U.S.-Austria Cooperative Research on Population Genetic Models for Symbiont-Induced Speciation and Coevolution

该奖项提供了部分支持教授迈克尔E。华盛顿州立大学的穆迪前往奥地利维也纳大学，与数学研究所的莱因哈德·伯格教授和其他数学遗传学专家合作。他们共同感兴趣的数学方法来研究人口遗传学的基本问题。他们将开发数学模型，以更精确地研究关于一种物种形成机制的定性理论中隐含的群体遗传学。具体来说，他们建议测试共生体诱导的物种形成可能是由于栖息地之间的差异协同适应沿着环境梯度的理论。这种梯度可能会导致共同进化相互作用的其他结果。穆迪教授有相当丰富的经验建模群体遗传学问题，如共同进化和人口结构，通过分析基因流在一个单一的基因座在地理结构的人口。维也纳大学有几个教师拥有各种互补的专业知识，在数学遗传学，包括多位点模型。生物进化最引人注目的方面是物种辐射到地球每个角落观察到的大量形式。理解物种进化是达尔文最初理论的目标，直到今天，阐明物种形成的机制仍然是进化生物学的核心挑战。其中一个假设是物种之间的共同进化可能直接促成物种形成;共生体与宿主之间的相互作用是一种可能的机制。然而，遗传和生态条件下，共生体诱导的物种形成将发生知之甚少。拟议的合作研究应该提供理论上的见解共生体诱导的物种形成的遗传后果，因此有助于提高对进化分歧的理解。

This award provides partial support for a sabbatical visit by Professor Michael E. Moody of Washington State University to the University of Vienna, Austria, to collaborate with Professor Reinhard Buerger of the Institute of Mathematics and other experts in mathematical genetics. They share an interest in the mathematical approaches to examining fundamental problems in population genetics. They will develop mathematical models to examine more precisely the population genetics implicit in a qualitative theory concerning the mechanism of one type of speciation. Specifically, they propose to test the theory that symbiont-induced speciation could result from differential coadaptation between habitats along an environmental gradient. Such a gradient could give rise to alternative outcomes of the coevolutionary interaction. Professor Moody has considerable experience modeling population genetics problems such as coevolution and population structure through analysis of gene flow at a single locus in geographically structured populations. The University of Vienna has several faculty possessing a variety of complementary expertise in mathematical genetics, including multi-locus models. The most striking aspect of biological evolution is the radiation of species into the vast array of forms observed in every corner of the earth. Understanding species evolution was the goal of Darwin's original theory, and, to this day, elucidating the mechanisms of speciation remains the central challenge of evolutionary biology. One of several conjectures is that coevolution between species may contribute directly to speciation; the interaction between symbionts and their hosts is one likely mechanism. However, the genetic and ecological conditions under which symbiont-induced speciation will occur are poorly understood. The proposed collaborative research should provide theoretical insights into the genetic consequences of symbiont-induced speciation and therefore contribute toward improved understanding of evolutionary divergence.