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About the Authors:
Ivan Baxter
* E-mail: [email protected]
Affiliations Agricultural Research Service Plant Genetics Research Unit, Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, United States Department of Agriculture, St. Louis, Missouri, United States of America, Center for Plant Stress Physiology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, United States of America
Christian Hermans
Affiliation: Laboratory of Plant Physiology and Molecular Genetics, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium
Brett Lahner
Affiliation: Center for Plant Stress Physiology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, United States of America
Elena Yakubova
Affiliation: Center for Plant Stress Physiology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, United States of America
Marina Tikhonova
Affiliation: Center for Plant Stress Physiology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, United States of America
Nathalie Verbruggen
Affiliation: Laboratory of Plant Physiology and Molecular Genetics, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium
Dai-yin Chao
Affiliations Center for Plant Stress Physiology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, United States of America, Institute of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, Scotland, United Kingdom
David E. Salt
Affiliations Center for Plant Stress Physiology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, United States of America, Institute of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, Scotland, United Kingdom
Introduction
Broad variation in the physical and chemical properties of soil provide a large challenge to plant breeders attempts to develop crops to feed the worlds growing population [1]. In order to grow on marginal or degraded land, or with fewer inputs, breeders will need to identify loci or genes that can promote growth in these environments. Some wild plants show specific adaptations to certain soils, and many efforts have been directed towards identification of the mechanisms permitting growth in these environments [2]–[4]. Many of these studies have been limited by the lack of systems biology resources and appropriate mapping populations, though progress has been made in some species [5]–[9]. Accessions of the genetic model plant A. thaliana have been identified in a wide variety of environments [10] and genotypes that can withstand diverse laboratory conditions have also been identified [11]–[13]. When combined with the wealth of genetic and systems biology resources available for A. thaliana these lines can be potentially utilized as resources for understanding the physiology of adaptation and underlying genetics. One mechanism that plants have evolved to grow in widely...