Collaborative Proposal: Diversity of Physcomitrium pyriforme in North America and Europe: significance of autopolyploidy within a phylogenomic and experimental framework

这个项目将研究植物基因组复制的影响。许多植物物种，包括一些农作物，都是基因组复制的结果。这一自然事件导致后代的基因组含量比双亲增加了一倍或更多，并可能在植物进化过程中提供了创新的机会。然而，野生植物基因组复制的短期和长期后果还没有被很好地理解。这项研究将调查分布在北美和欧洲的一种野生苔藓物种的基因组自然复制率。研究人员将在实验室中创造实验性的基因组复制后代，以测量它们的形态和繁殖与父母的不同之处。然后，他们将通过比较实验中的、基因组复制的后代和自然产生的后代，来确定复制的基因组是否以及如何随着时间的推移而变化。研究人员将培训本科生和研究生，包括代表性不足群体的成员，并支持职业早期研究人员的专业发展。他们还将为K-12教师举办关于进化生物学教育最佳实践的区域外展讲座。研究人员将利用公民科学iNaturist平台在线吸引公众，并将创建关于苔藓生物学和多倍体进化的双语(西班牙语/英语)博客文章。这个项目将扩大我们对植物同源多倍体进化后果的理解。研究人员将使用苔藓物种Physcomitrium pyriforme作为实验模式生物，这种苔类物种在全球范围内具有七种核型的形态多样性复合体。该种是一年生的，两性，自交，并且很容易在实验室里生长。与大多数其他植物模式生物不同，它的基因组含量可以在体外精确地加倍，以创造同源多倍体后代。研究人员将比较自然发生的和人工诱导的同源多倍体及其同倍体祖先之间的生殖障碍。项目成果将包括基于基因组序列数据的草莓属物种复合体的系统发育，对复合体内和当今种群之间倍性变化的估计，以及对新物种的描述。研究人员将进一步开发HybPiper生物信息学数据分析平台，并对其他美国科学家进行这种方法的培训，以增强研究能力。该项目将加强美国机构之间的研究合作，并建立自然历史收藏。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This project will investigate the effects of genome duplication in plants. Many plant species, including some agricultural crops, have arisen as a result of genome duplication. This natural event results in offspring having genomes that are doubled in content or more as compared to their parents and may have provided opportunities for innovation during plant evolution. However, the short- and long-term consequences of genome duplication in wild plants are not well understood. This research will investigate the natural rate of genome duplication in a wild moss species distributed in North America and Europe. Researchers will create experimental, genome-duplicated offspring in the laboratory to measure how their morphology and reproduction differs from that of their parents. They will then determine if and how duplicated genomes may change over time by comparing the experimental, genome-duplicated offspring to those that occur naturally. Researchers will train undergraduate and graduate students, including members of under-represented groups, and support the professional development of early-career researchers. They will also host regional outreach lectures for K-12 teachers about best-practices in evolutionary biology education. Researchers will engage the public online using the citizen-science iNaturalist platform and will create bilingual (Spanish/English) blog posts about moss biology and polyploid evolution. This project will expand our understanding of the consequences of autopolyploid evolution in plants. Researchers will use as an experimental model organism the moss species Physcomitrium pyriforme (Funariaceae, the Funaria moss family), which harbors a morphologically-diverse complex of seven karyotypes worldwide. The species is annual, bisexual, selfing, and is easily grown in the laboratory. Unlike most other plant model organisms, its genome content can be doubled with precision in vitro to create autopolyploid offspring. Researchers will compare reproductive barriers among naturally-occurring and artificially-induced autopolyploids as well as their homoploid progenitors. Project outcomes will include a phylogeny of the Physcomitrium pyriforme species-complex based on genome sequence data, an estimate of ploidy changes within the complex over evolutionary time and among populations today, and the description of new species. Researchers will further develop the HybPiper bioinformatics data analysis platform and train other US scientists in this method to enhance research capacity. The project will strengthen research collaborations among US institutions and build natural-history collections.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.