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Evolutionary genomics of freezing tolerance in Arabidopsis thaliana Mark Ungerer Molecular and physiological responses to abiotic stress represent conserved pathways that exist in virtually all organisms. Plants provide an especially useful system for studying these responses because of their sessile habit and subsequent inability to escape harmful or challenging environments. Many plant species possess the ability to survive subfreezing ambient temperatures following acclimation to low, nonfreezing temperatures (Thomashow 1999, 2001; Xin and Browse 2000). In the model plant species, Arabidopsis thaliana, naturally occurring populations from northern (colder) regions of the species’ range are more tolerant of freezing temperatures than populations from southern (warmer) regions of the range. Virtually nothing is known, however, about the mechanistic and genetic underpinnings of these natural intraspecific differences. Using a combination of quantitative genetics, gene expression assays, and biochemical approaches, natural variation in freezing tolerance among Arabidopsis accessions is being examined.
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