WVU biologist targets plant that wreaks havoc

For the casual observer, the Japanese snail appears as a harmless green leafy plant that blends into the majestic landscape of your weekend hike in the woods.

Plant biologists like Craig Barrett know more.

"I have visited sites to study endangered orchids in West Virginia in recent years and have noticed that Japanese stilts are slipping and becoming a problem," Barrett said. Assistant Professor of Plant Evolution Biology at the University of West Virginia. "So, in a sense, you are angry at this thing and you want to study it, and there are many to study."

Japanese stiltgrass, or microstegium vimineum, are anything but harmless in the United States. It is considered an invasive species that threatens biodiversity, negatively affects crops, restructures ecosystems, promotes disease and damages infrastructure worth $ 120 billion per year in the United States.

It is believed that Japanese stiltgrass was introduced in Tennessee around 1919 as it was used as a packaging material for porcelain shipments from China. Since then, it has spread to at least 26 states on the east coast, including West Virginia. Locally, in Morgantown, one can easily see it at the Central Arboretum and along the railroad, said Barrett.

In the hope of countering or stabilizing these annoying and harmful invaders (their eradication is highly unlikely at this stage), the National Science Foundation has awarded Barrett and a team of researchers a very competitive grant for its experimental program of research. stimulation of competitive research. Barrett and his colleagues will receive $ 2 million to understand how plants evolve rapidly to become invasive and provide insight into invasive species management and prevention.

Barrett will sequence a complete Japanese stiltgrass genome and collaborate with Cynthia Huebner, Adjunct Professor at the Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design, to conduct a greenhouse experiment using seed collected from specimens collected in the United States and Asia.

Genome sequencing involves determining the order of DNA within an organism. In some ways, this sounds like "decoding".

Barrett's project aims to uncover the genomic basis of "invasive" traits using genome sequencing and historical collections. Invasive species are still poorly represented among fully sequenced genome plants.

"Sequencing a genome is easy nowadays," said Barrett. "Technology has changed so much in 10 years, we can easily go outside, collect plant material, mix it in the lab and send it to the sequencer, the hardest part is interpreting the data. of time. "

A major element of a genome is called a transposable element, a DNA sequence that changes position by "jumping and affecting the functions of other genes". A transposable element can alter the genetic identity of the cell, cause changes in genome size, and change the way an organism interacts with its environment.

"The invasion of a new habitat, climate change, or the attack of a pathogen are events that can trigger a cascade of transposable elements activities in the genome, "said Barrett. "I am interested in studying these responses, both in the contemporary spectrum and in time, in order to see changes in the abundance and diversity of different transposable elements in this plant's genome. Following this in time has not been done yet. "

The results may indicate how rapid changes in the genome influence the spread of invasive species in new environments.

The project also involves scientists from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, the State University of South Dakota, the University of Alabama-Tuscaloosa and the University of California. 39; Wichita State University. A well-known invasive species will be studied in each of these universities.

"We control the ecology of the invasion," said Barrett. "But finding the way these species adapt to new environments seems to be the current issue, I'm interested in how plants change over time, both in terms of genomes and traits. and how environmental factors might affect these changes. "