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A library of plant genomes – what can we learn about our changing landscape?

A library of plant genomes – what can we learn about our changing landscape?

Andrew Leitch

Professor of Plant Genetics and Co-director of MSc Plant and Fungal Taxonomy Diversity

At a glance

  • With climate change and other human forces impacting flora, we need to better understand how we have impacted plant distribution in the past, and what this means for the future.
  • Researchers at Queen Mary have built a database of the genomes of 3,227 plant species, organised in ten year time slices going back about 50 years, allowing them see how the distribution of native and alien plants has changed across the UK.
  • A plant’s genome size is a key characteristic in determining how they are distributed across the UK.
  • Through this work, we are better able to predict how plants will be impacted by our ever-changing world and the implications for their distribution.

Building a database for predictive plant research

PHd student Marie Henniges worked to build a comprehensive and open access database, working Professor Andrew Leitch, and Dr Ilia J Leitch to predict plant distribution changes; this is to be further developed in collaboration with Dr Silvia Liverani. 

Now, researchers can search and analyse taxonomic, ecological and genetic information for thousands of plants in ways that were previously impossible, allowing linkage of key characteristics, such as genome size, to potential future distribution patterns across the UK. 

Hennigesdatabase included as many features of plant biology as possible, including genome sizes, life strategy, species distribution metrics, propensity to hybridise, associated biomes, native status and geographic origin of alien species. Information was organised in decade-long time slices, going back approximately 50 years, across 3,227 species. Using AI alongside the new database, the team were able to predict plant distribution changes in the last 50 years over landscape-scale areas. 

Research

Hennigesdatabase included as many features of plant biology as possible, including genome sizes, life strategy, species distribution metrics, propensity to hybridise, associated biomes, native status and geographic origin of alien species. Information was organised in decade-long time slices, going back approximately 50 years, across 3,227 species. Using AI alongside the new database, the team were able to predict plant distribution changes in the last 50 years over landscape-scale areas. 

Enhanced predictions through AI and genome data

Our ability to describe and predict plant distribution was previously limited to small spatial scales, owing to existing technology, data and methods. By using AI and the database, Queen Mary researchers are now able to predict plant distribution changes over the last 50 years over entire landscapes. Thanks to this research, we now know genome size improves the predictive power of species distribution models, probably because plants species with larger genomes have bigger cells. That scaling effect influences nutrient and water-use efficiency, photosynthesis and species responses to climate change and other ecological and human-made challenges.  

Understanding future plant distribution under human pressure 

We can now accurately predict how human pressure will change plant distribution into the future, giving us an idea of where they’re likely to move to as time goes on and understand which plants are more likely to be negatively impacted. For example, we are continually adding nutrients into the soil from car and plane emissions and the use of fertilisers. There is now nowhere in the world that has not received fertilisation. Those extra doses of fertiliser seem to be favouring plants with larger genomes, imperceptibly changing their competitive advantage and hence their distribution in an ever-changing world. 

 

Key takeaways

  • Nutraceuticals – food-derived compounds with clinical benefits - are an under-explored solution to the global obesity crisis, with fewer side-effects and faster approval pathways than synthetic pharmaceuticals.
  • Obesity is increasingly a problem for low and middle income countries: around 70% of overweight people live in LMICs. Enterika’s appetite suppressant is cheaper to manufacture than similar synthetic drugs.
  • The global nutraceutical market will be worth an estimated USD675 million by 2027. Enterika’s products are an example of a nutraceutical with a defined biological benefit based on proven and validated clinical trials.

Sustainable Development Goals

Queen Mary's research supports SDG 15 Life on Land in a way that helps us better understand ecosystem shifts, informing strategies to preserve biodiversity. By creating a comprehensive plant database and analysing the role of plant genome size, researchers can predict how plants will respond to climate change and human impacts, such as increased soil fertilisation. Ultimately, this research can inform more effective management of forests and ecosystems, aiding in the sustainable use of land and protection of biodiversity for the future. 

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