Phenotypic Plasticity, Parental Effects, and Parental Care in Plants: An Examination of Spike Reflectance in Plantago lanceolata

莱西博士将解决有关植物反射模式的基本问题。先前对长叶车前的实验表明，在开花季节，1）温暖的温度比凉爽的温度产生更高质量的后代，2）长叶车前的生殖结构调整了它们反射（反过来吸收）的太阳辐射量，以响应当时的温度。例如，当温度较低时，发育中的花朵和果实会产生色素，减少反射率并增加吸收。莱西博士将测量反射模式中这种可塑性反应对种子数量和后代质量的影响，她将测试反射模式中这种可塑性是适应性的假设，换句话说，通过调整反射率，父母温度调节受精和早期后代发育，以提高种子产量和后代质量。莱西博士还将测试来自不同纬度和海拔的人群在整体反射模式上存在遗传差异的假设。首先，实验将明确研究反射率如何帮助植物温度调节种子产量和质量，这是农艺学以及进化的重要性。由于目前关于植物温度调节的知识可以忽略不计，披针叶松将作为收集数据的模式生物，这些数据以后可以应用于作物物种。 其次，这些数据将提高我们对自然和作物种群的种子生产和质量如何应对全球变暖的理解。

Dr. Lacey will address fundamental questions about plant reflectance patterns. Previous experiments with Plantago lanceolata show that during the flowering season, 1) warm temperatures produce higher quality offspring than do cool temperatures and 2) the reproductive structures in P. lanceolata adjust the amount of incoming solar radiation that they reflect (and conversely absorb) in response to prevailing temperature. For example, when temperatures are low, developing flowers and fruits produce pigments that reduce reflectance and increase absorption. Dr. Lacey will measure the effects of this plastic response in reflectance pattern on seed quantity and offspring quality, and she will test the hypothesis that this plasticity in reflectance is adaptive, in other words, that by adjusting reflectance, parents thermoregulate fertilization and early offspring development to enhance seed production and offspring quality. Dr. Lacey will also test the hypothesis that populations from different latitudes and altitudes differ genetically in overall reflectance pattern.There are two practical aspects of the experiments. First, experiments will explicitly examine how reflectance helps plants thermoregulate seed production and quality, which are of agronomic as well as evolutionary importance. Because current knowledge about thermoregulation in plants is negligible, P. lanceolata will serve as a model organism for collecting data that can later be applied to crop species. Second, the data will improve our understanding of how seed production and quality in natural and crop populations will respond to global warming.