Doctoral Dissertation Research: Using Ancient Crop DNA to Investigate Socio-Political Change

这个博士论文项目解决了人类和玉米的共同进化问题，并考虑了人类行为如何影响玉米在特定地理环境中的进化。该研究整合了多条数据线来解决这些目标，包括古代玉米遗传学，放射性碳测年和相关的考古记录。该项目记录了受人类选择影响的早期玉米性状，揭示了相关的政治和种族影响以及它们如何随着时间的推移影响这一过程。该项目以包容性为基础，重点是扩大STEM中代表性不足的群体的参与。与当地社区的合作努力促进了对历史记录的全面探索，并积极融入现实。这一倡议超越了学术界，旨在影响农业实践并促进知识传播。外联活动包括来自不同学术水平的学生，从高中到研究生，为他们提供了一个独特的机会，让他们沉浸在植物基因组学领域。该项目为不同社区提供赋权，为未来的科学家提供教育机会，并在现在和史前之间建立联系。研究人员分析了跨越1,500年的古代玉米宏化石，以阐明玉米的进化和多样性，包括对极端海拔梯度的适应。通过追踪高地和低地基因以及基于人类职业时期的性状选择，该研究为人类和玉米的共同进化提供了独特的见解，回答了有关品种传播和社会事件对玉米遗传学的影响的问题。该项目的方法比较了来自放射性碳年代玉米化石的古代DNA与现代玉米，旨在揭示人类群体运动如何影响当今玉米基因组学，促进我们对人类-玉米关系的理解。该研究小组正在收集和测序一组多样化的现代玉米标本，这些标本将被用作比较古代标本的比较基线样本。该奖项反映了NSF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。

This doctoral dissertation project addresses the question of the co-evolution of humans and maize and considers how human behavior influences maize evolution in a specific geographic context. The research integrates multiple lines of data to address these goals, including ancient maize genetics, radiocarbon dating, and the relevant archaeological record. The project documents early maize traits that were subject to human selection, shedding light on relevant political and ethnic influences and how they affected the process over time. The project is underpinned by inclusivity, with a focus on broadening the participation of underrepresented groups in STEM. Collaborative endeavors with local communities facilitate a comprehensive exploration of the historical record, actively engaging with the present. This initiative extends beyond academia, aiming to impact agricultural practices and to facilitate knowledge dissemination. Outreach initiatives encompass students from diverse academic levels, from high school to graduate studies, providing them with a unique opportunity to immerse themselves in the realm of plant genomics. The project provides empowerment within diverse communities, offers educational opportunities to the scientists of the future, and establishes a link between the present and the prehistoric past.Researchers analyze ancient maize macrofossils spanning 1,500 years to elucidate maize evolution and diversity including adaptation to extreme altitudinal gradients. By tracing highland and lowland genes and trait selection based on human occupational periods, the research offers unique insights into the co-evolution of humans and maize, answering questions about cultivar dispersal and the impact of social events on maize genetics. The project's methodology compares ancient DNA from radiocarbon dated maize fossils with modern maize, aiming to unravel how human group movement influenced maize genomics today, advancing our understanding of human-maize relationship. The research team is assembling and sequencing a diverse set of modern maize specimens that will be used as a comparative baseline sample by which to compare the ancient specimens.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.