Dissertation Research: Maintenance of a Color-pattern Polymorphism in Green Swordtails, Xiphophorus helleri: Natural and Sexual Selection

论文研究：剑尾鱼颜色图案多态性的维持：自然选择和性选择

• 批准号: 0407923
• 负责人: B. Rosemary Grant
• 金额: $ 1.03万
• 依托单位: Princeton University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2004
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2004-06-01 至 2006-05-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0407923&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Dissertation; Research; Maintenance; Color; pattern

Animal and plant species are remarkably variable in many characters, e.g., body coloration in snow geese and petal color in morning glories. A fundamental question in biology is how genetic variation is maintained in wild populations. Many species in the fish genus Xiphophorus show uniformly gray forms as well as forms with different black pigment patterns; this variation has a simple genetic basis. In this study Dr. Rosemary Grant and Christiane Meyer investigate the maintenance of spotted and gray forms in X. helleri with field surveys of natural populations as well as laboratory experiments testing hypotheses on the interplay of mate choice, predation, and season-dependent visibility. X. helleri is a suitable model system because these fish are easily bred in the laboratory and can also be studied in the clear, shallow waters of their natural habitat.The color pattern in Xiphophorus provides a tangible link between the external characteristics of an organism and their underlying genetic mechanisms, and furnishes a tractable system with which to explore fundamental biological phenomena. This project will educate laypersons, grade schoolers and college students in theoretical and practical aspects of the research and train research assistants, both in Belize and New Jersey.

动物和植物物种在许多特征上都有显著的变化，例如，雪雁的身体颜色和牵牛花的花瓣颜色。 生物学中的一个基本问题是遗传变异如何在野生种群中维持。 剑尾鱼属的许多物种都显示出一致的灰色形态以及不同的黑色色素模式;这种变异有一个简单的遗传基础。 在这项研究中，迷迭香·格兰特博士和克里斯蒂安·迈耶博士研究了X染色体上斑点和灰色形态的维持。helleri与自然种群的实地调查，以及实验室实验测试假设的相互作用的配偶选择，捕食，和季节依赖的能见度。 X. helleri是一个合适的模式系统，因为这些鱼很容易在实验室中繁殖，也可以在其自然栖息地的清澈、浅水沃茨中进行研究。剑尾鱼的颜色模式提供了生物体外部特征与其潜在遗传机制之间的有形联系，并建立了一个易于处理的系统，用于探索基本的生物现象。 该项目将在伯利兹和新泽西对非专业人员、小学生和大学生进行研究的理论和实践方面的教育，并培训研究助理。