Tri-kingdom co-evolution: mechanisms and consequences of hybridization

兰花为研究植物、昆虫和真菌分类群的生态进化过程提供了一个特殊的研究系统，因为它们与杂交机制有关。兰花拥有一个独特的功能组合，包括：“泄漏”的物种界限，混淆流行的物种概念;各种授粉和受精综合征;和一个完全依赖于菌根发芽。虽然每个特征都可以在其他植物家族中找到，但兰花中所有特征的组合提供了一个整合研究的机会，可以更好地解决微观和宏观进化尺度上的生态和遗传物种形成机制。使用领域和基因组的方法，我使用沼泽兰（Platanthera）系统，了解是什么驱动物种形成和杂交机制在生殖和生态成功的各个阶段：授粉，受精，染色体进化和菌根特异性。这项工作将：1）建立一个基于生物多样性的系统，同时研究共同进化和物种形成过程中的多种因素及其复杂的相互作用; 2）研究三界物种的相互作用及其生态学上的相互依赖，以更好地理解潜在的生态学和共同进化阈值; 3）定义促进/阻碍进化过程的机制; 4）阐明倍性和染色体结构的局限性如何限制基因组相容性和功能杂交; 5）为跨多个分类群和学科的学生培训提供机会。从我的研究计划翻译的知识有重要的应用程序管理的脆弱群体，园艺繁殖，增加坐果，真菌生物安全和比较基因组学。

Orchids present an exceptional study system for investigating eco-evolutionary processes, as they relate to hybridization mechanisms, across plant, insect and fungal taxa. Orchids possess a combination of peculiar features including: `leaky' species boundaries that confound popular species concepts; a variety of pollination and fertilization syndromes; and a complete reliance on mycorrhiza for germination. While each feature can be found in other plant families, the combination of all features in orchids presents an opportunity to integrate studies that better address ecological and genetic speciation mechanisms at both micro- and macro-evolutionary scales. Using field and genomic methods, I use a bog orchid (Platanthera) system to understand what drives speciation and hybridization mechanisms at the various stages of reproductive and ecological success: pollination, fertilization, chromosomal evolution and mycorrhizal specificity. This work will: 1) develop an orchid-based system to simultaneously study multiple factors and their complex interactions on the process of co-evolution and speciation; 2) investigate tri-kingdom species interactions and their ecological co-dependencies to better understand potential ecological and co-evolutionary thresholds; 3) define mechanisms that facilitate/hinder evolutionary processes; 4) unravel how limitations of ploidy and chromosomal architecture can limit genomic compatibility and functional hybridization; and 5) provide opportunities for student training across multiple taxa and disciplines. Translated knowledge from my research program has important applications for the management of vulnerable populations, horticultural propagation, increasing fruit set, fungal biosecurity and comparative genomics.