Overview
Topic status: We're looking for students to study this topic.
Khaya senegalensis, also known as African mahogany, is a member of the Meliaceae, within the sub-tribe Swietenioideae. This group contains many of the most highly valued timber tree species worldwide and includes the mahoganies and cedars. Khaya senegalensis is widely distributed across tropical North Africa, occurring along an environmental gradient between the Sahara Desert in the north to the equatorial rainforests to the south, and in a continuous band that stretches 5,500 km from the Atlantic Coast in the west to the White Nile Valley in the east. Throughout its natural range, K. senegalensis is distributed across multiple climatic and ecological gradients including rainfall (400-1600mm/yr), temperature, soil type and salinity. Consequently, it is considered an ideal candidate for forestry as it can grow across such a diverse range of environments. However, the molecular basis of adaptation to different ecological and climatic conditions is still poorly understood in K. senegalensis.
In this project we will take advantage of a large common garden experiment to determine patterns of neutral and adaptive genetic variation in relation to geography and climate. We will also use single nucleotide polymorphisms and next-generation sequencing to determine genome-wide patterns of adaptive divergence across the environmental gradients that K. senegalensis spans. Finally, spatial correlations of molecular markers with environmental variables will be used to determine the molecular basis of adaptation to different ecological and climatic conditions.
- Study level
- PhD
- Supervisors
- QUT
- Organisational unit
Science and Engineering Faculty
- Research area
- Keywords
- timber, tree species, rainforest, geography
- Contact
- Please contact the supervisor.
Dr Peter Prentis
