NSF Award
2421469
Mosses represent one of the earliest lineages of land plants and have several ecological, developmental and physiological characteristics which are unique and provide critical information on plant evolution. To date, only one moss species, Physcomitrium patens, (out of >12,000 species) has been established as a lab model for functional analysis. This research aims to establish Sphagnum species (peatmoss) as a leading moss model because: (1) Sphagnum species are the main constituents and engineers of peatlands, which store a third of Earth’s terrestrial carbon pool as peatmoss, thus, have a critical role in influencing global carbon, water, and nitrogen cycles, and are emerging as key models for climate change studies; (2) Sphagnum spp. exhibit distinctive morphological, physiological, ecological and genomic traits, suitable for their development as a model system; (3) Sphagnum species support unique microbiomes, which have major ecological consequences; (4) Sphagnum species, grouped under Sphagnopsida, form the sister clade to all other mosses, while all established and currently used mosses belong to Bryopsida mosses; and (5) an active community of researchers exploring several eco/physiological aspects of Sphagnum is currently being challenged by the lack of relevant molecular and genomic resources. The proposed research will help extend these efforts into establishing Sphagnum spp. as a genetically tractable model system and will also complement ongoing research with a few other moss species. This project also incorporates training and mentoring opportunities for young students and the general public through science awareness programs, for undergraduate students through the REU program and for postdoctoral scholars through multidisciplinary training and networking opportunities to help them establish their independent scientific careers. <br/><br/>Despite their fascinating features, impacts on global carbon cycles, and unique position in land plant evolution, studies on Sphagnum spp. are limited mostly to eco-physiological analysis, and functional genomic resources remain scarce. The ability of Sphagnum spp. to respond and adapt to climate change is a predictor of the stability and distribution of the peatlands and the future trajectory of global carbon fluxes. Therefore, establishing Sphagnum spp. as functional genomics models will help translate the plant morphology, physiology and gene level knowledge to the ecosystem level effects and conversely, ecosystem level traits can be correlated with specific gene function and mechanisms. Towards this, the goals of this proposal are to develop lab grown Sphagnum cultures (axenic and soil grown), establish molecular genetic tools, especially transformation and regeneration protocols for future mechanistic studies and expand and create chromosome-scale reference genomes and an expression atlas for Sphagnum spp. These tools will allow scientists to expand the results obtained with a single moss model species for comparative approaches within Bryophytes (e.g., comparison of Sphagnum spp. with P. patens) as well as in the larger context of land plant evolution. Future comparative analyses will have the power to discern conserved and divergent gene functions. This research will generate resources that will complement the ongoing extensive ecophysiological and environmental efforts to understand peatland biology and restoration, making it possible to link genetic and genomic level changes with ecosystem level effects.<br/><br/>This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
