CAREER: Parasitic orchids as models for evolutionary genomics and STEM engagement in Appalachia

众所周知，兰花是物种最丰富的植物家族之一，具有巨大的园艺重要性，但它们在关键生命阶段依赖于特定物种的真菌伙伴获取营养，尽管对这种伙伴关系的了解不足，可能成为种植的重大障碍。虽然大多数兰花在其生命周期的某个阶段寄生于特定类型的真菌，但这些植物中有200多种已经完全失去了光合作用的能力，从而将这种对真菌的依赖发挥到了极致。该项目将在比较背景下研究放弃光合作用的基因组后果和极端真菌宿主特异性的进化，从而更好地理解这种伙伴关系在遗传水平上的变化。它将通过研究人员、教师和学生之间的合作，通过制定高中生物课程计划，将研究和教育结合起来。该教育项目将重点关注阿巴拉契亚地区的农村学校，那里的STEM职业招聘人数仍然很低，在就业机会不断变化的地区吸引下一代STEM研究人员。该项目将为教师和学生提供可持续和可获得的教育资源，并将广泛传播。该项目将集中于：1)所有寄生兰花及其近缘种的质体基因组测序和进化分析；2)几种局灶兰种复合体真菌寄主的分子鉴定及系统发育分析；3)密集取样焦点兰类群基因组，确定寄主偏好适应的基因组基础；4)建立基因组修饰和真菌宿主特异性的集成模型。该项目将进一步推进利用ISSR扩增子测序产生基因组规模多态性数据的新颖、经济、直接的方法的应用，用于发展中国家、本科院校和K-12教育。该研究计划将与教育计划相结合，在该计划中，高中生物学学生将根据一组“指导性”问题设计可测试的假设，这些问题涉及一种原产于阿巴拉契亚的寄生兰花。PI、西弗吉尼亚大学的学生和西弗吉尼亚的高中生物教师将合作设计和实施课程计划，其中将包括网络教程、基因组数据分析和发现的科学交流。该项目将招募在STEM职业中代表性不足的学生，包括第一代大学生。该奖项由环境生物学部的系统学、生物多样性科学和进化过程组共同资助。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，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。

Orchids are well-known as one of the most species-rich plant families and have tremendous horticultural importance, but their dependence on species-specific fungal partners for acquiring nutrition at key life stages is less appreciated, despite the fact that a poor understanding of this partnership can serve as a significant barrier to cultivation. While most orchids parasitize specific types of fungi at some stage of their life cycle, over 200 species of these plants have taken this dependence on fungi to an extreme by completely losing the ability to photosynthesize. This project will investigate the genomic consequences of abandoning photosynthesis and the evolution of extreme fungal host specificity in a comparative context, enabling a better understanding of how this partnership varies at a genetic level. It will bring together research and education by creating lesson plans in high school Biology, through a collaboration among researchers, teachers, and students. This educational program will focus on rural schools in Appalachia, from which recruitment into STEM careers remains low, engaging the next generation of STEM researchers in a region where employment opportunities are changing. The project will result in sustainable and accessible educational resources for teachers and students that will be disseminated broadly.The project will focus on: 1) sequencing and evolutionary analysis of plastid genomes for all parasitic orchids and close relatives; 2) molecular identification and phylogenetic analyses of fungal hosts in several focal orchid species complexes; 3) densely sampling the genomes of focal orchid taxa to identify the genomic basis of adaptation in host preference; and 4) creating an integrated model of genomic modification and fungal host specificity. The project will further advance the application of novel, economical, straightforward methods for generating genome-scale polymorphism data using ISSR amplicon sequencing, for use in the developing world, at undergraduate institutions, and in K-12 education. The research program will be integrated with the educational program, in which high school Biology students will design testable hypotheses based on a set of ‘guided’ questions on a parasitic orchid species native to Appalachia. The PI, students at West Virginia University, and high school Biology teachers in West Virginia will collaborate to design and implement lesson plans that will include web-based tutorials, analysis of genomic data, and scientific communication of findings. The project will recruit students underrepresented in STEM careers, including first-generation college students. This award was co-funded by the Systematics and Biodiversity Science and Evolutionary Processes Clusters in the Division of Environmental Biology.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.