ROW: Resource Allocation Patterns in Dimorphic Plants

生物体将资源分配给各种各样的活动，如繁殖、生长和维持，人们通常认为，将资源分配给任何一种活动是以牺牲其他活动为代价的。植物提供了一个很好的机会来确定资源分配策略是如何受到个体性别的影响的，因为许多属中包含了性别表达不同的物种。在Silene属中，有雌雄同体的物种（一个个体中的两性）和雌雄异株的物种（单独的雄性和雌性个体）。研究表明，一种雌雄异株种的雄性和雌性的资源分配模式非常不同。德尔夫博士的长期研究计划包括调查这些差异是如何演变的。为了做到这一点，有必要在植物发育的早期明确地确定其性别。目前，一个个体的性别只有在开花时才能确定。这笔拨款将为开发分子技术提供必要的资金，使开花前的性别鉴定成为可能。此外，还将制定一项技术方案，以检测植物内开花和结果资源来源的性别差异。

Organisms allocate resources to a variety of activities, such as reproduction, growth, and maintenance, and it is generally perceived that the allocation of resources to any one activity occurs at the expense of the other activities. Plants provide an excellent opportunity to determine how resource allocation strategies are affected by the sex of an individual, as many genera contain species that vary in their sex expression. Within the genus Silene, there are species that are hermaphroditic (both sexes in one individual) and others that are dioecious (separate male and female individuals). It has been shown for one of the dioecious species of Silene that males and females have very different resource allocation patterns. Dr. Delph's long-term research plans include investigating how these differences evolved. In order to do so, it is necessary to unambiguously determine the sex of plants early in their development. At the present time, the sex of an individual can only be determined when it is flowering. The grant will provide necessary funds to develop molecular techniques that would enable sex determination prior to flowering. In addition, a protocol for a technique will be developed to detect differences between the sexes in where resources for flowering and fruiting originate within the plant.