RIG: Developmental Genetics of Pollination-Related Floral Phenotypes in Thalictrum

被子植物，或开花植物，包括雏菊，罂粟，玫瑰和橡树等常见的生物，是迄今为止最成功的陆地植物群。几个世纪以来，杰出的科学家和哲学家一直想知道花卉形式的惊人多样性是如何形成的。 迄今为止，基因组学和遗传学领域的新工具正在出现，可以帮助解决这些长期存在的问题。 本计画针对毛茛科植物中具有多种花型的“草甸芸香”，探讨花形态变化的基因。为了使花产生种子，它们需要授粉。这意味着花粉，精子承载结构，需要被运送到雌性结构以实现受精。这个项目将比较昆虫和风授粉的花，调查影响授粉的花特征的基因。为此，研究人员采用跨学科的方法，使用显微镜和分子生物学来评估基因表达和功能，（构建基因和物种的树或系谱），以了解这些花的形态是如何进化的，并揭示这些特定基因在其进化中的作用。首席研究员与本科生，主要是女性和/或少数民族，谁将直接受益于这个奖项。她将教授本科和研究生课程，包括在校园内与近400名学生的生物学入门课程。更好地了解植物传粉者相互作用的遗传基础对农业有影响，因为它的操作可以提高种子产量。对使花对昆虫传粉者更具吸引力的基因进行表征，为花卉种植业带来了额外的好处。

The angiosperms, or flowering plants, include organisms as familiar as daisies, poppies, roses and oaks, and are by far the most successful group of land plants. Prominent scientists and philosophers have wondered over centuries about how the amazing diversity of floral form came to be. To date, new tools in genomics and genetics are becoming available to help address these long-standing questions. This project addresses the question of what are the genes underlying changes in flower morphology by focusing on "meadow rues" in the buttercup family having a variety of floral types. In order for flowers to produce seeds, they need to be pollinated. This means that pollen, the sperm bearing structure, needs to be transported to the female structures to achieve fertilization. This project will compare insect and wind pollinated flowers, investigating genes that are responsible for floral features that affect pollination. To this end, the investigator takes an interdisciplinary approach using microscopy and molecular biology to assess gene expression and function, and phylogenetics (building trees or genealogies of genes and species) to understand how these floral morphologies evolved and reveal the role of these particular genes in their evolution.The principal investigator has worked extensively with undergraduates, mostly women and/or minorities, who will directly benefit as a result of this Award. She will teach undergraduate and graduate courses, including introductory biology course on campus with close to 400 students. A better understanding of the genetic basis of plant pollinator interactions has an impact on agriculture, since its manipulation can improve seed production. Characterization of the genes involved in making flower more attractive to insect pollinators has the added bonus of producing desirable traits for the floriculture industry.