1. Adaptation and Climate Change NATURE Academy
Pamela Puppo & Jill Hamilton

2. How do plants adapt to their environment?
What is adaptation?
Adaptation is a characteristic that makes a population able to live in a particular environment

3. How do plants adapt to their environment?
What is adaptation?
How do plants adapt to their environment?
Different plants have developed a set of characteristics that allow them to live in different environments. For example…

4. Plants adapt to their environment

5. Plants adapt to their environment
Cactus have spines instead of leaves, open the stomata at night (to avoid loosing too much water), accumulate water in the stems, stems have ridges to expand, etc

6. Activity I: Phenotype to Environment
You are each assigned a plant – tell us a little bit about that plant:
Find a picture!
Does this plant have a ‘common name’?
Is this plant used by Native American communities? How?
Is it a herb, bush, tree? How does it reproduce?
What is its distribution and habitat preferences?
Make a hypothesis
In a rapidly changing environment what type of stresses might this plant experience?
Make 3 slides in power point with your results and present them to the class

7. Adaptation
There are several mechanisms involved in the process of adaptation: natural selection, gene flow, genetic drift…
All of these are mechanisms of evolutionary change

8. Natural Selection
The genes responsible for the particular characteristic are passed along the next generation, making the new generation better adapted to the environment

9. Natural Selection
time

10. Human-driven selection (Domestication)
amazon.com

11. Human-driven selection (Domestication)
amazon.com
Importance of diversity for natural selection
Importance of wild relatives

12. Gene-flow Movement of alleles in and out of a population
Movement of an individual (and the genetic material they carry) from one population to the other
If different genes are transported, it can be a source of genetic variation

13. Gene-flow Movement of alleles in and out of a population
Movement of an individual (and the genetic material they carry) from one population to the other
If different genes are transported, it can be a source of genetic variation

14. Gene-flow Movement of alleles in and out of a population
Movement of an individual (and the genetic material they carry) from one population to the other
If different genes are transported, it can be a source of genetic variation

15. Gene-flow Movement of alleles in and out of a population
Movement of an individual (and the genetic material they carry) from one population to the other
If different genes are transported, it can be a source of genetic variation

16. Genetic drift
Change in the gene pool by chance

17. Genetic drift
Change in the gene pool by chance

18. Genetic drift
Change in the gene pool by chance

19. Genetic drift
Change in the gene pool by chance

20. Adaptation
In order for evolution to happen we need: change over time that is passed on to the next generations
Most organisms are different genetically from others
How is this genetic variation generated?

21. Genetic variation - mutations
courses.lumenlearning.com
All DNA is made with only four “building blocks” called nucleotides: ACGT. adenine, cytosine, guanine, and thymine
Mutation is a change in DNA and are random
Image credit: Genome Research Limited

22. Genetic variation - mutations
Gene variant 1……..ACCTGAATACAGGATA…………
Gene variant 2……..ACCTGAGTACAGGATA………… GG
genotypes AG AA
Image credit: Genome Research Limited

23. Genes vs Phenotype
Sometimes, the variation in the appearance of a plant might not have a genetic basis

24. Genes vs Phenotype
Sometimes, the variation in the appearance of a plant might not have a genetic basis
Plasticity: if it arises because of the environment

25. Genes vs Phenotype
Sometimes, the variation in the appearance of a plant might not have a genetic basis
Plasticity: if it arises because of the environment

26. Activity II: Allele frequency game
Lets assume that each individual has only 2 alleles
Allele R is dominant relative to allele b
Allele R is responsible for the red coloration of the individuals
Red individuals can be homozygous or heterozygous (blue individuals can only be homozygous)
Phenotype Genotype RR Rb bb
Let’s see how genes change their frequency with a game. Imagine we have a morphological trait (color) associated with a given genotype
Same phenotype (red) but different genotype!

27. Activity II: Allele frequency game
Initial population
Dominant / Recessive
After Genetic drift
After Natural Selection Dominant / Recessive
Group 1
Group 2
Group 3
Group 4
Group 5
Group 6
Group 7
Group 8
Group 9
Group 10

28. Genetic variation - mutations
Gene variant 1……..ACCTGAATACAGGATA…………
Gene variant 2……..ACCTGAGTACAGGATA………… GG
genotypes AG AA
Image credit: Genome Research Limited

29. Activity III: DNA extraction
In this activity, you will be able to extract DNA out of a plant using household ingredients and will be able to see it with your naked eye!

30. Activity III: DNA extraction
Procedure:
Peel the onion half and put it in a container. With the help of an immersion blender, smash the onion as best as you can.
In a plastic cup mix: 2 tbsp. detergent, 1 tsp. salt and ½ cup of water. This will be your DNA extraction liquid.
Add your DNA extraction liquid to the smashed onion and mix gently with a spoon. Avoid making bubbles. This will help breaking the cells to release the DNA.
Using a coffee filter, pour the mixture into a clean plastic cup. Gently squeeze the filter.
Slowly, pour ¼ of a cup of cold alcohol down the side of the cup. Do not mix! Let sit for a couple of minutes. The alcohol will help separate the DNA from the rest of the onion mixture.
You will see something white forming in between the alcohol and the onion mixture. That’s the onion’s DNA! With the use of a paperclip, gently pick up the strands of DNA.

31. Activity III: DNA extraction
DNA fun facts:
About 99% of DNA in humans is the same
If you put all the DNA in your body together and stretch it, the longitude will be equal to going to the sun and back for 600 times
We share 40-50% DNA with a cabbage

32. Landscape: Past, Present, Future
We have all heard about climate change, but what is it? Climate has been changing for millions of years (explain graph)
Earle, S Physical Geology. Available at:

33. Anthropogenic Climate Change
However, since the industrial revolution (around 1950), when humans started burning fuels and producing in mass, the climate has changed faster than ever before

34. Activity I: Phenotype to Environment
You are each assigned a plant – tell us a little bit about that plant:
Find a picture!
Does this plant have a ‘common name’?
Is this plant used by Native American communities? How?
Is it a herb, bush, tree? How does it reproduce?
What is its distribution and habitat preferences?
Make a hypothesis
In a rapidly changing environment what type of stresses might this plant experience?
Make 3 slides in power point with your results and present them to the class
Will plants be able to adapt to this fast changing climate?

35. Take home message
Plants have evolved traits to adapt to their different environments. The variation we see in traits reflects genetic differences
Allele frequencies and phenotypic traits can change in response to the environment (natural selection) across generations
Genetics
Environment
Phenotypes X

36. Take home message
Depending on the amount of genetic variation, some plants may adapt to environmental change and survive and others may disappear
Climate has been changing a long time ago but human activities are making it change faster than ever and some plants might not be able to cope with this
Genetics
Environment
Phenotypes X