DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Genetics and Evolutionary Ecology of a Flower Color Diversification in Chilean Mimulus

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Floral pigmentation has great potential for studies of phenotypic evolution because it is evolutionarily labile, ecologically important, and molecularly well characterized. This proposal takes advantage of genetic resources from the plant model system Mimulus guttatus to address questions about the genetic basis and fitness effects of novel floral pigment patterns in related, non-model species. Loci underlying novel patterns of floral pigmentation in several species of Chilean Mimulus will be identified. Following a pollination study using pure species, the fitness consequences of a single large-effect patterning gene will be evaluated in nature.This project represents the first use of genetic and molecular tools from M. guttatus to advance progress in virtually unstudied non-model species. It addresses fundamental questions about the nature and maintenance of natural variation by synthesizing classical ecological approaches with sophisticated genetic tools. It involves international collaboration with Chilean scientists, and will continue to provide opportunities for mentoring high school and undergraduate students in biology research.