IMAGiNE: The genetic, developmental, and physiological mechanisms of plant local adaptation to oceanic salt spray

生物学的一个基本目标是了解生物有机体从基因水平到生态系统的进化方式和原因。这项研究通过研究黄色猴花Mimulus guttatus以及它如何适应海洋盐雾来探索这些进化过程。很长一段时间以来，科学家们都知道盐雾会影响哪些植物物种可以在海洋附近生存。然而，关于植物最初是如何进化适应生活在沿海地区的，人们知之甚少。这项研究的重点是了解沿海猴花种群是如何进化的：1)通过在大风期间保持矮小和不开花来避免盐雾，2)通过防止盐雾进入植物组织来抵抗盐雾，以及3)通过将盐分输送到对植物造成最小伤害的部分来耐受盐雾。总体而言，这项研究应该会揭示这些适应从基因到种群水平的多个维度。这项研究还将导致开发用于猴子花基因工程的新工具。最终，这项工作将扩大对植物进化的理解，以及植物在具有挑战性的环境中的弹性方面，具有潜在的农业作物应用。研究结果将被纳入教育材料，包括一本漫画书和音频播客。为了评价这些教材，研究者直接与密西西比州弗林特市的教师和数百名低收入少数民族高中生进行了基于动手的探究式研究。拟议的研究旨在了解沿海多年生生态型斑点水母对海洋盐雾的局部适应的遗传、发育、形态和生理机制。牙根分枝杆菌可用的广泛工具将有助于研究基因网络中多个基因的适应。这项研究分为三个目标，每个目标都集中在盐雾适应的一个关键组成部分：避免、抵抗和耐受。目的1侧重于了解沿海生态型通过紧凑生长形式和晚季开花时间的演变来避免局部适应盐雾的机制。这项研究将测试导致盐雾避免的沿海和内陆生态型之间的发育差异是否由赤霉素基因网络中的基因进化造成。目标2将评估沿海和内陆生态型之间的形态差异在抵抗盐雾进入植物组织方面的作用，一旦盐雾进入植物的空中植物器官。目的3将在盐分进入植物地上组织后，对耐盐雾的遗传和生理机制进行评估。我们将研究整个叶器官和单个叶细胞水平上的钠运输，以检验沿海生态型通过将钠从细胞质中泵出到质外体和液泡中具有更高耐受性的假设。总体而言，这项研究将使人们更好地理解在压力环境中的健康是多种复杂组织适应的紧急属性。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

A fundamental goal of biology is to understand how and why biological organisms evolve, from the level of genes to ecosystems. This research explores these evolutionary processes by studying the yellow monkeyflower, Mimulus guttatus, and how it adapts to oceanic salt spray. For a long time, scientists have known that salt spray influences which plant species can survive near the ocean. However, little is known about how plants evolve adaptations to live in coastal areas in the first place. The research focuses on understanding how coastal monkeyflower populations evolved to 1) avoid salt spray by remaining short and not flowering during windy periods, 2) resist salt spray by preventing it from entering plant tissues, and 3) tolerate salt spray by transporting salt to parts of the plant where it will cause the least amount of damage. Overall, this research should uncover multiple dimensions of these adaptations from the gene to the population level. The research will also result in the development of new tools for genetic engineering of monkeyflowers. Ultimately, the work will expand understanding of plant evolution and aspects of plant resilience in challenging environments, with potential applications for agricultural crops. The results of the research will be incorporated into educational materials, including a comic book and audio podcasts. To evaluate these educational materials, the investigators are working directly with teachers and hundreds of low-income minority high school students in Flint, MI through hands-on inquiry-based research.The proposed research aims to understand the genetic, developmental, morphological, and physiological mechanisms of local adaptation of the coastal perennial ecotype of Mimulus guttatus to oceanic salt spray. The extensive tools available for M. guttatus will facilitate studies of adaptation for multiple genes within gene networks. The research is divided into three aims, each of which is focused on a key component of salt spray adaptation: avoidance, resistance, and tolerance. Aim 1 is focused on understanding the mechanisms of locally adaptive salt spray avoidance by the coastal ecotype through the evolution of a compact growth form and a late-season flowering time. The research will test whether the developmental divergence between coastal and inland ecotypes underlying salt spray avoidance is caused by the evolution of genes within the gibberellin hormone gene network. Aim 2 will evaluate the role of morphological divergence between coastal and inland ecotypes in resistance to salt spray entry into plant tissues once it has landed on aerial plant organs. Aim 3 will evaluate the genetic and physiological mechanisms of salt spray tolerance once salt has entered aboveground plant tissues. Sodium transport at both the level of entire leaf organs and individual leaf cells will be examined to test the hypothesis that the coastal ecotype has higher tolerance by pumping sodium out of the cytosol into the apoplast and vacuoles. Overall, the research will lead to an increased understanding of how fitness in stressful environments is an emergent property of multiple complex organismal adaptations.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.