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Mohanta TK, Mohanta YK, Kaushik P, Kumar J. Physiology, genomics, and evolutionary aspects of desert plants. J Adv Res 2024; 58:63-78. [PMID: 37160225 PMCID: PMC10982872 DOI: 10.1016/j.jare.2023.04.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2022] [Revised: 04/28/2023] [Accepted: 04/29/2023] [Indexed: 05/11/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Despite the exposure to arid environmental conditions across the globe ultimately hampering the sustainability of the living organism, few plant species are equipped with several unique genotypic, biochemical, and physiological features to counter such harsh conditions. Physiologically, they have evolved with reduced leaf size, spines, waxy cuticles, thick leaves, succulent hydrenchyma, sclerophyll, chloroembryo, and photosynthesis in nonfoliar and other parts. At the biochemical level, they are evolved to perform efficient photosynthesis through Crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) and C4 pathways with the formation of oxaloacetic acid (Hatch-Slack pathway) instead of the C3 pathway. Additionally, comparative genomics with existing data provides ample evidence of the xerophytic plants' positive selection to adapt to the arid environment. However, adding more high-throughput sequencing of xerophyte plant species is further required for a comparative genomic study toward trait discovery related to survival. Learning from the mechanism to survive in harsh conditions could pave the way to engineer crops for future sustainable agriculture. AIM OF THE REVIEW The distinct physiology of desert plants allows them to survive in harsh environments. However, the genomic composition also contributes significantly to this and requires great attention. This review emphasizes the physiological and genomic adaptation of desert plants. Other important parameters, such as desert biodiversity and photosynthetic strategy, are also discussed with recent progress in the field. Overall, this review discusses the different features of desert plants, which prepares them for harsh conditions intending to translate knowledge to engineer plant species for sustainable agriculture. KEY SCIENTIFIC CONCEPTS OF REVIEW This review comprehensively presents the physiology, molecular mechanism, and genomics of desert plants aimed towards engineering a sustainable crop.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tapan Kumar Mohanta
- Natural and Medical Sciences Research Center, University of Nizwa, Nizwa 611, Oman.
| | - Yugal Kishore Mohanta
- Dept. of Applied Biology, University of Science and Technology Meghalaya, Baridua, Meghalaya 793101, India
| | - Prashant Kaushik
- Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar, Haryana, 125004, India
| | - Jitesh Kumar
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, MN 55108, United States
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Christie K, Pierson NR, Holeski LM, Lowry DB. Resurrected seeds from herbarium specimens reveal rapid evolution of drought resistance in a selfing annual. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BOTANY 2023; 110:e16265. [PMID: 38102863 DOI: 10.1002/ajb2.16265] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2023] [Revised: 10/19/2023] [Accepted: 10/20/2023] [Indexed: 12/17/2023]
Abstract
PREMISE Increased aridity and drought associated with climate change are exerting unprecedented selection pressures on plant populations. Whether populations can rapidly adapt, and which life history traits might confer increased fitness under drought, remain outstanding questions. METHODS We utilized a resurrection ecology approach, leveraging dormant seeds from herbarium collections to assess whether populations of Plantago patagonica from the semi-arid Colorado Plateau have rapidly evolved in response to approximately ten years of intense drought in the region. We quantified multiple traits associated with drought escape and drought resistance and assessed the survival of ancestors and descendants under simulated drought. RESULTS Descendant populations displayed a significant shift in resource allocation, in which they invested less in reproductive tissues and relatively more in both above- and below-ground vegetative tissues. Plants with greater leaf biomass survived longer under terminal drought; moreover, even after accounting for the effect of increased leaf biomass, descendant seedlings survived drought longer than their ancestors. CONCLUSIONS Our results document rapid adaptive evolution in response to climate change in a selfing annual and suggest that shifts in tissue allocation strategies may underlie adaptive responses to drought in arid or semi-arid environments. This work also illustrates a novel approach, documenting that under specific circumstances, seeds from herbarium specimens may provide an untapped source of dormant propagules for future resurrection experiments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kyle Christie
- Department of Biological Sciences, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona, 86011, USA
- Department of Plant Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, 48824, USA
| | - Natalie R Pierson
- Department of Biological Sciences, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona, 86011, USA
| | - Liza M Holeski
- Department of Biological Sciences, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona, 86011, USA
- Center for Adaptive Western Landscapes, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona, 86011, USA
| | - David B Lowry
- Department of Plant Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, 48824, USA
- Plant Resilience Institute, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, 48824, USA
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FitzPatrick JA, Doucet BI, Holt SD, Patterson CM, Kooyers NJ. Unique drought resistance strategies occur among monkeyflower populations spanning an aridity gradient. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BOTANY 2023; 110:e16207. [PMID: 37347451 DOI: 10.1002/ajb2.16207] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/03/2023] [Revised: 04/30/2023] [Accepted: 05/01/2023] [Indexed: 06/23/2023]
Abstract
PREMISE Annual plants often exhibit drought-escape and avoidance strategies to cope with limited water availability. Determining the extent of variation and factors underlying the evolution of divergent strategies is necessary for determining population responses to more frequent and severe droughts. METHODS We leveraged five Mimulus guttatus populations collected across an aridity gradient within manipulative drought and quantitative genetics experiments to examine constitutive and terminal-drought induced responses in drought resistance traits. RESULTS Populations varied considerably in drought-escape- and drought-avoidance-associated traits. The most mesic population demonstrated a unique resource conservative strategy. Xeric populations exhibited extreme plasticity when exposed to terminal drought that included flowering earlier at shorter heights, increasing water-use efficiency, and shifting C:N ratios. However, plasticity responses also differed between populations, with two populations slowing growth rates and flowering at earlier nodes and another population increasing growth rate. While nearly all traits were heritable, phenotypic correlations differed substantially between treatments and often, populations. CONCLUSIONS Our results suggest drought resistance strategies of populations may be finely adapted to local patterns of water availability. Substantial plastic responses suggest that xeric populations can already acclimate to drought through plasticity, but populations not frequently exposed to drought may be more vulnerable.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Braden I Doucet
- Department of Biology, University of Louisiana, Lafayette, LA, 70503, USA
| | - Stacy D Holt
- Department of Biology, University of Louisiana, Lafayette, LA, 70503, USA
| | | | - Nicholas J Kooyers
- Department of Biology, University of Louisiana, Lafayette, LA, 70503, USA
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Johnson SE, Hamann E, Franks SJ. Rapid-cycling Brassica rapa evolves even earlier flowering under experimental drought. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BOTANY 2022; 109:1683-1692. [PMID: 35587234 DOI: 10.1002/ajb2.16002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2021] [Revised: 04/14/2022] [Accepted: 04/14/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
PREMISE Changes in climate can impose selection on populations and may lead to rapid evolution. One such climatic stress is drought, which plant populations may respond to with escape (rapid growth and early flowering) or avoidance (slow growth and efficient water-use). However, it is unclear if drought escape would be a viable strategy for populations that already flower early from prior selection. METHODS In an experimental evolution study, we subjected rapid-cycling Brassica rapa (RCBr), which was previously selected for early flowering, to four generations of experimental drought or watered conditions. We then grew ancestral and descendant populations concurrently under drought and watered conditions to assess evolution, plasticity, and adaptation. RESULTS The RCBr populations that evolved under drought had earlier flowering and lower water-use efficiency than the populations that evolved under watered conditions, indicating evolutionary divergence. The drought descendants also had a trend of earlier flowering compared to ancestors, indicating evolution. Evolution of earlier flowering under drought followed the direction of selection and increased fitness and was consistent with studies in natural and experimental populations of this species, suggesting adaptive evolution. CONCLUSIONS We found rapid adaptive evolution of drought escape in RCBr and little evidence for constraints on flowering time evolution, even though RCBr already flowers extremely early. Our results suggest that some populations may harbor sufficient genetic variation for evolution even after strong selection has occurred. Our study also illustrates the utility of combining artificial selection, experimental evolution, and the resurrection approach to study the evolution of functional traits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephen E Johnson
- Department of Biological Sciences, Fordham University, Bronx, NY, 10458, USA
| | - Elena Hamann
- Department of Biological Sciences, Fordham University, Bronx, NY, 10458, USA
| | - Steven J Franks
- Department of Biological Sciences, Fordham University, Bronx, NY, 10458, USA
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Ćalić I, Groen SC, Choi JY, Joly‐Lopez Z, Hamann E, Natividad MA, Dorph K, Cabral CLU, Torres RO, Vergara GV, Henry A, Purugganan MD, Franks SJ. The influence of genetic architecture on responses to selection under drought in rice. Evol Appl 2022; 15:1670-1690. [PMID: 36330294 PMCID: PMC9624088 DOI: 10.1111/eva.13419] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2021] [Revised: 04/11/2022] [Accepted: 04/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Accurately predicting responses to selection is a major goal in biology and important for successful crop breeding in changing environments. However, evolutionary responses to selection can be constrained by such factors as genetic and cross‐environment correlations, linkage, and pleiotropy, and our understanding of the extent and impact of such constraints is still developing. Here, we conducted a field experiment to investigate potential constraints to selection for drought resistance in rice (Oryza sativa) using phenotypic selection analysis and quantitative genetics. We found that traits related to drought response were heritable, and some were under selection, including selection for earlier flowering, which could allow drought escape. However, patterns of selection generally were not opposite under wet and dry conditions, and we did not find individual or closely linked genes that influenced multiple traits, indicating a lack of evidence that antagonistic pleiotropy, linkage, or cross‐environment correlations would constrain selection for drought resistance. In most cases, genetic correlations had little influence on responses to selection, with direct and indirect selection largely congruent. The exception to this was seed mass under drought, which was predicted to evolve in the opposite direction of direct selection due to correlations. Because of this indirect effect on selection on seed mass, selection for drought resistance was not accompanied by a decrease in seed mass, and yield increased with fecundity. Furthermore, breeding lines with high fitness and yield under drought also had high fitness and yield under wet conditions, indicating that there was no evidence for a yield penalty on drought resistance. We found multiple genes in which expression influenced both water use efficiency (WUE) and days to first flowering, supporting a genetic basis for the trade‐off between drought escape and avoidance strategies. Together, these results can provide helpful guidance for understanding and managing evolutionary constraints and breeding stress‐resistant crops.
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Affiliation(s)
- Irina Ćalić
- Department of Biological Sciences Fordham University Bronx NY USA
- Institute of Botany University of Cologne Cologne Germany
| | - Simon C. Groen
- Department of Nematology University of California at Riverside Riverside CA USA
- Center for Genomics and Systems Biology, Department of Biology New York University New York NY USA
| | - Jae Young Choi
- Center for Genomics and Systems Biology, Department of Biology New York University New York NY USA
| | - Zoé Joly‐Lopez
- Center for Genomics and Systems Biology, Department of Biology New York University New York NY USA
- Département de Chimie Université du Québec à Montréal Montréal Québec Canada
| | - Elena Hamann
- Department of Biological Sciences Fordham University Bronx NY USA
- Department of Genetics and Odum School of Ecology University of Georgia Athens GA USA
| | | | - Katherine Dorph
- Center for Genomics and Systems Biology, Department of Biology New York University New York NY USA
| | | | | | - Georgina V. Vergara
- International Rice Research Institute Los Baños Laguna Philippines
- Institute of Crop Science, University of the Philippines Los Baños, 4031 College Laguna Philippines
| | - Amelia Henry
- International Rice Research Institute Los Baños Laguna Philippines
| | - Michael D. Purugganan
- Center for Genomics and Systems Biology, Department of Biology New York University New York NY USA
- Center for Genomics and Systems Biology NYU Abu Dhabi Research Institute New York University Abu Dhabi, Saadiyat Island Abu Dhabi United Arab Emirates
| | - Steven J. Franks
- Department of Biological Sciences Fordham University Bronx NY USA
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Johnson SE, Hamann E, Franks SJ. Rapid, parallel evolution of field mustard (Brassica rapa) under experimental drought. Evolution 2021; 76:262-274. [PMID: 34878171 DOI: 10.1111/evo.14413] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2021] [Revised: 10/15/2021] [Accepted: 10/26/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Climate change is driving evolutionary and plastic responses in populations, but predicting these responses remains challenging. Studies that combine experimental evolution with ancestor-descendant comparisons allow assessment of the causes, parallelism, and adaptive nature of evolutionary responses, although such studies remain rare, particularly in a climate change context. Here, we created experimental populations of Brassica rapa derived from the same natural population and exposed these replicated populations to experimental drought or watered conditions for four generations. We then grew ancestors and descendants concurrently, following the resurrection approach. Experimental populations under drought showed rapid evolution of earlier flowering time and increased specific leaf area, consistent with a drought escape strategy and observations in natural populations. Evolutionary shifts followed the direction of selection and increased fitness under drought, indicative of adaptive evolution. Evolution to drought also occurred largely in parallel among replicate populations. Further, traits showed phenotypic plasticity to drought, but the direction and effect size of plasticity varied. Our results demonstrate parallel evolution to experimental drought, suggesting that evolution to strong, consistent selection may be predictable. Broadly, our study demonstrates the utility of combining experimental evolution with the resurrection approach to investigate responses to climate change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephen E Johnson
- Department of Biological Sciences and Louis Calder Center, Fordham University, Bronx, New York, 10458
| | - Elena Hamann
- Department of Biological Sciences and Louis Calder Center, Fordham University, Bronx, New York, 10458
| | - Steven J Franks
- Department of Biological Sciences and Louis Calder Center, Fordham University, Bronx, New York, 10458
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Valencia-Montoya WA, Flaven E, Pouzadoux J, Imbert E, Cheptou PO. Rapid divergent evolution of an annual plant across a latitudinal gradient revealed by seed resurrection. Evolution 2021; 75:2759-2772. [PMID: 34558662 DOI: 10.1111/evo.14364] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2020] [Revised: 08/05/2021] [Accepted: 08/13/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Global change is expected to drive short-term evolution of natural populations. However, it remains unclear whether different populations are changing in unison. Here, we study contemporary evolution of growth-related and reproductive traits of three populations of Cyanus segetum facing warming and pollinator decline across a latitudinal gradient in France. We resurrected stored seeds sampled up to 24 years apart from northern, central-western, and southern populations and conducted an in situ common-garden experiment. To disentangle neutral from selection-driven differentiation, we calculated neutral genetic differentiation (FST ) and quantitative trait differentiation (QST ) between temporal samples. We found that phenotypic evolution was divergent across populations exhibiting different trends for rosette size, date of flowering, and capitula size. By measuring seed set as a proxy of fitness, we showed that samples with larger mean capitula size outperformed samples with smaller mean capitula size in the western and southern populations. Regression of traits on seed set showed that flowering date and capitula size are the primary determinants of fitness, and QST -FST comparisons indicated that natural selection has likely contributed to the shifts in flowering phenology and rosette size. These findings outline the potential for rescue of natural populations through contemporary evolution and emphasize the complex interplay between spatial and temporal variation in species' responses to global change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wendy A Valencia-Montoya
- CEFE UMR 5175, CNRS, Université de Montpellier, Université Paul-Valery Montpellier, EPHE, Montpellier, 34090, France.,Current Address: Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology and Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 02138
| | - Elodie Flaven
- ISEM, University of Montpellier, Montpellier, 34000, France
| | | | - Eric Imbert
- ISEM, University of Montpellier, Montpellier, 34000, France
| | - Pierre-Olivier Cheptou
- CEFE UMR 5175, CNRS, Université de Montpellier, Université Paul-Valery Montpellier, EPHE, Montpellier, 34090, France
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Hamann E, Denney D, Day S, Lombardi E, Jameel MI, MacTavish R, Anderson JT. Review: Plant eco-evolutionary responses to climate change: Emerging directions. PLANT SCIENCE : AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL PLANT BIOLOGY 2021; 304:110737. [PMID: 33568289 DOI: 10.1016/j.plantsci.2020.110737] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2020] [Revised: 10/23/2020] [Accepted: 10/25/2020] [Indexed: 05/14/2023]
Abstract
Contemporary climate change is exposing plant populations to novel combinations of temperatures, drought stress, [CO2] and other abiotic and biotic conditions. These changes are rapidly disrupting the evolutionary dynamics of plants. Despite the multifactorial nature of climate change, most studies typically manipulate only one climatic factor. In this opinion piece, we explore how climate change factors interact with each other and with biotic pressures to alter evolutionary processes. We evaluate the ramifications of climate change across life history stages,and examine how mating system variation influences population persistence under rapid environmental change. Furthermore, we discuss how spatial and temporal mismatches between plants and their mutualists and antagonists could affect adaptive responses to climate change. For example, plant-virus interactions vary from highly pathogenic to mildly facilitative, and are partly mediated by temperature, moisture availability and [CO2]. Will host plants exposed to novel, stressful abiotic conditions be more susceptible to viral pathogens? Finally, we propose novel experimental approaches that could illuminate how plants will cope with unprecedented global change, such as resurrection studies combined with experimental evolution, genomics or epigenetics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elena Hamann
- Department of Genetics and Odum School of Ecology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
| | - Derek Denney
- Department of Genetics and Odum School of Ecology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
| | - Samantha Day
- Department of Genetics and Odum School of Ecology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
| | - Elizabeth Lombardi
- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14850, USA
| | - M Inam Jameel
- Department of Genetics and Odum School of Ecology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
| | - Rachel MacTavish
- Department of Genetics and Odum School of Ecology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
| | - Jill T Anderson
- Department of Genetics and Odum School of Ecology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA.
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Kooyers NJ, Morioka KA, Colicchio JM, Clark KS, Donofrio A, Estill SK, Pascualy CR, Anderson IC, Hagler M, Cho C, Blackman BK. Population responses to a historic drought across the range of the common monkeyflower (Mimulus guttatus). AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BOTANY 2021; 108:284-296. [PMID: 33400274 DOI: 10.1002/ajb2.1589] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2020] [Accepted: 08/26/2020] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
PREMISE Due to climate change, more frequent and intense periodic droughts are predicted to increasingly pose major challenges to the persistence of plant populations. When a severe drought occurs over a broad geographical region, independent responses by individual populations provide replicated natural experiments for examining the evolution of drought resistance and the potential for evolutionary rescue. METHODS We used a resurrection approach to examine trait evolution in populations of the common monkeyflower, Mimulus guttatus, exposed to a record drought in California from 2011 to 2017. Specifically, we compared variation in traits related to drought escape and avoidance from seeds collected from 37 populations pre- and post-drought in a common garden. In a parallel experiment, we evaluated fitness in two populations, one which thrived and one which was nearly extirpated during the drought, under well-watered and dry-down conditions. RESULTS We observed substantial variation among populations in trait evolution. In the subset of populations where phenotypes changed significantly, divergence proceeded along trait correlations with some populations flowering rapidly with less vegetative tissue accumulation and others delaying flowering with greater vegetative tissue accumulation. The degree of trait evolution was only weakly correlated with drought intensity but strongly correlated with initial levels of standing variation. Fitness was higher in the post-drought than pre-drought accessions in both treatments for the thriving population, but lower in both treatments for the nearly extirpated population. CONCLUSIONS Together, our results indicate that evolutionary responses to drought are context dependent and reflect the standing genetic variation and genetic correlations present within populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicholas J Kooyers
- Department of Biology, University of Louisiana, Lafayette, LA, 70503, USA
| | - Kelsie A Morioka
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
| | - Jack M Colicchio
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
| | - Kaitlyn S Clark
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, 33620, USA
| | - Abigail Donofrio
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, 33620, USA
| | - Shayne K Estill
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
| | - Catalina R Pascualy
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
| | - Ian C Anderson
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
| | - Megan Hagler
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
| | - Chloe Cho
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
| | - Benjamin K Blackman
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
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