Evolution of Maternal Effects in a Model Avian System

模型鸟类系统中母体效应的演变

• 批准号: 0218313
• 负责人: Alexander Badyaev
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: University of Arizona
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2002
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2002-10-01 至 2009-10-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0218313&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Evolution; Maternal; Effects; Model; Avian

A central tenet of evolutionary biology is that natural selection leads to adaptation. Studies of house finches in Montana and Alabama have documented that indeed, these birds have rapidly adapted to the local environment, despite having colonized these highly ecologically distinct areas only in the last few decades. Local adaptations include different sizes and shapes for males and females but these changes have occurred too rapidly to be explained by genetically based changes alone. It has been documented previously that rapid changes in how male and female house finches grow and develop in Montana and Alabama are responsible for differences between the populations. In particular it is the allocation of males and females to different positions in the laying order and strong and sex-specific effects of laying order on growth and development that led to rapid changes in the populations. How such maternal effects can affect the growth of males and females is the focus of this study. This investigation will test whether female allocation of hormones such as testosterone and prolactin, specific nutrients such as carotenoids and lipids, overall nutrient content of eggs, or the timing of egg incubation varies across laying order and how each of these factors affects the growth and development of male and female offspring. Our investigation is fundamental to a better understanding of how natural selection can lead to rapid adaptation to local environments. The ability to adjust the growth patterns of males and females as an adaptation to local environments may have enabled the house finch and some other invasive vertebrate species to colonize highly distinct and changing environments.

进化生物学的一个核心原则是自然选择导致适应。 对蒙大拿州和亚拉巴马州的家雀的研究证明，这些鸟类确实迅速适应了当地的环境，尽管只是在过去几十年里才在这些生态环境高度不同的地区定居。当地的适应包括不同的大小和形状的男性和女性，但这些变化发生得太快，无法解释的基因变化。以前有文献记载，蒙大拿州和亚拉巴马的雄性和雌性家雀生长发育的快速变化是造成种群差异的原因。 特别是，雄性和雌性在产卵顺序中分配到不同的位置，以及产卵顺序对生长和发育的强烈且特定于性别的影响，导致了种群的快速变化。 这种母体效应如何影响雄性和雌性的生长是本研究的重点。这项调查将测试女性分配的激素，如睾酮和催乳素，特定的营养素，如类胡萝卜素和脂质，鸡蛋的整体营养含量，或鸡蛋孵化的时间是否因产蛋顺序而异，以及这些因素如何影响男性和女性后代的生长和发育。我们的研究对于更好地理解自然选择如何导致快速适应当地环境至关重要。 作为对当地环境的适应，调整雄性和雌性生长模式的能力可能使家雀和其他一些入侵脊椎动物物种能够在高度不同和不断变化的环境中定居。