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

该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与其父母相比在内容上增加了一倍或更多，并可能为植物进化过程中的创新提供了机会。然而，野生植物基因组复制的短期和长期后果还没有得到很好的理解。这项研究将调查分布在北美和欧洲的野生苔藓物种的基因组复制的自然率。研究人员将在实验室中创造实验性的、基因组复制的后代，以测量它们的形态和繁殖与它们的父母有何不同。然后，他们将通过将实验性的基因组复制后代与自然发生的后代进行比较，来确定复制的基因组是否以及如何随着时间的推移而发生变化。研究人员将培训本科生和研究生，包括代表性不足的群体的成员，并支持早期职业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。研究人员将使用公民科学iNaturalist平台在线吸引公众，并将创建有关苔藓生物学和多倍体进化的双语（西班牙语/英语）博客文章。该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（Funariaceae，Funaria moss家族）作为实验模型生物，该物种在世界范围内拥有七种核型的形态多样性复合体。该物种是一年生的，两性，自交，并且很容易在实验室中生长。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加倍，以产生同源多倍体后代。研究人员将比较自然发生的和人工诱导的同源多倍体以及它们的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梨形立碗藓物种复合体的遗传学，随着进化时间的推移和今天的种群之间的倍性变化的估计，以及新物种的描述。研究人员将进一步开发HybPiper生物信息学数据分析平台，并培训其他美国科学家使用这种方法，以提高研究能力。该项目将加强美国机构之间的研究合作，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知识价值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.