Discovery of a high-altitude ecotype and ancient lineage of Arabidopsis thaliana from Tibet

Arabidopsis thaliana(A.thaliana)has long been a model species for dicotyledon study,and was the first flowering plant to get its genome completed sequenced[1].Although most wild A.thaliana are collected in Europe,several studies have found a rapid A.thaliana west-east expansion from Central Asia[2].The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau(QTP)is close to Central Asia and known for its high alti-

Arabidopsis thaliana（A, thaliana） has long been a model species for dicotyledon study, and was the first flowering plant to get its genome completed sequenced . Although most wild A. thaliana are collected in Europe, several studies have found a rapid A. thaliaria west-east expansion from Central Asia . The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau （QTP） is close to Central Asia and known for its high altitude, unique environments and biodiversity . However, no wild-type A. thaliana had been either discovered or sequenced from QTP. Studies on the A. thaliana populations collected under 2000 m asl have shown that the adaptive variations associated with climate and altitudinal gradients .