Phylogenomics of polyploidy in the Brassicales

改良农作物可以通过培育杂交种来实现。有些杂交种，比如骡子，是不育的，因为双亲的染色体数目不同。在植物中，当染色体数量加倍时，一些不育的杂交种可能会变得可育，这一过程被称为多倍体。许多重要的农作物，如紫花苜蓿、棉花、马铃薯和小麦，都是最近的多倍体，而其他一些作物，如玉米、大豆和卷心菜，则保留了古代多倍体事件的痕迹。这个项目将研究多倍体如何产生新的特征，如对昆虫的抗性，按甘蓝目(西兰花、芥菜、山柑、木瓜和近缘植物)排序。该项目的研究人员开发了新的系统基因组学方法，使人们能够了解物种如何相关的进化史，同时确定它们是否是多倍体。在全球快速变化给农业和自然景观中的植物带来前所未有的压力之际，科学家必须超越单一学科进行思考。系统基因组学已经成为生物科学中的一种跨学科方法；然而，几乎没有机会学习生物学中日益需要的基因组和生物信息学工具。为了弥补这一差距，该项目将为本科生课程开发模块；创建使用计算方法的跨学科研究环境；并通过年度讲习班与系统生物学家进行接触。这里提出的所有研究都涉及从代表性不足的群体中招募和指导学生。

Improving crop plants can be accomplished by creating hybrids. Some hybrids, like mules, are sterile, because the parents have different chromosome numbers. In plants, some sterile hybrids can become fertile when their chromosome number is doubled, a process called polyploidy. Many important crop plants, such as alfalfa, cotton, potato, and wheat are recent polyploids while others, such as maize, soybean, and cabbage, retain the vestiges of ancient polyploid events. This project will investigate how polyploidy can give rise to novel traits, such as the resistance to insects, in the order Brassicales (broccoli, mustards, capers, papaya, and relatives). The investigators of this project have developed new phylogenomics methods that allow one to understand the evolutionary history of how species are related while simultaneously determining whether or not they are polyploid.At a time when rapid global changes are placing unprecedented pressure on plants in agricultural and natural landscapes, it is imperative that scientists think beyond a single discipline. Phylogenomics has emerged as an interdisciplinary approach in the biological sciences; however, there are few opportunities to learn the genomic and bioinformatics tools becoming required in biology. To address this gap, this project will develop modules for undergraduate courses; create an interdisciplinary research environment that uses computational methods; and engage in outreach to systematic biologists by annual workshops. All research proposed here involves recruiting and mentoring students from underrepresented groups.