Dissertation Research: Polyploidy and Androgenesis in the Invasive Clam Genus Corbicula

北美引进了两种亚洲文蛤。这些文蛤有一种不同寻常的无性交配系统，所有的后代都是父亲的克隆。在交配过程中，精子会导致卵子排出整个母体基因组--实质上是寄生卵子。物种之间的竞争实验将决定一个物种是否能够通过寄生另一个物种来传播到美国的河流。在所有亚洲文蛤中，有几个物种具有这种类型的无性繁殖，而其余的物种则进行有性繁殖。对DNA序列数据的分析将揭示亚洲文蛤有性和无性物种基因之间的相似和差异。这些比较将被用来确定有性繁殖物种的寄生是否导致这种无性交配系统传播到新物种。一旦在一个地区建立起来，亚洲文蛤可能会变得非常丰富，堵塞进水口管道，给工业带来问题。它们还通过在南部河流和小溪中取代美洲原住民淡水双壳类而导致它们的衰落。这些实验的结果将有助于为控制方法的发展提供信息。此外，这项研究将增加科学家对是什么驱使无性恋取代有性生殖的理解。

Two species of Asian clams have been introduced into North America. These clams have an unusual asexual mating system in which all offspring are clones of the father. During mating, sperm will cause the egg to eject the entire maternal genome-essentially parasitizing the egg. Competition experiments between species will determine whether one species has been able to spread through US rivers by parasitizing the other. Across all Asian clams, several species have this type of asexuality, while the rest reproduce sexually. Analysis of DNA sequence data will reveal similarities and differences between genes of sexual and asexual species of Asian clams. These comparisons will be used to determine whether parasitism of sexually reproducing species caused this asexual mating system to spread to new species.Asian clams can become extremely abundant once established in an area, causing problems for industry by clogging water intake pipes. They also contribute to the decline of native American freshwater bivalves by displacing them in southern rivers and creeks. The outcome of these experiments will help provide information for the development of control methods. In addition, this research will increase scientists' understanding of what drives asexuality to replace sexual reproduction.