BCI EDGE · Aim 1
Genomic landscapes
Building genomic resources across approximately 50 tropical tree species to reveal how environment, population history, selection and gene flow shape diversity across Panama.
The question
How is genomic variation distributed across species and landscapes?
Tropical tree species differ in abundance, dispersal, life history and environmental tolerance. Aim 1 asks how those differences leave signatures in their genomes—and how adaptive variation is organized across Panama’s rainfall and environmental gradients.
The approach
Genome resources at community scale
We will combine high-quality reference genomes with population resequencing and landscape-scale sampling.
- Chromosome-resolved reference genomes
- Approximately 100 individuals per species
- Sampling across environmental gradients in Panama
- Population history, gene flow and introgression
- Comparative analyses of selection and defense
Why it matters
A genomic landscape for tropical forests
These resources will provide a shared foundation for comparing evolutionary processes across species and for connecting regional population structure with selection observed inside the BCI forest.