DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Evolution of Copper Tolerance in Mimulus guttatus

本项目将通过实验田研究和基因组技术相结合的方法，以野花含羞草为模式系统，阐明其对铜矿污染土壤的适应机制。研究人员已经绘制了一个影响铜耐受性的基因图谱，现在将通过相互移植实验来评估该基因在田间的健康益处。由于适应通常是通过一系列微小的基因变化进行的，研究人员还致力于绘制更多与铜耐受性有关的基因图谱，并确定这些基因如何相互作用并对耐受性做出贡献。全基因组测序和分子生物学的最新进展使研究人员能够开始识别有助于适应的基因。这项研究项目的独特之处在于，旨在研究多个相互作用的基因对自然种群中一个适应性特征的影响。Mimulus对铜的耐受性是最近适应由于人类采矿活动而受到重金属污染的环境的教科书例子。通过确定这种适应的潜在遗传基础，这项研究将有助于理解进化的基本机制。这项研究还将有助于对未来科学家的科学培训，包括代表人数不足的少数群体和妇女。

This project will elucidate the mechanisms of adaptation to soil contaminated by copper mining using the wildflower Mimulus guttatus as a model system, through a combination of experimental field studies and genomic techniques. The researchers have genetically mapped one gene contributing to copper tolerance and now will estimate the fitness benefits of this gene in the field with a reciprocal transplant experiment. Because adaptation often proceeds by a series of small genetic changes, the investigators also aim to map additional genes contributing to copper tolerance, and determine how these genes interact and contribute to tolerance.The recent advances in whole genome sequencing and molecular biology have enabled researchers to begin to identify genes that contribute to adaptation. This research project is unique in aiming to study the effects of multiple, interacting genes on an adaptive trait in natural populations. Copper tolerance of Mimulus is a textbook example of recent adaptation to environments contaminated with heavy metals as the result of human mining activity. By determining the underlying genetic basis of this adaptation this research will contribute to the understanding of basic mechanisms of evolution. This research will also contributed to the scientific training of future scientists, including underrepresented minorities and women.