NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY 2019: Evolution and mechanisms of specialization in an endangered plant lineage

这项行动资助了2019财年NSF生物学博士后研究奖学金，使用生物收集的研究。该研究金支持研究员的研究和培训，以创新的方式利用生物收藏。该项目推进了共生，进化生物学和保护生物学的研究，并对公众和从幼儿园到研究生院的学生产生了更广泛的影响。物种之间的相互作用对于产生今天看到的生物多样性财富非常重要，但物种之间高度专业化的相互作用在自然界中很少见，被认为是进化的死胡同。该项目详细介绍了泽米苏铁植物的进化历史，它们的共生昆虫和这些昆虫的共生肠道细菌。 它评估了物种相互作用对进化轨迹的影响，并比较了互利和寄生昆虫以及昆虫和细菌之间的关系。这种对相互作用的伙伴的整个网络的进化分析是第一次，它将表明专门的谱系不一定是进化的死胡同，并定义了可能导致谱系多样化的物种相互作用的机制。最后，本工作强调了濒危植物谱系，定义了共生昆虫的保护状况，并描述了谱系持续相互作用的必要性。这个系统是理想的参与保护公众的关注，通过介绍与阿特金斯中心的可持续发展和科普文章在苏铁协会通讯。该项目具有广泛的应用，学生参与，以及通过在纽约高中，家庭学校和青年拘留中心的演示，并为本科生和研究生提供密集的研讨会和实验室指导机会。该项目使用古老的植物属泽米及其多种专门关系来描述物种相互作用网络的进化历史，以及物种相互作用网络的潜力和机制，高度专业化的相互作用中的血统多样化。它将利用从保存和固定的博物馆藏品中提取的DNA，为整个合作伙伴网络建立系统发育假说：植物，授粉和食草昆虫，以及昆虫的共生肠道细菌。物种相互作用的贡献谱系多样化的进化时间将评估使用比较进化的形态特征从博物馆藏品沿着与非形态表型性状从生活收藏品。在生态时间的谱系多样性将使用在生活收集移主昆虫的群体遗传学进行分析。最后，将使用化学生态学和昆虫生理学方法描述昆虫的宿主感知机制，有助于伙伴忠诚度和伙伴多样化。该研究员将在康奈尔大学接受系统发育、种群遗传学、数量形态学、化学生态学和昆虫生理学方法的培训。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并被认为值得通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估来支持。

This action funds an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology for FY 2019, Research Using Biological Collections. The fellowship supports research and training of the fellow that will utilize biological collections in innovative ways. This project advances the study of symbiosis, evolutionary biology, and conservation biology and has broader impacts for both the general public and students from kindergarten through graduate school. Interactions among species are hugely important for generating the wealth of biodiversity seen today, yet highly specialized interactions between species are rare in nature and are thought of as evolutionary dead ends. The project details the evolutionary history of Zamia cycad plants, their symbiotic insects and the symbiotic gut bacteria of those insects. It assesses the effects of species-interactions on evolutionary trajectories, with comparisons between mutualistic and parasitic insects and amongst insects and bacteria. This evolutionary analysis of an entire network of interacting partners is the first of its kind and will show that specialized lineages are not necessarily evolutionary dead ends and define the mechanisms of species interactions that can lead to lineage diversification. Finally, this work highlights an endangered plant lineage, defines conservation status of symbiotic insects, and describes the necessity of interactions for lineage persistence. This system is ideal to engage the general public in conservation concerns through presentations with the Atkins Center for Sustainability and popular science articles in the Cycad Society Newsletter. The project has broad applications for student engagement as well through presentations at New York high schools, home schools, and youth detention centers, and intensive workshops and laboratory mentoring opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students.This project uses the ancient plant genus Zamia and its multiple specialized relationships to describe the evolutionary history of a species interaction network and the potential for, and mechanisms of, lineage diversification in highly specialized interactions. It will utilize DNA extractions from preserved and pinned museum collections to build phylogenetic hypotheses for the entire network of partners: plants, pollinating and herbivorous insects, and insects' symbiotic gut bacteria. The contribution of species interactions to lineage diversification in evolutionary time will be assessed using comparative evolution of morphological traits from museum collections along with non-morphological phenotypic traits from living collections. Lineage diversification in ecological time will be analyzed using population genetics of host-shifting insects in living collections. Finally, insect mechanisms of host perception that contribute to partner fidelity and partner diversification will be described using chemical ecology and insect physiology methods. The fellow will receive training in phylogenetic, population genetic, quantitative morphometric, chemical ecology and insect physiology methods at Cornell University.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.