Ecological and evolutionary implications of haploid gene expression

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

Plants display an amazing diversity of sexual forms, which can be expressed at different life stages. The moss plant growing on the forest floor is genetically equivalent to a pollen grain in flowering plants. Why does the expression of the dominance of these life stages differ so much between plants? What are the consequences of sex and self fertilization? My research examines the evolutionary and ecological consequences of the variation in sexual diversity at different life stages in mosses and angiosperms. Understanding the factors that influence this sexual diversity requires integration of ecological genetics, mathematical theory and comparative biology.  For example, sexual organisms may be hermaphrodite or have separated sexes. Models derived for animals and seed plants suggest that inbreeding and resources influence whether sexes are separate or combined.  I will use mosses as a novel model system to extend these models and test their generality.  In addition, in flowering plants I will examine the effect of self-fertilisation on interactions between pollen grains and the maternal plant. This research will provide information on the factors selecting for the diversity in the expression of sexual conditions in plants, and has applications for conservation biology, plant breeding, and biotechnology.