PRF/M: Parasites and Herbivores as Agents of Natural Selection in Plants

PRF/M：寄生虫和食草动物作为植物自然选择的媒介

• 批准号: 9004287
• 负责人: Yan Linhart
• 金额: $ 6.45万
• 依托单位: Fellowships
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Fellowship Award
• 财政年份: 1990
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 1990-08-01 至 1991-09-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=9004287&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: PRF; Parasites; Herbivores; Agents; Natural

Disease-producing and parasitic species are important agents of natural selection in the evolution of their hosts. Disease-producing species are often bacteria or fungi; parasites are often insects or other invertebrates. Each of these classes of organisms has a different physiology, and therefore can present a different challenge to a host. Ford and Haldane postulated that this diversity of challenges produces a diversity of selective pressures which help explain the high genetic diversity observed in human populations. The PI plans to test the generality of this hypothesis by using a woody perennial plant, the wild thyme (Thymus vulgaris L.) and three species that parasitize it or feed upon it. These include the mollusk Agriolimax reticulatus Muller, the lepidopteran Pyrausta sanguinalis L., and the mildew fungus Oidium sp. Thyme plants can be characterized by their terpene composition, and single plants contain a single terpene. The biochemical pathways of terpene production are known, and the genetic control of terpene production involves single Mendelian loci. Thyme populations are highly polymorphic for these terpene chemotypes. The PI proposes to (1) study the differential sensitivity of these terpene variants to parasites and (2) document the diversity of selective pressures generated.

产生疾病和寄生虫是其宿主进化中自然选择的重要药物。 产生疾病的物种通常是细菌或真菌；寄生虫通常是昆虫或其他无脊椎动物。 这些类别的生物中的每一个都有不同的生理学，因此可以对宿主提出不同的挑战。 福特和霍尔丹（Haldane）假定，这种挑战的多样性会产生多种选择性压力，这些压力有助于解释人口中观察到的高遗传多样性。 PI计划通过使用木质多年生植物，野生百里香（百里香氏乳房）和三种寄生或以其为食的物种来检验该假设的普遍性。 其中包括Mollusk Agriolimax reticulatus Muller，鳞翅目Pyrausta sanguinalis L.和Mildew Fungus oidium sp。 百里香植物的特征是其萜烯成分，并且单个植物含有单个萜烯。 萜烯产生的生化途径是已知的，萜烯产生的遗传控制涉及单个Mendelian基因座。 对于这些萜烯化学型，百里香种群具有高度多态性。 PI建议（1）研究这些萜烯变体对寄生虫的差异灵敏度，（2）记录产生的选择性压力的多样性。