Award Abstract #0638820
The Evolutionary Genomics of Invasive Weedy Rice

NSF Org:	IOS Division of Integrative Organismal Systems
Initial Amendment Date:	September 25, 2006
Latest Amendment Date:	June 3, 2007
Award Number:	0638820
Award Instrument:	Continuing grant
Program Manager:	Saran Twombly IOS Division of Integrative Organismal Systems BIO Directorate for Biological Sciences
Start Date:	October 1, 2006
Expires:	September 30, 2010 (Estimated)
Awarded Amount to Date:	$1121523
Investigator(s):	Kenneth Olsen kolsen@wustl.edu (Principal Investigator) Ana Caicedo (Co-Principal Investigator) Yulin Jia (Co-Principal Investigator)
Sponsor:	Washington University ONE BROOKINGS DRIVE, CAMPUS BOX SAINT LOUIS, MO 63130 314/889-5100
NSF Program(s):	PLANT GENOME RESEARCH PROJECT
Field Application(s):
Program Reference Code(s):	BIOT, 9109, 7577
Program Element Code(s):	1329

ABSTRACT



PI: Kenneth M. Olsen (Washington University St. Louis)

Co-PIs: Ana Caicedo (University of Massachusetts, Amherst), Yulin Jia (University of Arkansas)

Red rice is a weedy form of cultivated rice (Oryza sativa L.) that competes

aggressively with the crop in the southern U.S., reducing yields and

contaminating harvests with its small, dark grain. Previous assessments of

genetic diversity suggest that some red rice strains are closely related to wild

Asian Oryza species, others resemble Asian domesticated rice, and others show

close genetic similarity to U.S. crop varieties. This project examines DNA

sequence diversity and linkage disequilibrium in genomic regions underlying

several weed-associated traits in U.S. red rice and in randomly selected loci

distributed across the genome. DNA sequence data generated by the project will

be used to compare alternative hypotheses on the roles of foreign weed

introduction, hybridization, and selection in shaping the red rice genome. These

data will be important in determining the origin(s) of the weed and the genetic

mechanisms by which it adapts to U.S. agricultural fields. These insights can

provide information towards devising effective weed control strategies.

Access to project outcomes:

DNA sequence data generated from the project will be available through Genbank (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/) and Gramene (http://www.gramene.org/), as well as a project website accessible via http://biology4.wustl.edu/olsen/.

PUBLICATIONS PRODUCED AS A RESULT OF THIS RESEARCH

Gross, B.L. K.J. Skare, and K.M. Olsen. "Novel Phr1 mutations and the evolution of phenol reaction variation in US weedy rice (Oryza sativa L.).," New Phytologist, 2009.

Jia, Y., Liu, G., Costanzo, S., Lee, S., and Dai, Y.. "Current progress on genetic interactions of rice with rice blast and sheath blight fungi," Front. Agric. China, v.3, 2009, p. 231.

Kenneth M. Olsen, Ana L. Caicedo, Yulin Jia. "The Evolutionary Genomics of Weedy Rice in the USA," Journal of Integrative Plant Biology, v.49, 2007, p. 811.

Lee, S. and Jia, Y.. "Analysis of genomic variation of rice blast resistance gene Pi-ta in Oryza species.," Phytopathology, v.98, 2008, p. S87.

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