A Genomic Experiment to Determine the Nature of Epistasis in Mimulus Guttatus

生物体最有趣的特征，包括那些对农业和人类健康最重要的特征，通常是那些不断变化的特征，如身高或体重。这些性状的变异受基因和环境的影响。遗传贡献是复杂的，涉及许多不同遗传位点的相互作用。基因座相互作用影响性状的方式，上位性，在很大程度上是未知的。所提出的实验将提供模式植物猴花（Mimulus guttatus）中上位性的详细描述。这种野花在花形态、发育时间和雄性适合度成分方面表现出大量的遗传变异。上位性影响这些性状中的每一个，但目前还不清楚相互作用是否涉及影响方向的变化。在一个遗传背景中增加性状值的等位基因，当与其他基因座上不同的等位基因组合时，是否会减少性状值？ 这个问题的答案对一系列领域的基础研究和应用研究都有明确的影响。这些领域包括进化生物学、自然保护、医学和农业。这个问题将通过应用最近开发的基因组工具来解决，这些工具是由美国国家科学基金会综合生物研究前沿基金（FIBR）资助的。 拟议的研究也有一个教育组成部分，特别侧重于培养美洲原住民学生在生物学方面的高级研究。

The most interesting characteristics of organisms, including those most important for both agriculture and human health, are usually ones that vary continuously like height or weight. Variation in such traits is influenced by both genes and environments. The genetic contribution is complex, involving the interaction of many different genetic loci. The ways that loci interact to influence traits, epistasis, is largely unknown. The proposed experiments will provide a detailed description of epistasis in the model plant monkeyflower (Mimulus guttatus). This wildflower exhibits substantial genetic variation in floral morphology, development time, and male fitness components. Epistasis influences each of these traits, but it is unclear whether interactions involve changes in the direction of effects. Does an allele that increases trait values in one genetic background reduce trait values when combined with a different constellation of alleles at other loci? The answer to this question has clear implications for both basic and applied studies in a range of fields. These include evolutionary biology, conservation, medicine, and agriculture. The question will be addressed by applying genomic tools recently developed from an NSF Frontiers in Integrative Biological Research (FIBR) grant. The proposed studies also have an educational component, with a specific focus on preparing Native American students for advanced studies in biology.