DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Assessing the General Importance of Frequency-Dependent Selection in Plant Breeding Systems.

人们早就认识到，一种交配类型的成功取决于它在种群中的频率。虽然存在一些频率依赖选择的经验例子，但其在植物交配进化动力学中的普遍重要性尚未得到证明。本研究将以卡罗来纳茄（Solanum carolinense）作为模型系统来回答以下问题：i)通过雌性和雄性的适合度成分对雄花的相对产生作用的选择模式是什么？ii)正如理论预测的那样，选择是否依赖于这种特征的频率？iii)如果是这样，这种频率依赖的选择是否解释了自然种群中雄花的中等比例的维持？这些问题将通过田间和温室实验的结合，以及单株植物的基因指纹图谱来解决。这一建议的智力价值在于测试了性理论中的一个基本预测，即雄性偏向分配的选择是频率依赖的，从而为更彻底地理解植物交配系统提供了所需的信息。该项目的更广泛影响将通过鼓励不同群体的参与，特别是对科学感兴趣的本科生和拉丁裔学生的参与，加强学术界。

It has been long recognized that the success of a mating type depends on its frequency in the population. Although a few empirical examples of frequency-dependent selection exist, its general importance in the evolutionary dynamics of plant mating has yet to be documented. The proposed study will use Solanum carolinense, a species that carries both male and hermaphroditic flowers within individuals, as a model system to answer: i) What is the pattern of selection acting through both female and male components of fitness on the relative production of male flowers? ii) Is selection acting on this trait frequency-dependent, as predicted by theory? iii) If so, does this frequencydependent selection explain the maintenance of intermediate proportions of male flowers in natural populations? These questions will be addressed through a combination of field and greenhouse experiments, and genetic fingerprinting of individual plants. The intellectual merit of this proposal is to test a fundamental prediction in sexual theory, i.e. that selection on male-biased allocation is frequency-dependent, thus contributing information needed for a more thorough understanding of plant mating systems. The broader impact of this project will enhance the academic community by encouraging the participation of diverse groups, particularly undergraduate and Latino students with an interest in science.