian beech Nothofagus pumilio: molecular approaches in a global change context

ESTRAVIS-BARCALÁ, M; MARCHELLI, P; HEER, K; YANOVSKY, M; BELLORA, N; ARANA, MV

Corrientes

Congreso; XXXI Reunión Argentina de Fisiología Vegetal; 2016

The circadian clock is a mechanism that allowsthe organism to anticipate periodic changes in the environment via thegeneration of rhythmic responses caused by a central oscillator, or clock.Circadian outputs maintain their oscillation in a wide, species-dependenttemperature range. Outside this range the clock no longer couples theorganism?s physiology with the environment, and this could diminish theindividual?s fitness.             Ourbiological system consists of three Nothofagustree species endemic of the Patagonian Andes, which are distributed along analtitudinal gradient that strongly correlates with a temperature gradient. Ourmain goal is to study the temperature effect on Nothofagus clock?s functioning, considering its role as a masterregulator of growth and development.                      Thistalk presents characterization of Nothofagus pumilio?s circadian clockby isolating and measuring the expression of some oscillator genes. Besides, wepresent the first annotated draft of N. pumilio?s transcriptome, thefirst results of RNA-seq, showing the effect of the clock on the regulation of N. pumilio transcriptome and theinfluence of the temperature on this regulation. We will discuss our results ina frame of local adaptation of native tree species, and their possible responsesto temperature shifts in a context of global climate change.