RUI: Collaborative Research: The Cenozoic radiation of eupolypod ferns: did selection for drought tolerance drive the evolutionary physiology of sporophytes and gametophytes?

RUI：合作研究：真水螅蕨类植物的新生代辐射：耐旱选择是否驱动了孢子体和配子体的进化生理学？

• 批准号: 1656801
• 负责人: James Watkins
• 金额: $ 26.39万
• 依托单位: Colgate University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2017
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2017-05-15 至 2022-04-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1656801&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: RUI; Collaborative; Research; Cenozoic; radiation

Seed-free vascular plants such as ferns are the second most diverse plant lineage after the flowering plants, yet given their two-stage lifecycle and apparent intolerance of drought, the bases of their continued success are not completely understood. Recent studies have shown that both fern fronds (the vegetative generation) and fern gametophytes (the sexual generation) have evolved numerous strategies to cope with and recover from severe drought stress. This research investigates the water relations of both stages of the fern lifecycle to test the hypothesis that the evolution of traits typically related to drought tolerance promoted the expansion of ferns from largely moist, terrestrial habitats to drier, sunnier canopy habitats. The research will focus on drought tolerant traits of two recent fern lineages, which represent the bulk of tropical fern species diversity. Physiological, morphological and anatomical attributes will be examined across select species in the field and in the laboratory. This basic research will not only expand knowledge of the processes that shape biological diversity, but also potentially identify novel plant traits that could assist with the development of more drought resistant agricultural species. Students will receive international research experiences in Mexico and Costa Rica, and student/instructor exchanges will promote research collaboration. Outreach activities to the public will combine with non-profit collaborators at the Save the Redwood League and the Southern Madison Heritage Trust to illustrate the important role of ferns and other non-vascular plants in the ecology of natural plant communities. In order to determine whether drought stress exerts strong, convergent selection pressure on fern sporophytes and gametophytes, this research will examine the desiccation tolerance of gametophytes from numerous species in the Pteridaceae. The Pteridaceae are a hyper-diverse family of ferns that are ancestral to the Eupolypods, and the results from this study will complement an existing data set documenting drought tolerance in the Pteridaceae sporophytes. A second set of studies will examine the drought tolerance of epiphytic and terrestrial Eupolypod sporophytes. Experiments will test resistance to hydraulic failure by drought-induced air entry, leaf turgor loss points, and relate these data to numerous anatomical and morphological traits. Lastly, complementary studies looking at the desiccation tolerance of gametopytes in this group will be conducted. The results will be analyzed in a phylogenetic framework, which will explicitly test for correlated trait evolution in both sporophytes and gametophytes.

无种子的血管植物（例如蕨类植物）是仅次于开花植物的第二多种植物谱系，但考虑到它们的两阶段生命周期和干旱的明显不宽容，尚未完全了解其持续成功的基础。 最近的研究表明，蕨叶（营养生成）和蕨类配子体（性产生）都发展了许多策略，以应对和从严重的干旱压力中恢复。这项研究调查了蕨类生命周期的两个阶段的水关系，以检验以下假设：通常与干旱耐受性有关的特征的演变促进了蕨类植物从很大程度上潮湿，陆地栖息地到较干燥，阳光明媚的冠层栖息地的扩张。该研究将重点放在两个最近的蕨类植物谱系的耐旱性状上，这些特征代表了热带蕨类物种多样性的大部分。将在现场和实验室中的某些物种之间检查生理，形态和解剖学属性。这项基础研究不仅将扩大塑造生物多样性的过程的知识，而且还可以识别有助于发展更具干旱农业物种的新型植物特征。学生将在墨西哥和哥斯达黎加获得国际研究经验，学生/讲师交流将促进研究合作。向公众举办的外展活动将与Save Redwood League和Southern Madison Heritage Trust的非营利合作者结合，以说明蕨类植物和其他非血管植物在自然植物社区生态学中的重要作用。为了确定干旱应力是否对蕨类孢子菌和配子体施加强，收敛的选择压力，这项研究将检查来自翼曲科许多物种的配子体的干燥耐受性。翼曲科是一个属于Eupolypods的蕨类植物的多元化家族，这项研究的结果将补充现有的数据集，记录了翼菊科中的干旱耐受性。第二组研究将检查附生和陆地表现孢子体的干旱耐受性。实验将通过干旱引起的空气进入，叶子繁琐的损失点来测试对液压衰竭的抗性，并将这些数据与许多解剖和形态学性状联系起来。最后，将对该组的配子体的干燥耐受性进行互补研究。该结果将在系统发育框架中进行分析，该框架将明确测试孢子体和配子植物中的相关性状进化。

项目成果

Crossing the Divide: An Exploration of Functional Traits in Ferns that Grow Across Terrestrial, Epipetric, and Epiphytic Habitats

• DOI: 10.1640/0002-8444-111.4.308
• 发表时间: 2021-11
• 期刊: American Fern Journal
• 影响因子: 0.8
• 作者: J. Watts;J. E. Watkins

Hymenasplenium volubile: documentation of its gametophytes and the first record of a hemiepiphyte in the Aspleniaceae

Hymenasplenium v​​olubile：其配子体的记录和铁角蕨科半附生植物的首次记录

• DOI: 10.1093/aob/mcz124
• 发表时间: 2019
• 期刊: Annals of Botany
• 影响因子: 4.2
• 作者: Watts, Jacob L;Moran, Robbin C;Watkins, James E
• 通讯作者: Watkins, James E

Leaf water relations in epiphytic ferns are driven by drought avoidance rather than tolerance mechanisms

• DOI: 10.1111/pce.14042
• 发表时间: 2021-03-18
• 期刊: PLANT CELL AND ENVIRONMENT
• 影响因子: 7.3
• 作者: Campany, Courtney E.;Pittermann, Jarmila;Watkins, James E., Jr.
• 通讯作者: Watkins, James E., Jr.

Life in the canopy: community trait assessments reveal substantial functional diversity among fern epiphytes

冠层生活：群落特征评估揭示了蕨类附生植物的巨大功能多样性

• DOI: 10.1111/nph.16607
• 发表时间: 2020
• 期刊: New Phytologist
• 影响因子: 9.4
• 作者: Nitta, Joel H.;Watkins, Jr, James E.;Davis, Charles C.
• 通讯作者: Davis, Charles C.

Convergence of ecophysiological traits drives floristic composition of early lineage vascular plants in a tropical forest floor

生态生理特征的趋同驱动热带森林地面早期维管束植物的区系组成

• DOI: 10.1093/aob/mcy210
• 发表时间: 2018
• 期刊: Annals of Botany
• 影响因子: 4.2
• 作者: Campany, Courtney E;Martin, Lindsay;Watkins, James E
• 通讯作者: Watkins, James E