Collaborative Research: Understanding Constraints on Floral Evolution: A Phylogenetic Approach to Comparative Anthocyanin Evolution in Ruellia (Acanthaceae)

一些参与植物色素合成的基因的微小变化，如红色花青素色素，可以对一个谱系的进化轨迹产生巨大影响。新的花朵颜色可能需要一套不同的传粉者，这将影响谱系多样化的能力。该项目结合了新的基因组技术和传统方法，研究了美洲200多种植物Ruellia（棘科）的花色进化权衡。最前沿的基因组学方法将把植物花青素生化途径置于进化的背景下，以理解紫色花朵从红色祖先进化而来的过程。利用本项目拟开发的新型分子标记，重建Ruellia的系统发育或家谱；这些标记随后将对许多其他研究人员有用。花是人们与自然联系的最常见方式之一：花卉生物学具有吸引广大科学受众的巨大潜力。这项研究将揭示花青素的生化途径，它有助于许多重要的植物功能（例如，吸引传粉者和果实分散者，紫外线防晒，食草动物防御），并且还与人类健康益处（例如，抗癌，抗病毒，炎症，动脉硬化活性；治疗高血压，视力障碍）有关。花青素是人类饮食中常见的成分，存在于经常食用的水果和蔬菜中。这一研究项目将大大增加对花青素生产的遗传基础的认识，因此将对人类健康研究产生影响。

Small changes in a few genes involved in plant pigment synthesis, such as in the red anthocyanin pigments, can have dramatic effect on the evolutionary trajectory of a lineage. The new flower color may require a different suite of pollinators that would influence the ability of the lineage to diversify. This project combines new genomic technologies and traditional methods to investigate the evolutionary trade-offs of flower color evolution in a group of plants, Ruellia (Acanthaceae), with 200+ species in the Americas. Cutting edge genomic approaches will place the plant anthocyanin biochemical pathway in an evolutionary context to understand what happens when, for example, purple flowers evolve from red-flowered ancestors. The phylogeny or family tree of Ruellia will be reconstructed using novel molecular markers to be developed for this project; these markers will subsequently be useful to numerous other researchers. Flowers are among the most common means by which people connect to nature: floral biology has great potential to engage broad audiences in science. This research will shed light on the anthocyanin biochemical pathway which contributes to numerous, important plant functions (e.g., pollinator and fruit disperser attraction, UV sunscreen, herbivore defense), and have also been linked to human health benefits (e.g., anti-cancer, -viral, -inflammatory, -arteriosclerosis activity; treatments for hypertension, vision disorders). Anthocyanins are common constituents of human diets, being found in frequently consumed fruits and vegetables. This research project will add substantially to knowledge of the genetic basis of anthocyanin production and will thus have implications for human health research.