Research Associate HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology Madison, Alabama
Body of Abstract: Meristems are the cornerstones of plant growth and development. The totipotent cells in these regions serve a fundamental role in asexual reproduction and growth, yet the mechanisms that control these processes are yet to be fully understood and utilized at an agricultural scale. Members of the duckweed family, Lemnaceae, offer an exciting opportunity to closely study the inter-genic networks involved in meristem form and function. Duckweeds have relatively simple morphology and are the fastest known asexually reproducing plants on the planet. This is in part due to their method of clonal reproduction, wherein meristematic pockets at the base of a mother frond give rise to a daughter frond, enabling some of these species to double their biomass in less than 24 hours. Additionally, these rapidly reproducing fronds contain up to 45% protein of dry mass, making them agriculturally important themselves. In order to identify meristematic genes characteristic to this family, we first need high-quality reference genomes across Lemnaceae for comparative analyses. Here we use PacBio HiFi and Dovetail Omni-C sequencing to generate a chromosome-scale reference genome for the common duckweed, Lemna minor. The L. minor assembly is ~480 Mb, matching expectations based on flow cytometry, but curiously we found evidence that the isolate is triploid. To further characterize the polyploidy, examine genome architecture across Lemnaceae, and discover meristematic gene networks, we are currently in the process of annotating gene models. Investigating the mechanisms governing meristem function in L. minor and Lemnaceae holds the significant potential to harness the reproductive power of these tiny plants to feed our rapidly growing planet.