Determining the evolutionary developmental consequences of gene duplications in the SPL family of transcription factors

从营养发育到花卉生产的过渡对植物的健康至关重要。开花时间和沿花轴的分枝程度将影响果实和种子生产，包括农业上重要的植物物种的生产。最近的研究表明，一个转录因子家族(称为鳞状启动子结合蛋白样，或SPL)调控着多种重要的生态和经济性状的发育，包括发育到开花的过渡，决定沿花轴的分枝程度，以及果实成熟。有趣的是，由于历史上的复制事件，在许多开花植物的基因组中发现了多个SPL基因拷贝，并且有证据表明这些SPL拷贝进化出了特殊的功能。该项目将使用遗传学方法来确定复制的SPL基因如何在三个不同的植物物种中发挥作用，以影响关键植物性状的发育，包括向开花和分枝结构的过渡。此外，这个项目将研究SPL蛋白如何调节，或被其他已知影响开花时间和沿花轴分枝的蛋白质调节。放在进化的背景下，这些结果将提供关键的洞察力，了解复制的基因如何划分和优化功能，或进化新功能。这些功能变化可以导致特征多样化，以及决定健康的复杂发育遗传途径中的多样化和专门化。该项目将为博士后研究人员和本科生提供培训，包括来自传统上在科学界代表性较低的群体的学生。培训将提高博士后研究人员和学生在发育遗传学和进化方面的科学专业知识，帮助这些人迈向成功的研究和教学事业。该项目将促进与区域6-12年级教师的接触，帮助将以探究为基础的科学学习带入课堂。

The transition from vegetative development to the production of flowers is critical to plant fitness. Flowering time, and the extent of branching along the flowering axis will impact fruit and seed production, including production in agriculturally important plant species. Recent work has demonstrated that a family of transcription factor proteins (called SQUAMOSA-PROMOTER BINDING PROTEIN LIKE, or SPL) regulates the development of diverse ecologically and economically important traits including the developmental transition to flowering, determining the extent of branching along the flowering axis, and fruit ripening. Interestingly, due to historical duplication events, multiple SPL gene copies are found in the genome of many flowering plant species, and there is evidence that these SPL copies have evolved specialized functions. This project will use genetic approaches to determine how duplicated SPL genes function in three divergent plant species to affect the development of critical plant traits including transition to flowering and branching architecture. In addition, this project will investigate how SPL proteins regulate, or are regulated by, other proteins known to affect flowering time and branching along the flowering axis. Placed in an evolutionary context the results will provide critical insight into how duplicated genes can partition and optimize function, or evolve novel function. These functional changes can lead to trait diversification as well as diversification and specialization within the complex developmental genetic pathways that determine fitness. This project will provide training to a postdoctoral researcher and undergraduate students, including students from groups traditionally underrepresented in the sciences. Training will advance the scientific expertise of the postdoctoral researcher and students at the interface of developmental genetics and evolution, aiding these individuals in moving forward to successful research and teaching careers. This project will facilitate outreach to regional 6-12th grade teachers, helping to bring inquiry-based scientific learning to the classroom.