CAREER -- Clover cyanogenesis: Integrating ecological and molecular genetics in the study of adaptation

该奖项是根据2009年美国复苏和再投资法案（公法111-5）资助的。了解物种如何适应当地气候对于预测全球气候变化如何影响物种分布及其生态相互作用至关重要。本研究考察了遗传和生态过程，确定在北美的白三叶草种群中的氰化物生成模式（氰化物释放与组织损伤）。藻生保护植物免受小型食草动物的侵害；然而，产氰化合物在能量上是昂贵的，并以降低生长和繁殖为代价。这项研究将采用DNA测序、温室和田间实验来确定产氰和无氰形式是否可以独立出现多次，或者产氰是否代表了通过自然选择维持的古老遗传变异。因为白三叶草生长在北美各地的学校草坪上，这个系统很容易适应高中生物课堂，在那里它可以作为理解遗传学、生理学和生态学之间联系的动手工具。本项目将采用多方面的方式开发科学教育资源：1)高中生物教师暑期实验室实习，接受动手科学训练；2)向全国的高中教师分发课堂实验包，他们和学生将从当地的三叶草种群中收集氰生成数据；3)网络资源，全国各地的学生将贡献和分析数据，解决三叶草氰化和气候适应的研究问题。

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).Understanding how species adapt to local climates is critical for predicting how global climate change will affect species distributions and their ecological interactions. This research examines the genetic and ecological processes that determine patterns of cyanogenesis (cyanide release with tissue damage) in white clover populations across North America. Cyanogenesis protects plants against small herbivores; however, cyanogenic compounds are energetically expensive and come at a cost of decreased growth and reproduction. The research will employ DNA sequencing, greenhouse- and field-experiments to determine whether the cyanogenic and acyanogenic forms can arise multiple times independently, or whether cyanogenesis represents ancient genetic variation maintained through natural selection. Because white clover occurs in school lawns across North America, this system is easily adapted to the high school Biology classroom, where it can serve as a hands-on tool for understanding the connection between genetics, physiology, and ecology. This project will use a multifaceted approach to develop science educational resources: 1) summer lab internships for high school Biology teachers, where they will receive hands-on scientific training; 2) dissemination of classroom lab kits to high school teachers nationwide, where they and their students will collect cyanogenesis data from local clover populations; and 3) web-based resources where students around the country will contribute and analyze data addressing research questions on clover cyanogenesis and climatic adaptation.