Dissertation Research: Postpollination Effects in the Columbine, Aquilegia caerulea

尽管人们对植物个体之间产生种子的能力的差异了解很多，但对自然植物种群中不同个体产生花粉的能力的差异知之甚少。个体在繁殖种子方面的差异成功可能是影响植物生态和进化的强大力量。该项目探讨了蓝耧菜（Aquilegia caerulea）在授粉后阶段个体在繁殖种子方面的差异。它还将决定雄性的差异成功（如果存在的话）是发生在受精前还是受精后的种子发育过程中。这项研究采用了许多现代技术，例如，当来自多个个体的花粉被施用于单个柱头时，可以确定父系对种子的贡献。对照育种试验将揭示环境、母本和父本对种子产量及种子和幼苗特性的影响。通过对自然和栽培植物种群进行这样的研究，该项目可以确定自然界中雄性生殖选择的潜力。进一步的研究可以确定个体成功的差异是否是由后代遗传的特征引起的。了解授粉后雄性成功选择的潜力，对进化生物学的研究和作物育种中人工选择技术的发展具有重要意义。

Although much is known about the variation among individual plants in ability to produce seeds, little is known about how different individuals within natural plant populations differ in their ability to produce pollen. The differential success of individuals in siring seeds could be a powerful force influencing the ecology and evolution of plants. This project addresses the possibility that individuals can differ in their success in siring seeds during the postpollination phase in the blue columbine, Aquilegia caerulea. It will also determine if differential success of males, should it exist, occurs prior to fertilization or after fertilization during seed development. The study employs a number of modern techniques that allow determination of , for example, paternal contributions to seeds when pollen from more than one individual has been applied to a single stigma. Controlled breeding experiments will reveal the effects of environment, maternal, and paternal parents on seed produciton and seed and seedling characteristics. By doing such studies in both natural and cultivated populations of plants, the project can determine tha potential for selection on male reproduction in nature. Further studies can determine whether variation in success of individuals is caused by features which are inherited by offspring. Understanding the potential for selection on male success after pollination is relevant to studies in evolutionary biology and to development of artificial selection techniques in crop breeding.