Collaborative Research: Sex Ratio Evolution in Ephemeral Demes of a Gynodioecious Plant

合作研究：雌花异株植物短暂群落的性别比进化

• 批准号: 0078531
• 负责人: David McCauley
• 金额: $ 28.5万
• 依托单位: Vanderbilt University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2000
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2000-09-15 至 2004-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0078531&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; Sex; Ratio; Evolution

0078531McCauleyGynodioecy is a condition in plant populations in which hermaphroditic and female individuals coexist. It arises when a mutation (called a cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) factor) causes hermaphrodites to lose male function, with a concurrent increase in seed production. Understanding how gynodioecy persists is an ongoing question in the field of plant population biology. This project will combine molecular genetic markers and genetic crosses to ask how many different CMS factors exist in small natural populations of Silene vulgaris, and how those factors are distributed spatially. This will be combined with mathematical and computer models in order to understand how the extinction and recolonization of local populations influences the evolution of gynodioecy.This project will be relevant to several broader scientific issues. First, CMS factors are an example of "selfish DNA". The studies of S. vulgaris will be one of the few to link molecular markers to selfish elements in nature. Second, the study of the genetics of small and fragmented populations is significant for conservation biology. This study of S. vulgaris will yield general information about genetic processes in small populations. Finally, gynodioecy is important for agriculture because it is used as a tool by plant breeders for increasing crop yield.

0078531 McCauleyGynodioplasty是植物种群中两性和雌性个体共存的一种情况。当突变（称为细胞质雄性不育（CMS）因子）导致雌雄同体失去雄性功能时，它就会出现，同时增加种子产量。了解雌蕊异花菌如何持续存在是植物种群生物学领域的一个持续问题。本项目将联合收割机分子遗传标记和遗传杂交相结合，探讨在蝇子草天然小群体中存在多少不同的CMS因子，以及这些因子在空间上的分布情况。该项目将与数学和计算机模型相结合，以了解当地种群的灭绝和进化如何影响雌蕊花属的进化。首先，CMS因素是“自私DNA”的一个例子。S. vulgaris将是为数不多的将分子标记与自然界中自私元素联系起来的物种之一。其次，研究小种群和分散种群的遗传学对保护生物学具有重要意义。本研究对S. vulgaris将产生关于小种群遗传过程的一般信息。最后，雌蕊异黄酮对农业很重要，因为它被植物育种者用作增加作物产量的工具。