Unlocking climate change responses: Identifying key species through third generation sequencing

With climate change increasingly affecting ecosystems in Australia and worldwide, environmental and ecological researchers face the critical task of understanding species’ adaptations to these evolving environmental challenges.

Utilising low-cost, high-throughput genetic studies, we aim to pinpoint new model systems ideal for investigating how species adapt to changing environments. This approach promises to advance our knowledge of environmental adaptation amidst ongoing climate shifts. Working with the University of Queensland, this project utilises a combined multi-omic approach to characterise the Australian wildflower Senecio lautus and promote it as a new model species for the study of genomic responses to selection, adaptation, and divergence.

The project will provide greater insight into how plant growth and behaviour will respond to future environmental stresses. AGRF is using the PacBio Revio platform to carry out Whole Genome and RNA (transcriptome) Sequencing of Senecio lautus samples from a diverse range of coastal habitats.