Studying Wild Silphium integrifolium to Inform Its Domestication
Understanding diverse traits in wild populations of plants allows plant breeders to utilize unexplored strategies of pest and pathogen resistance. In a project called Characterizing Wild Populations of Silphium integrifolium to Improve Breeding Outcomes, PhD candidate Kelsey Peterson (Plant and Microbial Biology), a UMII-MnDRIVE PhD Graduate Assistant, investigated wild populations of S. integrifolium, a prairie plant being domesticated as a perennial oilseed and forage. Perennial oilseeds and grain crops, like S. integrifolium, could produce food, forage, and fuel, while mitigating some consequences of intensive annual grain farming such as soil erosion, nitrogen leaching, and reduced underground biodiversity.
The project studied 12 wild populations of S. integrifolium in reciprocal transplant sites in central Kansas, eastern Kansas, and central Illinois. In these three planting sites, the researchers evaluated 540 individuals, representing the 12 distinct prairie populations, for agronomic traits such as seed count, flower number, stem diameter, pest presence, and pathogen presence. They then investigated morphological traits associated with seed yield collected in the third year of the study. The study found that some populations were infested less by pests and infected less by pathogens no matter the planting site (indicating possible pest and pathogen resistance). It was also observed that some populations, although distressed by pest damage or infected with pathogens, could still yield highly (indicating pest and pathogen tolerance). Two distinct ideotypes were observed for high yielding seed production in S. integrifolium systems: fewer flowers with larger seeds vs. many flowers with smaller seeds. The second ideotype associates with slightly higher yields. Finally, the environment played a significant role on the phenotypes of the wild population, suggesting evaluation of new germplasm into a breeding program is highly environmentally dependent.
These findings can assist in future germplasm evaluation projects and can lead to integration of important pest and pathogen resistance or tolerance strategies in current perennial grain and oilseed breeding programs.
Dr. Peterson did this research under the supervision of Associate Professor Yaniv Brandvain (Plant and Microbial Biology; MSI PI).
Publication:
- Cassetta, E., Peterson, K., Bever, J.D., Brandvain, Y., VanTassel, D., Lubin, T.K., Alexander, H.M., Byers, D.L., Schiffner, S., Turner, K. Adaptation of pathogens to their local plant host, Silphium integrifolium, along a precipitation gradient. Ecosphere 14(6): e4565 (2023). doi: 10.1002/ecs2.4565.
Publication in progress:
- Peterson, K., Cassetta, E., Coyne, R., Phan, N., Turner, K., Van Tassel, D., Bever, J., Brandvain, Y. A study of local adaptation in Silphium integrifolium: A native perennial undergoing domestication.
Data from the project will be available on GitHub after publication of the above.
Conference presentation related to this project:
- Peterson, K. Agronomic Trait Evaluation in Wild Populations of Silphium Integrifolium. (2022) Abstract ID 258-1. ASA, CSSA, SSSA International Annual Meeting. Nov 6-9, 2022, Baltimore, MD.
The UMII MnDRIVE Graduate Assistantship program supported U of M PhD candidates pursuing research at the intersection of informatics and any of the five MnDRIVE areas:
- Robotics
- Global Food
- Environment
- Brain Conditions
- Cancer Clinical Trials
This project was part of the Global Food MnDRIVE area.
The UMII program was converted to the Data Science Initiative-MnDRIVE Graduate Assistantship program in the fall of 2023. Research supported by the program is at the intersection of data science and the five MnDRIVE areas. The most recent Assistantships were announced in January 2024. The application period for the next awards will be announced in Fall 2024.
Image description: The graphs compare wild population within each of the study regions (West, Central, and East) for their yield in the perennial plants third year of production. The average yield per plant is dependent on both the region the plant was sourced from (source region), and the planting location in which the plants grew. This indicates that yield is dependent on both genetics and environment. The picture on the right depicts the flowers of plants collected from two distinct prairies and demonstrates the differences detected in both flower size and morphology in the field.
