COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: Genetic and developmental changes associated with the evolution of a hummingbird-pollination floral syndrome

合作研究：与蜂鸟授粉花卉综合症的进化相关的遗传和发育变化

• 批准号: 1255808
• 负责人: Lena Hileman
• 金额: $ 7.33万
• 依托单位: University of Kansas Center for Research Inc
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2013
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2013-01-15 至 2017-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1255808&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: COLLABORATIVE; RESEARCH; Genetic; developmental; changes

Flowers exhibit a multitude of forms that are astounding to human observers, but critical to the reproductive success of plants, and much of floral diversity has been shaped by evolutionary interactions between flowers and pollinators. Evolutionary shifts from bee- to bird-pollinated flowers have occurred numerous times, and contributed significantly to flower diversity. Yet there are two central issues that remain largely unexplored. What are the genetic changes that allow for an evolutionary transition from bee- to bird-pollination floral syndrome? And do similar genetic changes explain the many independent transitions to flowers optimized for bird pollination? The genus Penstemon is one of a few flowering plant groups well suited to address these questions - bird pollination has evolved more than ten times independently, and many species are inter-fertile, allowing for a genetic approach to determine the genes responsible for a complex suite of floral traits associated with bird-pollination. This project will develop molecular genetic tools in two closely related bee- and bird-pollinated Penstemon species. Tools will include transgenic approaches, genome sequencing and genetic mapping that will allow the researchers to explore the genetic changes necessary for a transition from bee- to bird-pollination floral traits. These early insights into the genetics of a pollination system shift will establish the foundation for a novel, highly integrative approach involving evolutionary, ecological, genetic and developmental studies to determine processes that underlie the evolution of complex traits. This project will contribute to the training of a postdoctoral researcher and undergraduate students at the interface of plant evolutionary genetics and development, and provide individuals from the emerging generation of scientists with skills in applying next-generation sequencing technology to critical questions of trait evolution. Undergraduates will be recruited through nationally funded programs at the University of Kansas aimed at increasing participation of underrepresented groups in STEM fields.

花展现出多种形式，这对人类观察者来说是令人震惊的，但对植物的繁殖成功至关重要，而且花的多样性在很大程度上是由花和传粉者之间的进化相互作用形成的。从蜜蜂到鸟类授粉的进化转变已经发生了无数次，并对花卉多样性做出了重大贡献。然而，有两个核心问题在很大程度上仍未得到探讨。是什么样的遗传变化使得蜜蜂授粉的花综合征进化到鸟类授粉的花综合征？类似的基因变化是否可以解释许多独立的过渡到鸟类授粉的花朵？羽蕊花属是少数几个很适合解决这些问题的开花植物类群之一-鸟类授粉已经独立进化了十多次，许多物种是互育的，允许遗传方法来确定负责与鸟类授粉相关的一套复杂的花性状的基因。该项目将在两种密切相关的蜜蜂和鸟类授粉的Penstemon物种中开发分子遗传工具。工具将包括转基因方法，基因组测序和遗传图谱，这将使研究人员能够探索从蜜蜂到鸟类授粉的花卉特征过渡所需的遗传变化。这些早期的见解授粉系统转变的遗传学将建立一个新的，高度综合的方法，涉及进化，生态，遗传和发育研究，以确定复杂性状的进化过程的基础的基础。该项目将有助于培养博士后研究人员和本科生在植物进化遗传学和发展的接口，并提供来自新兴一代科学家的个人在应用下一代测序技术的关键问题性状进化的技能。本科生将通过堪萨斯大学的国家资助项目招募，旨在增加STEM领域代表性不足的群体的参与。