UC Davis Professor David Neale and Brian Allen are looking at a tree. Credit: Ann Filmer.
The coast redwood and giant sequoia genomes have been completed by scientists. The research published this week in the journal G3 helps to explain the genetic basis for these species' ability to adapt to their changing environments. The research shows that the coast redwood genome is from a single ancestral species.
The multiyear effort was conducted by researchers at the University of California, Davis; the University of Connecticut; and the Northern Arizona University. The research gives the foundation a better understanding of redwood responses to climate impacts.
The completed giant sequoia genome research was made available in November 2020.
"It's remarkable how far the research has come since we undertook this challenge in the first place," said David Neale, plant sciences professor at UC Davis and lead author on the new coast redwood genome research. Modern genetic tools that can be used in the restoration and preservation of trees like the coast redwood and giant sequoia will be possible thanks to our work on their genomes.
The league and its partners launched a project. The project partners outlined an ambitious plan to sequence the coast redwood and giant sequoia genomes for the first time using new conifer genetic sequencing techniques.
The project will help researchers quickly assess evolutionary adaptive potential in these forests and inform forest restoration and management plans.
The coast's redwood genome.
The coast redwood is the tallest tree in the world, and its genome is among the most complex. It is the second largest genome, nearly nine times larger than the human one. The redwood genome has 26 billion base pairs of DNA, and it's six sets of chromosomes. Humans have 3 billion base pairs of DNA and two sets of chromosomes.
Researchers found hundreds of gene families unique to the coast redwood when they compared it to other conifers. Many genes help the trees fight stress, resist disease, and repair after injury.
The sequoia genome is large.
The giant sequoia is one of the oldest tree species on the planet. The research team reported in 2020 that it has 8.125 billion base pairs of DNA. The giant sequoia genome is diploid. This study produced a reference genome that is the first of its kind in the Cupressaceae family, and it lays the groundwork for using genomic tools to aid in giant sequoia management.
The human genome is 10 times smaller than the conifers'. They are very complex and repetitive. The first conifer genomes were done 10 years after the human genome was done.
Economic and technical limitations made it impossible to sequence conifer genomes. 10 conifer genomes have been mapped with technological improvements.
About the project.
In the last 160 years, commercial logging and clear-cutting has claimed most of the coast redwood range and one-third of the giant sequoia range. In 2020, 10% to 14% of giant sequoia died from high-intensity wildfires, and in some areas the seedbank also died.
5% of the mature trees in the giant sequoia range are at risk of dying from the two wildfires that burned through it in the year 2021. Both forests have suffered losses in total acres and genetic diversity.
The league is leading restoration projects in both forest ranges. It wants to use genetic research to inform efforts to restore and maintain genetic diversity and bolster the resilience of these species in the face of rapid, unprecedented environmental change.
"This research provides a critical foundation for the League and the entire redwoods community," said Nelson, who is also the director of science and preservation planning for Save the Redwoods League. It will help us understand the incredible range of responses that coast redwood and giant sequoia species have exhibited in the face of climate change and how native genetic diversity has informed these responses. For the first time, we can see the full genetic diversity that has allowed these forests to adapt and survive for thousands of years.
David B Neale and his team have assembled and annotated the coast redwood genome, a resource for estimating evolutionary adaptive potential and investigating hexaploid origin. There is a journal called "jkab380."
The coast redwood and sequoia genomes were retrieved from thephys.org on December 16, 2021.
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