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

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活史的重要性，许多植物已经进化成产生花蜜，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(如蜜蜂、鸟类或飞蛾)有不同的新陈代谢需求，以前的工作表明，适应不同传粉者的植物产生的花蜜的数量和生化成分不同。然而，人们对控制花蜜生产中这种变异的基因知之甚少。这项工作将适应不同传粉者的密切相关植物产生的花蜜成分的生化图谱与遗传分析相结合，以确定控制花蜜体积和生化变异的基因。由于大约35%的农作物依赖动物传粉者，识别控制花蜜变异的重要方面的基因有助于改善花蜜质量和授粉效率，从而增加作物产量。此外，这项工作提供了大量的机会来培训本科生和硕士学生在基因组学、代谢组学和生物信息学等领域进行动手研究，为在STEM领域攻读更高的学位或获得职业生涯做准备。植物-传粉者的互动是与动物传粉者进行花卉多样化的驱动力，对有助于生殖隔离和物种形成的花卉性状进化施加了强烈的选择。此前，花对动物传粉者的适应主要集中在颜色和形状等形态特征上。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仍有许多有待发现，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数据。这项研究将：1)利用发育分析、转录组学和代谢组学相结合的方法，描述适应不同动物传粉者(如蜜蜂、蜂鸟、鹰蛾)的四种阿奎拉属植物的花蜜特性；2)使用高分辨率遗传图谱来确定控制花蜜特性(包括代谢物)差异的基因座，这些基因座位于适应不同动物传粉者的密切相关类群之间；以及3)利用野生种群和受控条件下的研究相结合的方式，探索温度和湿度等环境因素如何影响两种阿奎拉属植物的花蜜产量和组成。总而言之，这些调查将是迄今为止实施的最全面的一组分析，以探索影响植物系统花蜜代谢变异进化的遗传和环境因素，该植物系统以花卉适应不同的动物传粉者而闻名。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。

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.