What we can learn from wild emmer wheats in response to 28 years of global warming

The realized threats of global warming to biodiversity have catalyzed the search for solution to protect and conserve extant plant genetic resources. Part of the solution, however, is dependent on the knowledge of how plant populations respond genetically to these threats, which is largely lacking. This presentation will highlight the major findings from our unique genomic investigation to characterize genetic responses in 10 wild emmer wheat populations in Israel that were sampled twice in 1980 and 2008. After the 28 years of global warming, these populations displayed elevated selection, reduced diversity and temporal divergence, and carried increased mutational burdens forward. However, some populations still showed the ability to acquire beneficial alleles for future adaptation. The patterns of genetic response to rainfall and temperature varied and were complex.s