Herbivory in Oak Hybrid Zones: General Patterns, Genetic Relationships, and Mechanisms

该研究将检查寄主杂交带的草食模式。提出了三个相关的项目，将阐明瘿蜂-叶矿工-橡树系统：1)栎树杂交带的遗传结构；2)不同杂交带的草食密度和物种多样性格局；3)栎树杂交带寄主类群间草食负荷变化的机制。提出了相关、实验和分子遗传相结合的方法。相关分析和实验分析旨在检验三种相互排斥的关于寄主杂交带草食模式的假设。遗传分析将为植物-昆虫生态学引入一种新的技术，RAPD（随机扩增多态性DNA），该技术将区分三种相互竞争的渐渗杂交模式和寄主对寄生虫的易感性。本研究对杂交作物和转基因作物的引种以及受种间杂交威胁的濒危物种的保护具有重要意义。

The research will examine patterns of herbivory in host hybrid zones. Three related projects are proposed that will elucidate for a gall wasp-leaf miner-oak system: 1) the genetic structure of oak hybrid zones, 2) patterns of herbivore density and species diversity in a variety of hybrid combinations, and 3) mechanisms responsible for variation in herbivore loads between host taxa within oak hybrid zones. A combination of correlative, experimental, and molecular genetic approaches are proposed. The correlative and experimental analyses are designed to test three mutually exclusive hypotheses regarding patterns of herbivory in host hybrid zones. The genetic analysis will introduce a new technique to plant-insect ecology, RAPD (for Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA), that will distinguish among three competing models of introgressive hybridization and host susceptibility to parasites. The work has important implications for the introduction of hybrid and genetically engineered agricultural crops, and for the conservation of endangered species threatened by interspecific hybridization.