COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: Genetic and developmental changes associated with the evolution of a hummingbird-pollination floral syndrome

合作研究：与蜂鸟授粉花卉综合症的进化相关的遗传和发育变化

• 批准号: 1255808
• 负责人: Lena Hileman
• 金额: $ 7.33万
• 依托单位: University of Kansas Center for Research Inc
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2013
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2013-01-15 至 2017-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1255808&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: COLLABORATIVE; RESEARCH; Genetic; developmental; changes; COLLABORATIVE; RESEARCH; Genetic; developmental; changes

Flowers exhibit a multitude of forms that are astounding to human observers, but critical to the reproductive success of plants, and much of floral diversity has been shaped by evolutionary interactions between flowers and pollinators. Evolutionary shifts from bee- to bird-pollinated flowers have occurred numerous times, and contributed significantly to flower diversity. Yet there are two central issues that remain largely unexplored. What are the genetic changes that allow for an evolutionary transition from bee- to bird-pollination floral syndrome? And do similar genetic changes explain the many independent transitions to flowers optimized for bird pollination? The genus Penstemon is one of a few flowering plant groups well suited to address these questions - bird pollination has evolved more than ten times independently, and many species are inter-fertile, allowing for a genetic approach to determine the genes responsible for a complex suite of floral traits associated with bird-pollination. This project will develop molecular genetic tools in two closely related bee- and bird-pollinated Penstemon species. Tools will include transgenic approaches, genome sequencing and genetic mapping that will allow the researchers to explore the genetic changes necessary for a transition from bee- to bird-pollination floral traits. These early insights into the genetics of a pollination system shift will establish the foundation for a novel, highly integrative approach involving evolutionary, ecological, genetic and developmental studies to determine processes that underlie the evolution of complex traits. This project will contribute to the training of a postdoctoral researcher and undergraduate students at the interface of plant evolutionary genetics and development, and provide individuals from the emerging generation of scientists with skills in applying next-generation sequencing technology to critical questions of trait evolution. Undergraduates will be recruited through nationally funded programs at the University of Kansas aimed at increasing participation of underrepresented groups in STEM fields.

花表现出对人类观察者惊人的多种形式，但对植物的生殖成功至关重要，许多花朵多样性是由花与传粉媒介之间的进化相互作用所影响的。从蜜蜂到鸟类授粉的花朵的进化转移发生了多次，并为花朵多样性做出了重大贡献。然而，有两个主要问题在很大程度上尚未探索。从蜂 - 授粉花卉综合征进行进化的转变，遗传变化是什么？类似的遗传变化解释了对鸟类授粉的优化花的许多独立过渡？ Penstemon属是少数几个非常适合解决这些问题的开花植物群之一 - 鸟类授粉已经独立进化了十倍，许多物种是植皮性的，允许采用遗传方法来确定负责与鸟类授粉相关的复杂花卉特征的基因。该项目将在两种密切相关的蜜蜂和鸟类授粉的Penstemon物种中开发分子遗传工具。工具将包括转基因方法，基因组测序和遗传图，这将使研究人员能够探索从蜂 - 授粉到鸟类 - 授粉花卉性状过渡所必需的遗传变化。对授粉系统转移遗传学的这些早期见解将为一种新型，高度综合的方法为涉及进化，生态，遗传和发育研究的基础奠定基础，以确定基于复杂性状演变的过程。该项目将有助于培训植物进化遗传学和发展界面的博士后研究人员和本科生，并为新兴科学家的个人提供技能，以将下一代测序技术应用于特质进化的关键问题。本科生将通过堪萨斯大学的全国资助计划招募，旨在增加代表性不足的STEM领域的参与。