COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: Genetics and Development of Parallel Pollination System Evolution in Penstemon

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This project examines the extent to which evolutionary change is predictable. In particular, it will test the hypothesis that different species that evolve similar characteristics do so by changes in the same genes. This hypothesis will be examined using species in the plant genus Penstemon that have independently evolved a similar suite of floral characters (e.g. long, narrow flowers, increased nectar production, lengthening of the reproductive organs) in response to pollination by hummingbirds. If this hypothesis is true, then in different hummingbird-pollinated species, genes affecting a given character should be located at similar positions in the genome. The project will test this expectation using genetic and genomic approaches applied to four hummingbird-pollinated species and closely related species pollinated by bees. In addition, this research will determine the developmental basis (e.g. changes in cell size or cell proliferation) for the character changes. In examining the main hypothesis, the project will sequence the genomes of three Penstemon species and provide genetic maps. These resources will be made available to the scientific community. The project will provide training for one postdoc and several graduate students in molecular and genomic techniques, as well as in bioinformatics and statistical analysis. Finally, it will introduce undergraduate students to the sciences of evolutionary biology and genomics through internships and independent study with the PI and co-PI of the project, with a focus on minority student participation.This project examines parallelism across different hierarchical levels (developmental vs. genetic), across different trait types within the pollination syndrome (quantitative vs. qualitative traits), and across different origins of flowers adapted to hummingbird pollination. In doing so, it will provide the first extensive data specifically designed to determine the extent to which parallel phenotypic evolution of a complex multi-trait syndrome, comprised of multiple quantitative characters, evolved by parallel genetic and developmental mechanisms. Penstemon species pairs representing four independent transitions from bee to hummingbird pollination floral syndromes will provide the foundation of this research. For each of the four species pairs, the developmental differences that lead to divergent bee and hummingbird-adapted floral morphologies will be assessed to determine whether differences reflect parallel developmental processes. For the same four species pairs, genetic mapping combined with genome sequencing will be used to assess whether quantitative floral trait loci identified in independent transitions to hummingbird pollination correspond to homologous genomic regions containing the same set of homologous candidate genes, suggestive that parallelism extends to the genetic level. As few studies have examined genetic parallelism in quantitative traits, the project includes the development of a novel 'genetic parallelism score' to quantify the degree of genetic parallelism for both quantitative and qualitative traits. Lastly, by quantifying developmental parameters in genetic lines derived from the mapping study, the project will link genetic and developmental processes by determining how fixed genetic differences between bee- and hummingbird-adapted species alter the specific developmental processes that contribute to divergent floral traits.