BRC-BIO: Using the genus Aquilegia to develop a multidisciplinary approach to study the evolution and ecology of nectar variation

BRC-BIO：利用耧斗菜属开发多学科方法来研究花蜜变异的进化和生态学

• 批准号: 2217874
• 负责人: Evangeline Ballerini
• 金额: $ 50.16万
• 依托单位: University Enterprises, Incorporated
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2022-08-15 至 2025-07-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2217874&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: BRC; BIO; Using; genus; Aquilegia

Most flowering plants rely on animal pollinators to reproduce. Given the importance of attracting pollinators in order to complete their life cycle, many plants have evolved to produce floral nectar, composed of sugars and other nutrients that serves as a reward for pollinators. Different animal pollinators (e.g., bees, birds, or moths) have different metabolic needs, and previous work has shown that plants adapted to different pollinators vary in the amount and the biochemical composition of the nectar that they produce. However, little is known about the genes that control this variation in nectar production. This work combines biochemical profiling of nectar components produced by closely related plants that have adapted to different pollinators with genetic analyses in order to identify the genes that control variation in nectar volume and biochemistry. As around 35% of agricultural crops rely on animal pollinators, identifying genes that control important aspects of nectar variation could help improve nectar quality and pollination efficiency to increase crop production. In addition, this work provides numerous opportunities to train both undergraduate and master’s students to conduct hands on research in fields such as genomics, metabolomics, and bioinformatics in preparation to pursue advanced degrees or obtain careers in STEM fields.Plant-pollinator interactions are a driving force of floral diversification with animal pollinators, exerting strong selection on floral trait evolution that can contribute to reproductive isolation and speciation. Prior focus on floral adaptation to animal pollinators has largely focused on morphological traits such as color and shape. However, floral nectar plays an important role in pollinator adaptation, and is regulated by both genetic and environmental processes. Much remains to be discovered about the genetic and environmental factors influencing nectar trait variation and very few studies have incorporated metabolomic data when examining nectar adaptation to different animal pollinators. This research will: 1) describe nectar characteristics of four Aquilegia species adapted to different animal pollinators (e.g., bee, hummingbird, hawk moth) using a combination of developmental assays, transcriptomics, and metabolomics; 2) use high-resolution genetic mapping to identify loci controlling variation in nectar characteristics, including metabolites, between closely related taxa adapted to different animal pollinators, A. formosa (hummingbird) and A. pubescens (hawk moth); and 3) explore how environmental factors such as temperature and humidity affect nectar production and composition in two Aquilegia species using a combination of studies in wild populations and under controlled conditions. Together, these investigations will be the most comprehensive set of analyses yet implemented to explore the genetic and environmental factors influencing the evolution of nectar metabolomic variation in a plant system known for its floral adaptations to different animal pollinators.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.

大多数开花植物依靠动物传粉者繁殖。鉴于吸引传粉者以完成其生命周期的重要性，许多植物已经进化到产生花蜜，由糖和其他营养物质组成，作为对传粉者的奖励。不同的动物传粉者（例如，蜜蜂、鸟类或飞蛾）有不同的代谢需求，先前的工作表明，适应不同授粉者的植物产生的花蜜的量和生化成分不同。然而，人们对控制花蜜产量变化的基因知之甚少。这项工作结合了生物化学分析的花蜜成分产生的密切相关的植物，已适应不同的传粉者与遗传分析，以确定基因控制花蜜量和生物化学的变化。由于大约35%的农作物依赖于动物授粉者，因此确定控制花蜜变异重要方面的基因有助于提高花蜜质量和授粉效率，从而提高作物产量。此外，这项工作提供了大量的机会，培养本科生和硕士生在基因组学，代谢组学和生物信息学等领域进行实践研究，为攻读高级学位或获得STEM领域的职业生涯做准备。植物-传粉者相互作用是植物多样化的驱动力，动物传粉者，对花的性状进化施加强选择，这可能有助于生殖隔离和物种形成。以前的重点花适应动物传粉者主要集中在形态特征，如颜色和形状。然而，花蜜在传粉者的适应中起着重要的作用，并受到遗传和环境过程的调节。关于影响花蜜性状变异的遗传和环境因素还有很多有待发现，很少有研究在研究花蜜对不同动物传粉者的适应时纳入代谢组学数据。本研究将：1）描述四种适合不同动物传粉者（例如，蜜蜂，蜂鸟，天蛾）使用的组合发育测定，转录组学，代谢组学; 2）使用高分辨率的遗传作图，以确定控制花蜜特性，包括代谢物的变化，密切相关的类群之间的适应不同的动物传粉，A。福尔摩沙（蜂鸟）和A. pubescens（天蛾）;结合野生种群和控制条件下的研究，探索环境因素如温度和湿度如何影响两种Aquilegia的花蜜产量和成分。总之，这些调查将是最全面的一套分析尚未实施，以探讨遗传和环境因素影响花蜜代谢变异的演变，在植物系统中，其花卉适应不同的动物pollinator.This奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并已被认为是值得通过评估使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准的支持。