DISSERTATION RESEARCH: The role of the Z-chromosome in the reproductive isolation of Passerina buntings (Aves: Cardinalidae)

模式生物之间杂交的研究对我们理解新物种的形成非常重要，但不太可能完全捕捉到物种形成和杂交是如何在自然系统中进行的。在这项拟议的项目中，研究人员调查了Indigo(蓝雀)和Lazuli(P.amoena)(鸟类：红雀科)之间生殖隔离的遗传基础，它们形成了一个杂交区域，它们的繁殖范围重叠。初步数据表明，不同的遗传位点(线粒体、核常染色体、核Z连锁)在杂交区表现出不同的渗入，并暗示Z染色体对鸟类物种形成有相对较大的影响。在这里，多个Z连锁基因座的遗传渗透模式将与理论预测相结合，以检验旨在识别导致这些物种之间生殖隔离的基因的假说。除了研究将对我们理解近缘物种之间生殖隔离的进化产生的影响外，收集的数据还将用于评估青杨的范围扩大。观察数据表明，蓝藻的繁育范围正在向西扩大，可能是以牺牲羊肚菌为代价的，因此准确了解它们之间的杂交模式对于保护目的可能是重要的。

Studies of hybridization between model organisms have been extremely important to our understanding of the formation of new species, but are unlikely to fully capture how speciation and hybridization proceed in natural systems. In the proposed project, the researchers investigate the genetic basis of reproductive isolation between Indigo (Passerina cyanea) and Lazuli (P. amoena) buntings (Aves: Cardinalidae), which form a hybrid zone where their breeding ranges overlap. Preliminary data suggest that different genetic loci (mitochondrial, nuclear autosomal, nuclear Z-linked) exhibit differential introgression across the hybrid zone and implicate the Z-chromosome as having a relatively large impact on avian speciation. Here, patterns of genetic introgression of multiple Z-linked loci will be combined with theoretical predictions to test hypotheses aimed at identifying genes contributing to reproductive isolation between these species.Beyond the impact the research will have on our understanding of the evolution of reproductive isolation between closely related species, the data collected will also allow for assessments of range expansion in P. cyanea. Observational data suggests the breeding range of P. cyanea is expanding westward, perhaps at the expense of P. amoena, such that an accurate knowledge of the patterns of hybridization between them may be important for conservation purposes.