International Research Fellowship Program: Origins of Polyploidy in Achillea Millefolium

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0202729RamseyThe International Research Fellowship Program enables U.S. scientists and engineers to conduct three to twenty-four months of research abroad. The program's awards provide opportunities for joint research, and the use of unique or complementary facilities, expertise and experimental conditions abroad.This award will support a twenty-four month research fellowship by Dr. Justin M. Ramsey to work with Dr. Brian C. Husband at the University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada.This project will involve the investigation of Achillea millefolium (asteraceae), a native wildflower with tetraploid and hexaploid populations. Recent studies document the local adaptation of hexaploid genotypes to xeric environments. This research extends those investigations to address the following questions: (1) What are the dynamics of polyploid establishment, and how do genetic and ecological factors influence this process?; and (2) What is the phylogenetic history of polyploidy in North American Achillea? Numerical simulations based on a life-history model (transitions from gamete to seed, seed to seedling, seedling to adult, and adult to gamete) will track the fate of hexaploid mutants in tetraploid populations, and identify the conditions in which hexaploid populations establish and persist. Previous empirical data will be used to parameterize the simulation. Phylogenetic analyses of Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphisms (AFLP) genetic markers and DNA sequence data will be conducted at both regional and continental geographic scales to quantify local incidences of hexaploid formation as well as successful establishments of hexaploids over the species range. This multi-faceted research will elucidate the mechanisms, ecological significance, and patterns of polyploid evolution.Dr. Husband has a strong background in molecular markers, population genetics, and quantitative methods in ecology and evolution. He has developed quantitative approaches in polyploidy research.