Evolution of floral and fruit traits in the Brassicales

尽管我们对观察到的植物形式的多样性很着迷，但我们对这种变化是如何产生的理解是有限的。因此，“形态变异的基础是什么？”这仍然是进化生物学中的一个关键问题。我的研究目标是破译导致不同形式的花朵和水果的变化。花的性状显然对传粉者的相互作用很重要，但我们对这些可能影响传粉者行为的特征所依据的进化过程的了解存在着显著的差距。对果实发育、遗传学和进化的详细了解是至关重要的，因为种子传播对于构建植物群落是重要的，并且是植物适合性的关键组成部分。我研究了两个密切相关的植物群体，它们代表了一个示范系统，因为它们在重要的花卉和果实特征上有所不同。它们也与领先的遗传模式植物密切相关，促进了一种更知情的假设，即可能涉及基因变化来产生新的特征。蜡梅科(蜘蛛花科)有许多不同类型的花，包括为传粉者提供花蜜的腺体的变异，以及提升生殖结构的不寻常的茎。这些特征在被子植物中的研究还很少，尽管它们与授粉生物学有着明确的关系。芥菜家族中的一个群体很重要，因为它包括作物种类(例如油菜、西兰花)，而且因为果实通常是分段的，这一特征极大地改变了种子的传播。这种复杂的特征已经进化了多次，导致了一个根本的问题，即水果模式途径中的相同修改是否构成了不同的进化事件的基础。我采取了一种综合的方法，结合了多个学科，因此，将在理解植物进化方面取得实质性进展，并为高素质的人员提供广泛的培训。将对一系列物种进行发育研究。这种方法提供了关于成熟果实和花是如何形成的基本数据，这有助于假设当结合模式物种的遗传学知识时，哪些基因可能导致形态差异。我们将结合这些数据，以全面了解特征是如何随着时间的推移而变化的。此外，我们将测试关键性状是否一起进化，并与物种数量的增加相关。我们将使用多种方法描述比较基因表达的模式，这些方法在将特定的形态与基因表达模式相关联方面是有价值的。例如，在两个物种的多个基因中观察到相同的表达模式，支持了这样的假设，即相同的途径在不同的进化起源中被招募了。最后，我们建议超越相关性，进行实验，直接测试这些基因在我们的系统中如何发挥作用。

Despite our fascination with the diversity of forms observed in plants, our understanding of how this variation has arisen is limited. As such, "What is the basis of morphological variation?" remains a key question in evolutionary biology. The goal of my research is to decipher changes that result in different forms of flowers and fruits. Floral traits are clearly important for pollinator interactions, yet there is a notable gap in our knowledge of evolutionary processes that underlie these features that may influence pollinator behaviour. Detailed knowledge of fruit developmental genetics and evolution is essential because seed dispersal is important for structuring plant communities and represents a key component of plant fitness. I study two closely related plant groups that represent an exemplary system because they vary in important floral and fruit traits. They are also closely related to the leading genetic model plant, facilitating a more informed supposition of which genetic changes may be involved to generate novel traits. Cleomaceae (spider flower family) exhibit many different types of flowers, including variation in the gland that provides nectar for pollinators and an unusual stalk that elevates reproductive structures. These features are understudied across angiosperms despite their clear relationships to pollination biology. A group within the mustard family is important because it includes crop species (e.g. canola, broccoli) and because the fruits are often segmented, a trait that dramatically alters seed dispersal. This complex trait has evolved multiple times, leading to the fundamental question of whether the same modification in fruit patterning pathways underlie separate evolutionary events. I take a comprehensive approach that combines multiple disciplines and, as such, will lead to substantial advancements in understanding plant evolution as well as provide broad training for Highly Qualified Personnel. Developmental studies will be conducted on a range of species. This approach provides fundamental data on how mature fruits and flowers are formed, which facilitates hypotheses on what genes may be responsible for morphological differences when combined with knowledge of genetics in model species. We will combine these data for a thorough picture of how traits have changed through time. Further we will test whether key traits evolve together and are correlated with increased number of species. We will describe patterns of comparative gene expression using multiple approaches, which are valuable in correlating a particular morphology with a gene expression pattern. For example, observing the same expression patterns in multiple genes in two species supports the hypothesis that the same pathway has been recruited in different evolutionary origins. Finally, we propose to move beyond correlation and conduct experiments that will directly test how these genes function in our system.