Dissertation Research: The Ecological Genetics of Autogamy in Arenaria uniflora

小行星9623350 植物育种系统对个体繁殖的数量和质量起着过滤器的作用，并影响着种群的遗传结构、人口统计学和生态学。 反过来，生态因素和遗传相互作用塑造了植物育种系统的进化。 以往对植物交配系统进化的研究主要集中在遗传因素的作用上，而对传粉生态学在交配系统进化中的作用知之甚少。该项目填补了这一空白，通过实验比较自交和异交植物的繁殖成功率。 以多形花岗岩露头特有的单花雪灵芝为模式系统，进行三个综合实验。 首先，对自交和异交个体中的近交衰退的分析将表明反对自交可育基因型传播的力量。其次，使用标记等位基因的亲子关系分析将测量与自交相关的雄性繁殖成功的损失。 第三，自动自交的价值，在传粉者稀缺的条件下，生殖保证将进行实验测试。 研究结果将提供一个综合分析的成本和效益，在不同的生态条件下，每个交配策略。 这一信息将是有价值的，在预测人口的反应，在生境破碎化或其他形式的环境退化的传粉者丰度的变化。

9623350 Stratton Plant breeding systems act as filters on the quantity and quality of individual reproduction and influence population genetic structure, demography, and ecology. In turn, both ecological factors and genetic interactions shape the evolution of plant breeding systems. Previous analyses of plant mating system evolution have concentrated on the role of genetic factors and little is known about the role of pollination ecology in mating system evolution. This project fills that gap with experimental comparisons of the reproductive success of selfing and outcrossing plants. Using the polymorphic granite outcrop endemic Arenaria uniflora as a model system, three integrated experiments will be conducted. First the analysis of inbreeding depression in selfing and outcrossing individuals will indicate forces opposing the spread of self-fertile genotypes. Second, paternity analysis using marker alleles will measure the loss of male reproductive success associated with selfing. Third, the value of automatic selfing in conferring reproductive assurance under conditions of pollinator scarcity will be tested experimentally. Findings will provide an integrated analysis of the costs and benefits of each mating strategy under different ecological conditions. This information will be of value in predicting population responses to changes in pollinator abundances under habitat fragmentation or other forms of environmental degradation.