REU: Parental Effects in Plantago lanceolata

许多实证研究表明，父母可以 影响后代的外观（表型）， 父母贡献给后代的核染色体。 为 例如，生态学和遗传学研究表明， 父母成长的物理环境会影响 后代的生长和繁殖。 同样独立于 环境中，父母可以将核外DNA传递给后代; 这种DNA也可以影响生长和繁殖。 莱西的 研究将进一步描述这些亲本效应（定义为 父母对后代的非核贡献 表型），并提供有关这些作用的信息 自然和人工选择的影响。 这项研究将集中在父母开花的影响 轮叶车前（Plantago lanceolata），一种草本植物， 农田和其他受干扰生境的杂草。 开花时间的影响将被直接检查。 也因为 开花时间的影响可能是通过温度介导的 在流动和种子成熟的变化，莱西将研究如何 温度影响后代表型。 遗传上不同 父母将被克隆，然后在不同的环境下生长和杂交。 温度和不同开花时间的组合 户外. 后代的交叉将成长和性状 测定了 将被测量的特征决定了 个人在自然或进化背景下的适应性， 在农业生产中。 由于产量将被衡量，研究将提供 这些信息将对作物育种者有用。 最大 产量（作物育种者的目标）需要知道 开花时间和温度对产量有影响 如果发生这种情况，哪些产量构成要素会受到影响。 例如，如果父母的开花时间，这是部分 基因控制，被发现影响后代产量， 那么育种者应该能够在一代人中提高产量， 通过改变开花时间或温度而具有商业重要性 在上一代。 莱西的项目将提供 关于亲本效应在作物中的潜在用途的信息 育种计划

Many empirical studies demonstrate that parents can influence offspring appearance (phenotype) beyond the effects of nuclear chromosomes that parents contribute to offspring. For example, ecological and genetic studies have shown that the physical environment in which the parents are grown can affect offspring growth and reproduction. Likewise independent of environment, parents can transmit extra-nuclear DNA to offspring; this DNA can also influence growth and reproduction. Lacey's study will further characterize these parental effects (defined as these non-nuclear contributions that parents make to offspring phenotype), and also provide information about the role of these effects in natural and artificial selection. The research will focus on the effects of parental flowering time on offspring phenotype in Plantago lanceolata, an herbaceous weed of agricultural fields and other disturbed habitat. Flowering time effects will be examined directly. Also, because flowering time effects are probably mediated through temperature change during flowing and seed maturation, Lacey will examine how temperature affects offspring phenotype. Genetically different parents will be cloned and then grown and crossed under different combinations of temperatures and at different flowering times outdoors. Offspring of the crosses will then be grown and traits measured. The traits that will be measured determine an individual's fitness in a natural or evolutionary context and yield in an agricultural context. Because yield will be measured, the research will provide information that will be useful to crop breeders. Maximizing yield (a goal of crop breeders) necessitates knowing whether flowering time and temperature in one generation influence yield in the next and, if they do, what yield components are affected. For example; if parental flowering time, which is partially genetically controlled, is found to influence offspring yield, then breeders should be able to improve yield in a generation of commercial importance by altering flowering time or temperature in the previous generation. Lacey's project will provide information about the potential use of parental effects in crop breeding programs.