DISSERTATION RESEARCH: The Phenotypic and Genetic Basis of Facilitation and Competition in Plants

论文研究：植物促进和竞争的表型和遗传基础

• 批准号: 1501710
• 负责人: Kathleen Donohue
• 金额: $ 2.05万
• 依托单位: Duke University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2015
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2015-07-01 至 2018-04-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1501710&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: DISSERTATION; RESEARCH; Phenotypic; Genetic; Basis

Plants growing in the same place harm each other when there are not enough resources such as nutrients and sunlight to go around. This means poor competitors are at the mercy of superior ones, and less likely to survive and reproduce. On the flip side, plants can actually protect each other when faced with environmental stress such as drought. By blocking sunlight from reaching and heating the soil, plants that are growing close together prevent the evaporation of soil moisture. But since environments are constantly changing, a single plant can receive both harm and protection from neighbors over its lifetime. These dynamic neighbor relationships raise many intriguing questions. What makes some plants good competitors, but makes others rely on protection from their neighbors? How much do genetics versus the environment (nature versus nurture) control whether plants will harm or protect each other? Do harm and protection cause plant traits to evolve? The researchers aim to identify environmental conditions, plant traits, and genes that cause harm and protection, and use this information to determine if these plant interactions affect evolution. By identifying conditions that reduce harm, this research helps ecologists working to develop better methods to protect endangered species that are poor competitors. The results also can be used to breed crops that can survive and make food even when resources are low and stress is high. The researchers are combining manipulations of the environment with selection analysis and other quantitative genetics techniques (e.g. analyses of trait co-variances) to connect competition (harm) and facilitation (protection) with natural selection and adaptation in Arabidopsis thaliana (Brassicaceae). Changes in light, moisture, and temperature caused by neighbors are being linked with the effects of those neighbors on the survival and reproduction of focal plants. Genome-wide association mapping is being used to identify genes for competition and facilitation as those explaining differences in survival and reproduction in the presence versus absence of neighbors. Once all these analyses are complete, the researchers plan to use previous knowledge of gene function to test the hypothesis that genes controlling nutrient processing and requirements, phenology, and stress tolerance also control competition and facilitation.

当没有足够的资源（例如养分和阳光）到处走走时，在同一地点生长的植物会互相伤害。这意味着较差的竞争对手受到优势的摆布，而生存和繁殖的可能性较小。另一方面，面对诸如干旱之类的环境压力时，植物实际上可以互相保护。通过阻止阳光到达和加热土壤，生长在一起的植物可以防止土壤水分蒸发。但是，由于环境在不断变化，因此单个工厂可以在其一生中受到危害和保护。这些充满活力的邻居关系提出了许多有趣的问题。是什么使某些植物成为好的竞争对手，但会使其他植物依靠邻居的保护？遗传学与环境（自然与养育）有多少控制植物是否会互相伤害或保护彼此？伤害和保护会导致植物特征发展吗？研究人员的目的是确定造成伤害和保护的环境条件，植​​物特征和基因，并使用此信息来确定这些植物相互作用是否影响进化。通过确定减少危害的疾病，这项研究有助于生态学家努力开发更好的方法来保护竞争对手的濒危物种。结果也可用于繁殖可以生存并制造食物的农作物，即使资源低并且压力很高。研究人员正在将环境的操纵与选择分析和其他定量遗传学技术（例如，特征共同的分析）连接竞争（HARM）和促进性（保护）以及拟南芥（Brassicaceae）的自然选择和适应。邻居引起的光，水分和温度的变化正在与这些邻居对焦点植物生存和繁殖的影响有关。全基因组的关联映射被用来识别竞争和促进的基因作为解释在存在与不存在邻居的生存和繁殖差异的基因。一旦完成所有这些分析，研究人员就计划利用先前对基因功能的知识来检验以下假设：控制营养加工和需求，物候学和压力耐受性的基因也控制竞争和促进。