DISSERTATION RESEARCH: The evolution of leaf developmental genetics in carnivorous pitcher plants

肉食性猪笼草是适应贫瘠土壤的一个有趣的例子。值得注意的是，猪笼式捕虫器在植物中独立进化了三次。水壶是如何从平叶进化而来的？水壶的每一次独立进化都涉及相同的基因变化，还是它们代表了制造相似结构的完全不同的方式？为了解决这些问题，这项研究将应用来自模式植物的基因发现来检验导致肉食性猪笼草从扁叶进化的基因变化的假说。这项研究将评估已知参与叶片形成的基因的表达模式和沉默，并比较它们在三组猪笼草中的作用。这项研究将为不同背景的高中生和本科生提供研究性培训。此外，这些植物激发公众兴趣的能力将有助于通过各种媒体形式传播科学原理和这项研究的结果。本研究对生物技术的应用具有一定的借鉴意义。为研究猪笼草叶片发育而提出的基因沉默方法的建立，可能有助于推进蛋白质收获技术和在具有重要农学意义的植物中的基因发现。

Carnivorous pitcher plants are a fascinating example of adaptation to nutrient-poor soils. Remarkably, the pitcher insect trap evolved three times independently in plants. How did the pitcher evolve from a flat leaf? Did each separate evolution of the pitcher involve the same genetic changes, or do they represent completely different ways of making a similar structure? To address these questions, this study will apply genetic findings from model plants to test hypotheses of the genetic changes responsible for the evolution of the carnivorous pitcher from a flat leaf. This research will evaluate expression patterns and silencing of genes known to be involved in leaf formation and compare their role in the three groups of pitcher plants.This research will provide research-based training for high school and undergraduate students with diverse backgrounds. Furthermore, the ability of these plants to excite public interest will aid in the communication of both scientific principles and the findings of this study through various media formats. This study has possible benefits for the application of biotechnology. The establishment of a method for silencing genes, as proposed for the study of leaf development in pitcher plants, could help advance protein harvesting technology and gene discovery in plants of agronomic importance.