Alex AssiryPolyploidy and whole genome duplication is arguably the most important force in plant speciation and genome evolution, distinguishing the plants from other kingdoms. In this Special Issue of Annals of Botany, we will bring together research on ‘Polyploidy in ecology’, ‘Polyploidy in genome and species evolution’ and ‘Polyploidy and its implications for plant breeding’.
With the advent of whole genome sequencing, we are seeing the signature of multiple whole genome duplication events throughout the evolutionary history of plants, beyond that known from chromosomal studies. The details of the processes of genome and chromosome evolution are beginning to be elucidated, and we expect work on mechanistic models to advance rapidly. We can go beyond studying low-copy gene and regulatory sequence evolution to look at the major repetitive DNA components of the genome, and investigate the relevance and importance of transposable elements and tandemly repeated DNA sequences in diversification of genomes, their interaction and control of meiotic pairing, during speciation and polyploid evolution. With world-wide interest in how plants have evolved to different conditions – whether in small, isolated populations, or globally – we hope some work will evaluate the contribution of polyploidy to speciation and adaptation to environmental changes with forward looking research considering potential increase of polyploids in natural and managed environments. Among crops, diploid and recent polyploid species represent about equal proportions. The Special Issue will aim to address both fundamental questions about the advantages and disadvantages of polyploidy, consequences for evolution and speciation, and the control of meiosis; and applied questions regarding challenges in breeding and exploitation of wild relatives through introgression or resynthesis of polyploids.
The Guest Editors will be Qing Liu, Shixiao Luo, Pat Heslop-Harrison and Trude Schwarzacher. All types of papers (primary research articles, reviews, viewpoints, research-in-context) are welcomed and will be accepted following the usual peer-review process of Annals of Botany. If you would like to discuss your manuscript submission for inclusion in the Special Issue, please send an outline of your paper (authors, title, and key message) to office@annbot.com. The deadline for manuscript submission is 30th October 2021.
The Special Issue will be edited in conjunction with a Conference “Polyploidy and Evolution in Plants” to be held in South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, with generous support from Annals of Botany, Guangdong Province Natural Science Foundation, and SCBG. Currently, we plan a hybrid meeting with both in-person and remote participation and provisional dates are the end of September or early October 2021. Within the programme, we will integrate active poster presentations and discussions and encourage full participation of Early Career Researchers. The programme will include in-person and virtual tours of the SCBG Gardens and greenhouses, research facilities, herbarium, and the opportunity for a post-conference visit to the SCBG’s DingHu Nature Reserve and/or city’s Baiyun Mountain reserve.
More information about the special issue will be posted at http://annbot.com/polyploidy .
The Guest Editors and Conference Organizers look forward to your contributions to the Special Issue and to welcoming you to Guangzhou and the SCBG either in person or virtually for the conference.
Recent related publications in Annals of Botany
Special Issue on Polyploidy in Ecology and Evolution Guest editors: Karine Alix, Trude Schwarzacher and J. S. (Pat) Heslop-Harrison Volume 120, Issue 2, August 2017; http://annbot.com/polyploidy2017
Highlight Issue Annals of Botany 127 (Issue 1, January 2021) on “Genomic Evolution” (published 21/Dec/20) http://annbot.com/GenomicEvolution
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