The Evolution of Plant Reproductive Diversity

植物繁殖是地球上生命的基础。确定生殖多样性起源的机制是进化生物学的一个中心问题。对植物繁殖的研究为自然选择适应进化提供了一些最好的例子。此外，植物繁殖的研究对于植物育种和生物技术的进步以及入侵生物学等应用领域都是至关重要的。这项研究的目标是通过确定生殖和遗传系统如何以及为什么发生进化变化来了解推动被子植物生殖多样性进化的机制。这项研究利用了许多草本植物的一个特征，即惊人的种内和种间变异，利用生态和进化遗传学的工具来测试理论模型。这些目标将使用适合于实验研究的、适合于解决具体问题的各种植物组来实现。这项由学生和博士后研究员(PDF)组成的团队进行的研究将使用不同的方法，包括对自然种群和实验种群的实地研究、温室实验、生物力学的实验室研究、比较方法、遗传杂交和选择实验，以及DNA序列的种群基因组分析。 这项建议涉及四个主题：1)从动物授粉到风媒授粉的进化过渡；2)性别比例和性染色体进化；3)异花柱的遗传结构；4)交配系统和定殖化，每个项目涉及2-3个项目。这项研究将为进化生物学中的几个主要问题提供新的见解，包括：动物授粉向风媒传粉的特性和机制，性别比偏差和Y染色体退化的调控机制，单倍体选择对性染色体进化的影响，重组抑制在多位点多态进化中的作用，以及自交亲和性在生物入侵中的作用。这四个主题，每个主题都提供了团队研究产生研究生论文、本科项目和博士后工作的机会，将有助于更深入、更全面地理解植物繁殖的生态学和进化。这项研究将培养具有生态学、遗传学和进化生物学专业知识的高素质学生和PDF，他们将在高影响力的期刊上发表他们的研究成果。这一研究计划提供的广泛培训，既强调实地实验，也强调尖端工具和基因组学，将为学生在农业和生物技术、健康科学、环境、林业和保护等领域的大学研究、政府、非政府组织和商业部门就业做好准备。

Plant reproduction is fundamental to life on earth. Determining the mechanisms governing the origin of reproductive diversity is a central problem in evolutionary biology. Studies of plant reproduction provide some of the best examples of the evolution of adaptation by natural selection. Moreover, research on plant reproduction is critical for advances in plant breeding and biotechnology, and for applied fields such as invasion biology. The objective of this research program is to understand the mechanisms driving the evolution of angiosperm reproductive diversity by determining how and why evolutionary changes in reproductive and genetic systems occur. The research exploits the striking intra- and inter-specific variation that is a feature of many herbaceous plants to test theoretical models using the tools of ecological and evolutionary genetics. The objectives will be achieved using a variety of plant groups suitable for experimental studies, and that are appropriate for addressing specific questions. The research conducted by a team of students and post-doctoral fellows (PDFs) will use diverse approaches including field studies of natural and experimental populations, glasshouse experiments, laboratory studies of biomechanics, comparative methods, genetic crosses and selection experiments, and population genomic analysis of DNA sequences. This proposal addresses four general themes: 1) evolutionary transitions from animal to wind pollination; 2) sex ratios and sex chromosome evolution; 3) genetic architecture of heterostyly; 4) mating systems and colonization, each involves 2-3 projects. The research will provide novel insights into several major questions in evolutionary biology including: the traits and mechanisms initiating transitions from animal to wind pollination, the mechanisms governing sex-ratio bias and Y-chromosome degeneration, the influence of haploid selection on sex chromosome evolution, the role of recombination suppression in the evolution of multilocus polymorphism, and the role of self-compatibility in biological invasions. These four themes, each providing opportunities for team research generating graduate theses, undergraduate projects and post-doctoral work, will contribute towards a deeper more comprehensive understanding of the ecology and evolution of plant reproduction. The research will result in the training of high caliber students and PDFs with expertise in ecology, genetics and evolutionary biology, who will publish their research in high-impact journals. The broad training provided by this research program, with its emphasis on both field experiments and also cutting edge tools and genomics, will equip students for employment in university research, government, NGOs and the business sector in such fields as agriculture and biotechnology, the health sciences, environment, forestry and conservation.