Genetics of Adaptive Evolution in ZEA

ZEA 适应性进化的遗传学

• 批准号: 9509074
• 负责人: John Doebley
• 金额: $ 14万
• 依托单位: University of Minnesota-Twin Cities
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 1995
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 1995-10-01 至 1998-09-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=9509074&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Genetics; Adaptive; Evolution; ZEA

9509074 DOEBLEY Closely related species can differ from one another by traits that best adapt each to the specific environment that it inhabits. How such adaptive traits evolved in nature is not well-understood. Many evolutionary geneticists subscribe to the view that the evolution of new adaptations typically involves changes at many genes, each with a small effect on an organism's appearance, or phenotype. Others have argued that one or two genes of large effect are sufficient to establish a new adaptation and that this is the more common mode of adaptive evolution in plants. Empirical studies germane to this debate are relatively few and inconclusive. The proposed research will investigate the genetics of adaptive evolution by analyzing the inheritance of adaptive characters that distinguish natural species of the genus Zea. The traits analyzed will include annual vs. perennial habit, rhizome formation, flowering date, degree of pigmentation in the leaf sheath, seed weight, and flower size and number. The inheritance of these traits will be determined by mapping the individual genes that control these traits to their positions on the chromosomes. By this means, it will be possible to determine the number of genes affecting each trait and the magnitudes of the effects of the individual genes. Overall, this study will provide a detailed picture of the genetic control of adaptively important traits from which one can infer the genetic basis of adaptive evolution in Zea. Because the genus Zea includes cultivated corn and because some of the traits to be studied are of potential agronomic importance, the proposed research can contribute to our understanding and improvement of corn.

9509074 DOEBLEY 密切相关的物种可能因最能适应其栖息的特定环境的特征而彼此不同。 这种适应性特征如何在自然界中进化尚不清楚。 许多进化遗传学家都认为，新适应的进化通常涉及许多基因的变化，每个基因对生物体的外观或表型都有很小的影响。 其他人则认为，一两个具有巨大影响的基因足以建立新的适应，这是植物中更常见的适应性进化模式。 与这场争论密切相关的实证研究相对较少且没有结论。 拟议的研究将通过分析区分玉米属自然物种的适应性特征的遗传来研究适应性进化的遗传学。 分析的性状包括一年生与多年生习性、根茎形成、开花日期、叶鞘色素沉着程度、种子重量以及花朵大小和数量。 这些性状的遗传将通过将控制这些性状的单个基因映射到它们在染色体上的位置来确定。 通过这种方式，将有可能确定影响每个性状的基因数量以及单个基因的影响程度。 总的来说，这项研究将提供一幅关于适应性重要性状的遗传控制的详细图片，从中可以推断出玉米适应性进化的遗传基础。 由于玉米属包括栽培玉米，并且由于要研究的一些性状具有潜在的农艺重要性，因此拟议的研究可以有助于我们对玉米的理解和改良。