Contagious Asexuality via Introgressive Hybridization: a Test of Hypotheses using Genetic Mapping in Flowering Plants

生物学中广泛关注的一个问题是不同物种之间的杂交(“杂交”)对当地物种之间杂交的动态和结果的影响。杂交包括从栽培作物中逃脱转基因等各种现象。这项拟议的研究旨在从遗传学的角度研究通过杂交在植物中传播不受精就能产生种子的能力，这种现象被称为无融合生殖。本研究以一种常见草本植物(灯盏花科、灯盏花科、向日葵科)中的有性和无融合生殖植物为研究对象。使用分子标记的遗传作图将被用来检验与性状传播速度有关的不同假说，也将被用来评估影响无融合生殖的基因组区域的数量、位置和相互作用。这项研究很重要，因为它为无性生殖的遗传学和进化提供了一个新的视角。结果将有助于(1)将无融合生殖从野生物种转移到农艺物种的努力；(2)在自然种群中维持有性繁殖的模型；以及(3)我们对基因相互作用如何影响杂交过程动态的理解。此外，该项目的资金将用于培训几名分子生物学的本科生和研究生。

An issue of broad concern in biology is the impact of hybridization ("crossing") between different species, which encompasses phenomena as diverse as the escape of transgenes from cultivated crops, to the dynamics and outcomes of hybridization between native species. The proposed research aims to study from a genetic perspective the spread by hybridization of the ability in plants to produce seeds without fertilization, a phenomenon termed apomixis. In this research, hybrids between sexual and apomictic plants in a common herb (fleabane, Erigeron, sunflower plant family) will be studied. Genetic mapping using molecular markers will be used to test different hypotheses relating to the tempo of trait spread and also to evaluate the number, location, and interactions among genome regions affecting apomictic reproduction. This research is important because it provides a novel perspective on the genetics and evolution of asexual reproduction. Results will inform (1) efforts to transfer apomictic reproduction from wild to agronomic species; (2) models for the maintenance of sexual reproduction in natural populations; and (3) our understanding of how gene interactions influence the dynamics of the hybridization process. In addition, money from this project will be used to train several undergraduate and graduate students in molecular biology.