The early evolution of mate recognition in angiosperms: Austrobaileya scandens

在体内受精的动物和植物中经常发现新的配偶识别形式。被子植物(开花植物)是一个很好的例子，因为它们独特的生殖道(由封闭的心皮形成)是花粉竞争和新的不亲和系统在受精之前表达的场所。人们对这些特征的起源和早期进化知之甚少。该项目启动了一系列关于开花植物最早分化谱系(所谓的基生被子植物)的配偶识别的研究。受控授粉和定时采集将用于准确描述花粉、心皮和胚珠的发育相互作用，以及受精过程的相对速率和时间。对交配系统和近亲交配历史的遗传研究将提供对这些相互作用的影响的洞察。一个重要的结果将是对发育特征的比较分析。这项研究和未来的研究将解决以下问题：(1)在被子植物早期现存的谱系中存在哪些形式的花粉-心皮-胚珠相互作用？(2)它们如何参与配偶识别？(3)哪些类型的发育转化最好地解释了被子植物早期生殖多样化的分类群间模式？这项研究将有助于植物繁殖和被子植物早期进化这两个快速发展的领域。被子植物的柱头和传输道一直被视为交配选择和快速进化的焦点，它们的起源和随后的详细描述对寻求了解和操纵繁殖系统的农学家来说是非常感兴趣的。本科生和研究生将参与将对基本胚胎学过程的机械理解与对进化发育多样性的更广泛视角相结合的研究。

Novel forms of mate recognition are often found in animals and plants with internal fertilization. Angiosperms (flowering plants) are a premier example because their unique reproductive tract (formed by the closed carpel) is the site where pollen competition and novel incompatibility systems are expressed before fertilization. Little is known of the origin and early evolution of these features. This project initiates a series of studies on mate recognition in the earliest divergent lineages of flowering plants (the so-called basal angiosperms). Controlled pollinations and timed collections will be used to provide precise description of developmental interactions of pollen, carpel and ovule, as well as relative rates and timing of the fertilization process. Genetic studies of mating systems and inbreeding history will provide insight into the effects of these interactions. An important result will be a comparative analyses of developmental traits. This and future studies will address the following questions:. (1) What forms of pollen-carpel-ovule interactions are present in early extant lineages of angiosperms? (2) How are they involved in mate recognition? (3) What kinds of developmental transformation best explain among-taxon patterns of reproductive diversification in early angiosperms? This study will contribute to two rapidly advancing areas of interest - plant reproduction and early angiosperm evolution. The angiosperm stigma and transmitting tract have been seen as focal points of mate selection and rapid evolution, and the consequences of their origin and subsequent elaboration are of great interest to agronomists seeking to understand and manipulate breeding systems. Undergraduate and graduate students will be involved in studies that integrate mechanistic understanding of basic embryological processes with a broader perspective on evolutionary developmental diversity.