Dissertation Research:Speciation is Reinforced by Natural Selecion in Plants: A Test Within The Genus Mimulus

论文研究：植物中自然选择强化了物种形成：酸浆属内的测试

• 批准号: 0910038
• 负责人: Maureen Stanton
• 金额: $ 1.36万
• 依托单位: University of California-Davis
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2009
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2009-08-15 至 2012-01-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0910038&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Dissertation; Research; Speciation; Reinforced; Natural

Selection for increased reproductive isolation, termed reinforcement, was first proposed by Dobzhansky in 1937 and remains a controversial topic in the study of species formation. Reinforcement is increasingly being tested in many closely related organisms, however, only a single study has tested its role in plant species formation and no study has directly measured natural selection for increased reproductive isolation in the face of ongoing gene exchange. Comparative and experimental methods will be used to examine the role of reinforcement in the plant genus Mimulus, a model system in evolution and ecology. Increased floral divergence was observed between closely related species pairs with overlapping ranges, a pattern consistent with reinforcement. Research funded by this award will address whether the observed floral divergence is associated with mating system shifts and directly measure selection on floral traits that increase reproductive isolation in the field. Self-pollination rates of multiple populations of 16 species pairs will be quantified in the greenhouse, and molecular tools will be used to confirm self-pollination rates in natural populations in the field. Those studies will be followed by a field-based genotypic selection experiment to measure selection on floral traits that increase reproductive isolation. This research will constitute a strong test of a mechanism that is thought to play an important role in the formation of new species. It will have both strong intellectual merit and, because it will have the potential to improve public understanding of the evolutionary process, strong broader impacts. Other broader impacts of this project include mentoring of two undergraduate students who will participate in the research, and support for a doctoral student.

增加生殖隔离的选择，被称为强化，是由Dobzhansky在1937年首次提出的，并且在物种形成的研究中仍然是一个有争议的话题。强化越来越多地在许多密切相关的生物体中进行测试，然而，只有一项研究测试了它在植物物种形成中的作用，并且没有研究直接测量了面对正在进行的基因交换时增加生殖隔离的自然选择。比较和实验的方法将被用来检查在植物属Mimulus，在进化和生态学的模型系统强化的作用。密切相关的物种对重叠的范围，加强一致的模式之间的分歧增加。由该奖项资助的研究将解决观察到的花分化是否与交配系统的转变有关，并直接测量对增加田间生殖隔离的花性状的选择。将在温室中量化16个物种对的多个种群的自花授粉率，并将使用分子工具来确认田间自然种群的自花授粉率。这些研究之后将进行一个基于田间的基因型选择实验，以测量增加生殖隔离的花性状的选择。这项研究将对一种被认为在新物种形成中起重要作用的机制进行强有力的测试。它既有很强的学术价值，又有很强的广泛影响，因为它有可能提高公众对演变过程的理解。该项目的其他更广泛的影响包括指导两名将参与研究的本科生，并支持一名博士生。