Ecological Genetics of Plant Adaptations to Novel Environments

植物适应新环境的生态遗传学

• 批准号: RGPIN-2016-04809
• 负责人: Colautti, Robert
• 金额: $ 2.7万
• 依托单位: Queen's University
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2018
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2018-01-01 至 2019-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=647896
• 关键词: Ecological; Genetics; Plant; Adaptations; Novel

The Anthropocene is marked by several growing threats to global biodiversity, including climate change, large-scale habitat modification, and long-distance translocation of species across major dispersal barriers (e.g. oceans, mountain ranges, deserts). Evolution in these novel environments could prevent extinction and ultimately facilitate range expansion, but contemporary evolution and its effects on ecological dynamics are rarely studied in natural populations exposed to novel environments. My long-term research goal is to understand how and why contemporary evolution occurs in novel environments, and how this influences ecological dynamics.***Invasive species threaten human health and welfare but also represent ‘natural' experiments in contemporary evolution. My short-term research plan focuses on two of Canada's most invasive weeds – purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria) and garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata). I have developed these experimental systems over the last 10+ years and I will use them to test for a shift in natural selection, adaptive divergence and an increase in individual fitness and population-level performance in North America relative to the native range (Europe). These are key predictions of a number of highly influential hypotheses in invasion biology that have proven difficult to test using traditional approaches in evolutionary ecology. I propose a novel approach that combines cutting-edge advances in next-generation sequencing with coordinated, distributed field studies to collect field data and genetic resources from thousands of individuals at hundreds of locations across Europe and North America. Using this approach I will investigate the effects of local adaptation and invasion history on population genetic structure, and control for these processes in order to make meaningful comparisons of natural selection, evolution and performance between Europe and North America.***The proposed research provides training opportunities for 1 PDF, 3PhD, 2 MSc and 13 BSc thesis students in a number of cutting-edge techniques that lie at the interface of modern genomics, computational biology and field ecology. Research on invasive species is generally interesting to hunters and anglers, wildlife enthusiasts, naturalists, gardeners, birders, eco-tourists, ranchers, farmers, and many more. More generally, this research investigates how genotype and environment jointly affect fitness in naturally occurring populations across two continents, representing a significant advance in ecological genomics. Understanding the genetic and environmental basis of ecological success in novel environments will be important not only for reducing the impacts of invasive species but also could improve management of more desirable species (e.g. local crop varieties, endangered species) struggling to persist in the face of rapid global change.**

人类世的特点是对全球生物多样性的若干日益严重的威胁，包括气候变化、大规模栖息地改造以及物种跨越主要传播屏障（如海洋、山脉、沙漠）的远距离迁移。这些新环境中的进化可以防止物种灭绝，并最终促进范围扩大，但在暴露于新环境的自然种群中，当代进化及其对生态动力学的影响很少得到研究。我的长期研究目标是了解当代进化如何以及为什么在新的环境中发生，以及这如何影响生态动力学。入侵物种威胁着人类的健康和福祉，但也代表着当代进化中的“自然”实验。我的短期研究计划集中在加拿大最具侵略性的两种杂草——紫色松草（Lythrum salicaria）和大蒜芥（Alliaria petiolata）。在过去的10多年里，我开发了这些实验系统，我将用它们来测试自然选择的转变，适应差异，以及相对于本土范围（欧洲），北美个体适应性和种群水平表现的增加。这些是入侵生物学中一些极具影响力的假设的关键预测，这些假设已被证明难以使用进化生态学中的传统方法进行测试。我提出了一种新的方法，将下一代测序的前沿技术与协调的分布式实地研究相结合，从欧洲和北美数百个地点的数千个人那里收集实地数据和遗传资源。利用这种方法，我将研究当地适应和入侵历史对种群遗传结构的影响，以及对这些过程的控制，以便对欧洲和北美之间的自然选择、进化和表现进行有意义的比较。***拟开展的研究为1名PDF、3名phd、2名MSc和13名BSc毕业论文学生提供现代基因组学、计算生物学和野外生态学交叉领域的前沿技术培训机会。对于猎人和垂钓者、野生动物爱好者、博物学家、园丁、观鸟者、生态旅游者、牧场主、农民等等来说，入侵物种的研究通常都很有趣。更广泛地说，本研究探讨了基因型和环境如何共同影响两大洲自然发生的种群的适应性，代表了生态基因组学的重大进展。了解新环境中生态成功的遗传和环境基础不仅对减少入侵物种的影响很重要，而且可以改善对那些在快速的全球变化面前挣扎求生的更理想物种（如当地作物品种、濒危物种）的管理