DISSERTATION RESEARCH: The role of reproductive trait shifts in the diversification of Oenothera (Onagraceae)

许多开花植物的进化和多样化与花朵与昆虫和其他为其授粉的动物的相互作用（授粉系统）以及单个植物自花受精或与其他物种异花授粉的能力（育种系统）有关。 这些特征在开花植物物种之间差异很大，但有些物种在传粉媒介和受精类型方面非常专业。 长期以来一直争论不休的一个假设是，拥有专门针对特定传粉媒介的花朵是否会导致更多植物物种的进化多样化。 该项目旨在研究月见草植物家族中数十个物种的传粉媒介和育种系统，以检验这一假设。 研究人员将使用几个基因的DNA序列来重建这些月见草的进化树，并且研究小组将检查授粉过程的细节，例如传粉媒介的类型以及它们采集的花蜜和花粉。 然后，他们将确定传粉媒介和育种系统的变化是否与更多物种的进化有关。该研究的更广泛影响包括对本科生进行实地和实验室研究培训以及与植物生态学家开展合作。 这笔赠款支持一名女研究生的研究，她将与当地高中进行外展工作，并向保护团体授课。 月见草是许多依赖动物传粉媒介进行繁殖的植物之一，该组中这些相互作用的细节对于理解植物繁殖过程非常重要。

The evolution and diversification of many flowering plants is linked to the interactions of flowers with the insects and other animals that pollinate them (pollination system), as well as to the ability of a single plant to self-fertilize or cross-pollinate with others of its species (breeding system). These traits vary widely among flowering plant species, but some species are very specialized in the pollinators and the type of fertilization they use. One hypothesis that has been long debated is whether having flowers that are specialized for particular pollinators leads to the evolutionary diversification of more plant species. This project aims to study pollinator and breeding systems in a group of several dozen species in the evening primrose plant family to test this hypothesis. The researchers will use DNA sequences of several genes to reconstruct the evolutionary tree of these evening primroses, and the team will examine details of the pollination process, such as types of pollinators and the nectar and pollen gathered by them. They will then determine whether shifts in pollinator and breeding systems are associated with the evolution of greater numbers of species.The broader impacts of the study include the training of undergraduates in field and laboratory research and the development of collaborations with plant ecologists. The grant supports the research of a female graduate student, who will do outreach work with local high schools and give lectures to conservation groups. Evening primroses are one of many groups of plants that depend upon animal pollinators for their reproduction, and the details of these interactions in the group are important to understand the process of plant reproduction.