DIMENSIONS: Collaborative: DIversification Dynamics of Multitrophic Interactions in Tropical Communities

维度：协作：热带群落多营养相互作用的多样化动态

• 批准号: 1542290
• 负责人: Gaelen Burke
• 金额: $ 28.21万
• 依托单位: University of Georgia Research Foundation Inc
• 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: 2015-09-01 至 2020-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1542290&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: DIMENSIONS; Collaborative; DIversification; Dynamics; Multitrophic

How is biodiversity generated and maintained? Much evidence suggests that parasites play an important role in both the origin and the maintenance of biological diversity. This project focuses on one of the most diverse groups of organisms on the planet: herbivorous insects, their parasites, and their microbes. The project targets three economically important groups of organisms: plants in the pumpkin/cucumber family, true fruit flies that attack these plants, and parasitic wasps that kill the flies. These wasps belong to a highly diverse and little studied group of species. Each wasp species can kill only one fly species; wasps attacking the "wrong" species of fly die. These bi-directional lethal interactions may be mediated by microbes (in wasps, flies, or both), by traits of flies' immune systems, or both. This project is designed to uncover the mechanisms (evolutionary, ecological, and immunological) affecting interactions that may help explain the diversity of life. Many species of true fruit flies are major agricultural pests; this project will greatly increase knowledge about factors contributing to their susceptibility to parasitoids. The project tests hypotheses that predict that: 1) defenses of parasites and their hosts affect diversification rates; 2) mechanisms of virulence differ among lineages, and 3) selection arising from predator-prey interactions can affect rates of species-formation. To discover and identify mechanisms of diversification, participants will generate and analyze molecular 1) high-resolution genetic data, multiple nuclear loci, and mtCOI haplotypes to delineate species, and resolve deeper phylogenetic relationships; 2) microsatellites and ddRAD-seq markers to discover and quantify fine-scale genetic diversity within and among populations; 3) phylogenies and field experiments to test hypotheses about mechanisms generating and controlling diversity on ancient, recent, and contemporary timescales. Undergraduate students from all participating colleges and universities will participate in the research.

生物多样性是如何产生和维持的？许多证据表明寄生虫在生物多样性的起源和维持中发挥着重要作用。该项目的重点是地球上最多样化的生物群体之一：草食性昆虫、它们的寄生虫和微生物。该项目针对三个具有重要经济意义的生物群体：南瓜/黄瓜科植物、攻击这些植物的真果蝇以及杀死果蝇的寄生黄蜂。这些黄蜂属于高度多样化且很少被研究的物种群体。每种黄蜂只能杀死一种苍蝇；黄蜂攻击“错误”的苍蝇种类就会死亡。这些双向致死相互作用可能是由微生物（黄蜂、苍蝇或两者）、苍蝇免疫系统特征或两者介导的。该项目旨在揭示影响相互作用的机制（进化、生态和免疫学），这可能有助于解释生命的多样性。许多种类的真果蝇是主要的农业害虫；该项目将大大增加人们对拟寄生物易感性因素的了解。该项目测试了以下假设：1）寄生虫及其宿主的防御会影响多样化率； 2）不同谱系的毒力机制不同，3）捕食者与猎物相互作用产生的选择会影响物种形成的速度。为了发现和确定多样化机制，参与者将生成和分析分子 1) 高分辨率遗传数据、多个核位点和 mtCOI 单倍型，以描述物种，并解决更深层次的系统发育关系； 2) 微卫星和 ddRAD-seq 标记，用于发现和量化群体内部和群体之间的精细遗传多样性； 3）系统发育和实地实验，以检验有关在古代、近代和当代时间尺度上产生和控制多样性的机制的假设。所有参与院校的本科生都将参与该研究。