US-Mexico Planning Visits: A New Collaboration to Develop an Ontogenetically Explicit Framework for the Multi-Functionality of Plant Defense Traits

该项目通过比较夏威夷和墨西哥不同的生态栖息地，解决了植物生物学中的一个基本问题，即植物如何应对环境压力。这项研究的重点是在这两个地区都发现的多刺罂粟的生态学和生理学。该项目利用了美国和墨西哥研究人员之间的互补专业知识，并为来自代表性不足群体的美国学生提供了独特的培训机会。美国学生和研究人员将前往墨西哥参加一个国际合作团队，获得植物功能性状分析、植物标本室研究和初步野外数据收集方面的经验。虽然植物中的大多数防御性状都是多功能的，但大多数研究一次只研究了一种或几种植物性状。多刺罂粟表现出一系列的功能特征（例如，多刺，乳胶渗出，坚韧的叶子），使它们成为本研究的一个引人注目的案例研究。这种在个体发生背景下研究多种植物性状及其多功能性的广泛方法将为植物如何应对环境胁迫提供更全面的理解。此外，本研究将揭示植物功能性状的协同、冗余和发育限制，从而进一步了解植物生物学。

This project addresses a fundamental question in plant biology, how plants deal with environmental stresses, by comparing differing ecological habitats of Hawaii and Mexico. The research focuses on the ecology and physiology of prickly poppy, genus Argemone, which is found in both regions. The project leverages complementary expertise between U.S. and Mexican researchers and provides unique training opportunities to U.S. students from underrepresented groups. U.S. students and researchers will travel to Mexico to join an international collaborative team and gain experience in plant functional trait analysis, herbarium research, and preliminary field data collection. While most defense traits in plants are multi-functional the majority of studies have examined one or few plant traits at a time. Prickly poppies display a suite of functional traits (e.g. prickles, latex exudation, tough leaves) that make them a compelling case study for this research. This broad approach to investigate multiple plant traits and their multi-functionality within an ontogenetic context will provide a more holistic understanding of how plants deal with environmental stresses. Furthermore this research will uncover synergies, redundancies and developmental constraints in plant functional traits and thereby further understanding of plant biology.