DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Landscape genetics and connectivity in a polymorphic salamander, Plethodon cinereus

论文研究：多态蝾螈（Plethodon cinereus）的景观遗传学和连通性

• 批准号: 1701680
• 负责人: Shawn Kuchta
• 金额: $ 1.96万
• 依托单位: Ohio University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2017
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2017-07-01 至 2019-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1701680&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: DISSERTATION; RESEARCH; Landscape; genetics; connectivity

This project will investigate the ecological and evolutionary factors that maintain color polymorphism in different populations of the Eastern Red-backed Salamander, a species that has a 'striped' red and black morph and an 'unstriped' solid black morph. Many species in nature have multiple color morphs that occur together within a single population. However, the frequencies at which particular morphs occur can vary widely among different populations. A fundamental unanswered question in evolutionary ecology is whether natural selection or dispersal is primarily driving these differences. This study will collect and analyze genomic data from 32 Eastern Red-backed Salamander populations that range from having only a single color morph present to having both morphs present at various frequencies. Different morphs of this species also differ in other aspects of their biology, such as physiology and aggression, and a major goal is to assess the relative importance of local adaptation versus dispersal among populations in maintaining morph frequencies. Results will further our basic understanding of the relationship between color variation and the evolution of diversity. In addition, the project will provide research opportunities for undergraduate students, who will be trained in cutting-edge genetic techniques. Outreach includes public seminars at two local nature preserves and educational displays at the local library for school children.This project will use genomic data to determine whether geographic distance, environmental variables, morph frequency, or a combination of these factors best explain patterns of genetic variation in the Eastern Red-backed Salamander, Plethodon cinereus. Genetic data will be collected using double digest restriction associated DNA (ddRAD). These data will be used to quantify levels of gene flow in P. cinereus from 480 individuals from 32 populations across northern Ohio that vary in morph frequency, from monomorphic to various degrees of polymorphic. A variety of statistical analyses, such as STRUCTURE, BAYESCAN, and redundancy analysis, will be used to determine if genetic variation in P. cinereus is more closely linked with phenotype frequency or geographic distance. Overall, this study will provide critical information on the relative contributions of morph frequency and geographic distance for explaining patterns of genetic variation in P. cinereus, and will improve our understanding of the factors involved in the evolution and maintenance of color polymorphisms.

该项目将调查在东部红色支持的sal的不同种群中维持色彩多态性的生态和进化因素，该物种具有“条纹”红色和黑色变形，以及“未缝”的固体黑色变形。自然界中的许多物种具有多种颜色的形态，它们在一个人群中一起出现。但是，在不同人群之间，特定变体发生的频率可能会差异很大。进化生态学中的一个基本未解决的问题是自然选择还是分散是主要推动这些差异。这项研究将收集和分析来自32个东部红色支持的sal子种群的基因组数据，这些数据范围从只有单个颜色变形到在各种频率上都存在两个变体。该物种的不同形态在其生物学的其他方面也有所不同，例如生理学和侵略，一个主要目标是评估局部适应性与人群之间在维持变体频率方面的相对重要性。结果将进一步我们对颜色变化与多样性演变之间关系的基本理解。此外，该项目将为本科生提供研究机会，这些学生将接受尖端遗传技术的培训。外展包括在当地图书馆的两个当地自然保护区的公开研讨会和学科儿童的教育展示。该项目将使用基因组数据来确定地理距离，环境变量，变形频率或这些因素的组合是最好地解释东部红色背包的Salamander Salamander，Plethodon Cinereus的遗传变异模式。将使用双消化限制相关DNA（DDRAD）收集遗传数据。这些数据将用于量化来自俄亥俄州北部32个人群的480个个体的cinereus基因流量的水平，从单态到各种程度的多态频率变化。各种统计分析，例如结构，贝纳西胶和冗余分析，将用于确定Cinereus中的遗传变异是否与表型频率或地理距离更紧密相关。总体而言，这项研究将提供有关形态频率和地理距离的相对贡献的关键信息，以解释Cinereus遗传变异的模式，并将提高我们对颜色多态性进化和维持所涉及的因素的理解。