Dimensions: The causes and consequences of leaf trait evolution for hidden life on the phyllosphere: Phylogeny, function, and the genome

植物的敌人，比如以叶子为食的食草动物，或者入侵和破坏植物组织的疾病，都被一系列为植物防御而进化的叶子特征所排斥。天然植物防御最完善的形式之一是招募动物来保护植物免受敌人的攻击，以换取食物和/或住所。这些奖励特性可以大大减少植物的伤害，但它们所带来的好处在不同的条件下会有所不同，一些植物物种甚至随着时间的推移进化而失去了奖励特性。本研究的重点是利用螨虫domatia（植物叶片上容纳有益螨的小结构）了解奖励性状进化的动力学。在适当的环境下，寄生在domatia中的螨虫通过清洁叶片表面的微生物病原体和小型食草动物来保护植物。domatia螨出现在世界上24%的开花植物科中，在许多重要的经济类群中都有发现，包括咖啡、樱桃和葡萄。葡萄（葡萄属）特别有趣，因为一些品种有含有螨虫的domatia来保护叶子，而其他品种，包括许多最重要的经济葡萄品种，没有。本研究利用野生葡萄品种中domatia的自然变异来了解植物性状如何影响叶片群落。植物成功利用有益螨种群自然防御病原体和食草动物的遗传和环境背景将被确定。这项研究将使人们更好地了解葡萄、它们的食草动物、有益的节肢动物和叶片微生物群之间的相互作用。数据将免费向公众传播，并将有可能加强葡萄农业和育种，以及潜在的其他重要作物品种。该项目还将在不同领域和实验室方法和分析方面培养博士后研究员和研究生，并开发工具，以便更好地将研究成果整合到本科生物学课程中。该项目将研究叶片微观结构如何影响葡萄属物种内部和跨物种的多营养层圈群落，并将研究层圈动态如何反馈影响植物适应性。domatia的存在/缺失和相关的叶片性状变异将与非生物条件、遗传变异、对叶片微生物和节肢动物群落的影响以及植物适应性有关。研究人员将整合系统发育比较模型、生态位和范围重建、比较基因组学和大规模野外实验，以了解葡萄品种多样化中叶片domatia性状变异的历史、生态和遗传原因和后果。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Plant enemies, such as herbivores that eat leaves, or diseases that invade and destroy plant tissue, are repelled by a suite of leaf traits that have evolved for plant defense. One of the most well-established forms of natural plant defenses are traits that recruit animals to defend the plant against its enemies in return for food and/or shelter. These reward traits can substantially reduce plant damage, but the benefits they confer can vary over different conditions, and some plant species have even evolved to lose reward-traits over time. This research focuses on understanding the dynamics of reward trait evolution using mite domatia (small structures on plant leaves that house beneficial mites). In the right context, mites housed in domatia protect the plant by cleaning the leaf surface of microbial pathogens and small herbivores. Mite domatia appear in ~24% the world's flowering plant families, and are found in many economically important groups, including coffee, cherries, and grapes. Grapes (genus Vitis), are especially interesting, as some species have mite-containing domatia that defend the leaves, while other species, including many of the most economically important grape species, do not. This research leverages the natural variation in domatia seen in wild grape species to understand how plant traits affect leaf communities. The genetic and environmental contexts in which plants successfully use beneficial mite populations to naturally defend themselves against pathogens and herbivores will be identified. The research will lead to a better understand of the interactions among grapes, their herbivores, beneficial arthropods, and the leaf microbiome. Data will be disseminated freely to the public and will have the potential to enhance grape agriculture and breeding, and potentially other important crop species. The project will also train a post-doctoral researcher and graduate student in diverse field and laboratory methods and analyses, and develop tools to better integrate research products in undergraduate biology classes.This project will examine how leaf micro-structure impacts multi-trophic phyllosphere communities within and across Vitis species, and will investigate how phyllosphere dynamics can feedback to impact plant fitness. The presence/absence of domatia and related leaf-trait variation will be linked to abiotic conditions, genetic variation, consequences for leaf microbial and arthropod communities, and plant fitness. The investigators will integrate phylogenetic comparative modeling, niche and range reconstruction, comparative genomics, and large-scale field experiments to understand the historical, ecological, and genetic causes and consequences of leaf domatia trait variation in the diversification of Vitis species.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.