DISSERTATION RESEARCH: History and Consequences of Self-incompatibility in Solanaceae

不同的交配系统会对物种的适应潜力产生深远的影响。尽管异交具有明显的遗传优势，但很大一部分植物物种偶尔或习惯性地自交受精。本研究旨在准确重建茄科这一重要的经济植物科的交配系统变异历史。该提案确定了一种重建交配系统祖先的新方法，使用一个共同的遗传系统来防止自花受精。这种遗传系统被称为自交不亲和，它阻止雌雄同体植物自己的花粉使其胚珠受精。本提案将分子遗传学、理论种群生物学和统计方法的思想框架结合起来，对a)交配系统特征的不可逆性和b)广泛的交配系统特征对物种多样化率的影响的假设进行测试。因此，本研究的最终目的是了解交配系统如何影响植物物种的繁殖和生存，植物物种是陆地生物中最多样化和最重要的群体之一。

Different systems of mating can have profound consequences for theadaptive potential of species. Despite the demonstrable genetic advantagesof outcrossing, a significant proportion of plant species self-fertilizeoccasionally or habitually. This proposal aims to accurately reconstructthe history of mating system variation in Solanaceae, an economicallyimportant plant family. The proposal identifies a new approach toreconstruction of mating system ancestry, using a common genetic systeminvolved prevention of self-fertilization. This genetic system, calledself-incompatibility, prevents a hermaphrodite plants own pollen fromfertilizing its ovules. This proposal unites a framework of ideas from molecular genetics,theoretical population biology, and statistical methods to develop a testsof hypotheses of a) irreversibility of mating system characters and b) theeffects of a widespread mating system character on species diversificationrates. Thus, the ultimate goal of this study is the understanding of howmating systems affect the multiplication and survival of plant species,one of the most diverse and important groups of terrestrial organisms.