Dissertation Research: Chitinase Subfunctionalization in Carnivorous Plants: the Caryophyllales as a Test Case

几丁质酶是一类植物蛋白，可以通过水解昆虫外骨骼和真菌细胞壁中的几丁质来阻止草食和病原体。在植物食肉动物的进化过程中，几丁质酶基因可能发生了复制和分化，产生了一些现在在食肉动物中起作用的基因。本项目将有助于进一步了解石竹属植物几丁质酶基因和食肉性的进化过程。石竹属植物是主要的食肉植物类群之一。本研究将重建肉食性类群的进化史，研究几丁质酶基因的分化，确定几丁质酶类型之间的进化选择，并记录其基因表达模式。本研究首次分析了几丁质酶基因家族的进化及其与植物食肉性的关系。该研究结果不仅有助于进一步了解几丁质酶功能的适应性多样化过程，还将为进一步了解石竹科植物间的关系提供科学依据。该项目还将为本科生提供指导和基于研究的培训，并将向公众传播有关食肉植物及其进化生物学的信息。

Chitinases are a group of plant proteins that can deter herbivory and pathogens by hydrolyzing chitin in insect exoskeletons and fungal cell walls. During the evolution of plant carnivory, chitinase genes may have duplicated and diverged, giving rise to some that now function in carnivory. This project will advance understanding of the evolution of chitinase genes and carnivory in the Caryophyllales, one of the major plant groups that has evolved carnivory. This study will reconstruct an evolutionary history of carnivorous taxa, study divergence of chitinase genes, determine evolutionary selection among types of chitinases, and document their patterns of gene expression. This study is the first to analyze the evolution of the chitinase gene family and it relationship with plant carnivory. In addition to improving understanding of the process of adaptive diversification of chitinase function, the results will provide scientific infrastructure in the form of increased understanding of relationships between taxa of Caryophyllales. The project also will provide mentoring and research-based training for undergraduates and will transmit information on carnivorous plants and their evolutionary biology to the general public.