Ecological and physiological implications of a vernalization requirement for flowering in creeping herbaceous perennial plants

多年生草本爬行植物在加拿大的农业和自然生态系统中通常以杂草的形式出现，许多物种在农业和自然生态系统中造成了重大的经济损失和环境破坏。这些植物通过种子和营养生殖结构繁殖，具有复杂的生活史，必须在开花和不开花的分生组织之间保持平衡，以维持多年生植物的生长习性。这种平衡是通过在营养生殖结构上产生休眠或非休眠的芽，或通过产生营养枝和开花枝或分株来维持的。调节分株发育的机制各不相同，但春化(冷暴露)被认为在一些物种中发挥了作用，并已在草本植物多年生植物红花丹中得到证实。对这些植物的成功管理需要对植物生殖生物学调控机制的广泛了解，而多年生杂草春化的生理、生态和管理意义尚未被探索。在大西洋加拿大的许多植物群落中，红松鼠尾草通常是一种杂草，这使它成为研究春化对草本植物多年生杂草的影响的一个很好的模式物种。本研究的总体目标是增加我们对草本植物多年生植物繁殖生物学的了解，特别强调春化在植物生长和发育中的作用。在短期内(1到5年)，我将利用温室和田间试验来确定：1)幼虫、种子和根芽春化对开花的影响；2)分株出现时间对春化反应和开花的影响；3)春化分株中花原基形成的时间，从长期(5到10年)来看，我想确定i)花刺激是否可以在相互连接的分株之间转移，ii)与多年生草本植物春化有关的遗传变化的本质，以及iii)分株春化需求对整个植物生长和发育的影响。这项研究将对春化在调节多年生草本植物的分株发育、全株生长和种群维持中的作用提供新的认识。然而，这项研究将带来额外的好处，因为我们的模式物种是一种重要的经济杂草。因此，我的研究将有助于改善北美东北部自然和农业植物群落的常年杂草管理。这项研究的基本原理是，春化对草本植物爬行多年生植物的生长和发育具有独特的意义，而红莎草是研究这一现象的很好的模式植物。

Creeping herbaceous perennial plants commonly occur as weeds in agricultural and natural ecosystems in Canada, with many species causing significant economic losses in agriculture and environmental damage in natural ecosystems. Reproducing by seeds and vegetative reproductive structures, these plants have complex life histories and must maintain a balance between flowering and non-flowering meristems to sustain the perennial growth habit. This balance is maintained through the production of dormant or non-dormant buds on vegetative reproductive structures, or through the production of vegetative and flowering shoots, or ramets.Mechanisms regulating ramet development vary, but vernalization (cold exposure) is thought to play a role in some species and has been confirmed in the creeping herbaceous perennial plant red sorrel. Successful management of these plants requires extensive knowledge of the mechanisms regulating plant reproductive biology, and the physiological, ecological, and management implications of vernalization in perennial weeds has not been explored. Red sorrel commonly occurs as a weed in many plant communities in Atlantic Canada, making it a good model species for studying the implications of vernalization in creeping herbaceous perennial weeds.The overall goal of this research is to increase our understanding of the reproductive biology of creeping herbaceous perennial plants, with particular emphasis on the role of vernalization in regulating plant growth and development.In the short term (1 to 5 years), I will use greenhouse and field experiments to determine i) the effects of juvenility and seed and root bud vernalization on flowering, ii) the effect of ramet emergence timing on vernalization response and flowering, iii) the timing of flower primordia formation in vernalized ramets, and iv) if ramets flower repeatedly prior to senescence.Over the long term (5 to 10 years), I want to determine i) if the flower stimulus can be transferred between interconnected ramets, ii) the nature of genetic changes associated with vernalization in creeping herbaceous perennial plants, and iii) the effects of a ramet vernalization requirement on whole-plant growth and development. This research will contribute new knowledge on the role of vernalization in regulating ramet development, whole-plant growth, and population maintenance of creeping herbaceous perennial plants. Additional benefits, however, will arise from the research as our model species is an economically important weed. As such, my research will contribute knowledge that will improve perennial weed management in natural and agricultural plant communities in Northeastern North America. The rationale for this research is that vernalization has unique implications for plant growth and development in creeping herbaceous perennial plants, and that red sorrel is a good model plant species to study this.