Collaborative Research: Quantiative Trait Loci (QTL) and Field Selection Studies of Parental Effects on Seasonal Dormancy in Arabidopsis thaliana

种子萌发的季节性时间可能会对植物的生存和繁殖产生关键影响。在许多植物物种中，种子的季节性休眠和萌发时间受到亲本植物所经历的环境的强烈影响。本研究将探讨种子休眠的遗传控制和亲本环境对一年生杂草拟南芥休眠的影响。遗传作图将确定与季节休眠、亲本环境影响和田间条件下的适合性相关的染色体区域(数量性状基因座或QTL)。对亲本日长和季节性萌发环境的实验操作将调查亲本环境对季节性休眠的影响如何影响田间的生存和繁殖。这项研究将是第一批确定与季节休眠、父母的影响以及自然条件下的健康相关的基因之一。这将为拟南芥发育的众多分子遗传学研究提供重要的生态学背景。这些结果将阐明植物特征的分子基础和生态背景，这些特征对植物在不同环境中的生存和表现至关重要。对环境线索的适当萌发反应可能有助于植物种群在多变的环境中持续存在或扩展到新的生境。因此，这项研究的结果将对了解农业杂草和入侵植物物种的进化动态以及在不断变化的环境中管理稀有或濒危植物种群具有重要意义。

The seasonal timing of seed germination may have critical consequences for plant survival and reproduction. In many plant species, seasonal seed dormancy and germination timing are strongly influenced by the environment experienced by the parental plant. This study will investigate the genetic control of seed dormancy and parental environmental effects on dormancy in the annual weed Arabidopsis thaliana, a species widely used for molecular genetic studies. Genetic mapping will identify chromosomal regions (quantitative trait loci or QTL) associated with variation in seasonal dormancy, parental environmental effects, and fitness under field conditions. Experimental manipulation of parental day length and the seasonal germination environment will investigate how parental environmental effects on seasonal dormancy influence survival and reproduction in the field. This study will be among the first to identify genes associated with seasonal dormancy, parental effects, and fitness under natural conditions. It will provide an important ecological context for numerous molecular genetic studies of development in A. thaliana. The results will elucidate the molecular basis and ecological context of a plant character crucial to survival and performance in variable environments. Appropriate germination responses to environmental cues may contribute to the persistence of plant populations in a variable environment or their expansion into novel habitats. The results of this study will be therefore be relevant for understanding the evolutionary dynamics of agricultural weeds and invasive plant species, as well as the management of rare or endangered plant populations in changing environments.