Understanding the genomics and ecology of floral nectar to enhance crop-pollinator interactions

了解花蜜的基因组学和生态学以增强作物与传粉媒介的相互作用

• 批准号: 2886719
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: University of Sussex
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Studentship
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2023 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=studentship-2886719
• 关键词: Understanding; genomics; ecology; floral; nectar

First rotation- Understanding the genomics and ecology of floral nectar to enhance crop-pollinator interactionsFloral nectar plays a fundamental role in crop-pollinator interactions, but our understanding of the genetic basis, plasticity, and ecological costs of nectar traits is still limited.These aspects of nectar biology are crucial when considering how to develop crop varieties that are more attractive to pollinators. This in turn is urgent, because there is strong evidence of pollinator declines in the UK and around the world. Pollinators increase yield and reduce the variability of yield in space and time for many important crops, so their decline has potential impacts on sustainable agricultural productivity and food security.The importance of animal pollination has inspired recommendations to optimize insect visitation to crops. This includes the development of varieties that are more rewarding to pollinators via increased nectar quantity and quality. This project will explore the interaction between genetic and ecological aspects to inform the role of nectar variation in pollination success and the viability of selection of nectar-enhanced varieties. For this, the student will:1) study the genetic basis and plasticity of nectar traits using common gardens and controlled crosses combined with genome-wide association (GWA). This will include understanding genetic correlations with other plant traits that might enhance or constraint selection on nectar traits.2) study the cost of nectar production, which is still poorly understood for many plants, but central to the idea that nectar-enhanced varieties are possible to breed,3) measure nectar quality and quantity and their effect on yields, to determine the importance of nectar variability on pollination quality and homogeneity.Focal species will be selected among commercially important crops with genomic tools available and representing different plant families (sunflower, strawberry, faba beans, oilseed rape).Results will help us understand how improved nectar rewards boost productivity while mitigating the declines of pollinator communities in agricultural and natural landscapes.

第一次轮换——了解花蜜的基因组学和生态学，增强作物与传粉者的相互作用花蜜在作物与传粉者的相互作用中发挥着基础性作用，但我们对花蜜性状的遗传基础、可塑性和生态成本的理解仍然有限。这些方面在考虑如何开发对授粉媒介更具吸引力的作物品种时，花蜜生物学的研究至关重要。这反过来又是紧迫的，因为有强有力的证据表明英国和世界各地的传粉媒介正在减少。传粉媒介可以提高许多重要作物的产量并减少产量在空间和时间上的变异性，因此传粉媒介的减少对可持续农业生产力和粮食安全具有潜在影响。动物授粉的重要性激发了有关优化昆虫对作物造访的建议。这包括开发通过增加花蜜数量和质量对传粉媒介更有利的品种。该项目将探索遗传和生态方面之间的相互作用，以了解花蜜变异在授粉成功中的作用以及花蜜增强品种选择的可行性。为此，学生将：1）使用普通花园和受控杂交结合全基因组关联（GWA）来研究花蜜性状的遗传基础和可塑性。这将包括了解与其他植物性状的遗传相关性，这些性状可能增强或限制对花蜜性状的选择。2）研究花蜜生产的成本，这对于许多植物来说仍然知之甚少，但对于花蜜增强品种是可能的这一想法至关重要育种，3) 测量花蜜质量和数量及其对产量的影响，以确定花蜜变异对授粉质量和同质性的重要性。将利用可用的基因组工具从具有代表性的商业重要作物中选择重点物种不同的植物科（向日葵、草莓、蚕豆、油菜）。结果将帮助我们了解改进的花蜜奖励如何提高生产力，同时缓解农业和自然景观中授粉昆虫群落的下降。