IMAGiNE: The genetic, developmental, and physiological mechanisms of plant local adaptation to oceanic salt spray

生物学的一个基本目标是了解生物有机体如何以及为什么进化，从基因到生态系统。这项研究通过研究黄色猴花Mimulus guttatus以及它如何适应海洋盐雾来探索这些进化过程。长期以来，科学家们已经知道盐雾影响哪些植物物种可以在海洋附近生存。然而，人们对植物如何首先进化适应沿海地区的生活知之甚少。这项研究的重点是了解沿海猴花种群如何进化到1）通过保持短暂而在大风期间不开花来避免盐雾，2）通过防止盐雾进入植物组织来抵抗盐雾，3）通过将盐输送到植物的部分来耐受盐雾，在那里它将造成最小的损害。总的来说，这项研究应该揭示从基因到种群水平的这些适应的多个维度。这项研究还将为猴花的基因工程开发新的工具。最终，这项工作将扩大对植物进化和植物在具有挑战性的环境中的适应力方面的理解，并具有农业作物的潜在应用。研究结果将被纳入教育材料，包括漫画书和音频播客。为了评估这些教育材料，研究人员直接与教师和数百名低收入少数民族高中学生在弗林特，MI通过动手调查为基础的research.The拟议的研究旨在了解遗传，发育，形态和生理机制的沿海多年生生态型Mimulus guttatus海洋盐雾的地方适应。可用于M. Guttatus将促进基因网络中多基因适应的研究。这项研究分为三个目标，每个目标都集中在盐雾适应的一个关键组成部分：避免，抵抗和耐受性。目的1是通过紧凑的生长形式和晚季开花时间的进化，了解沿海生态型的局部适应性盐雾回避机制。这项研究将测试沿海和内陆生态类型之间的发展差异是否是由赤霉素激素基因网络内的基因进化引起的。目的2将评估沿海和内陆生态型之间的形态差异在盐雾进入植物组织的抗性中的作用，一旦盐雾降落在气生植物器官上。目的3研究盐进入植物地上部组织后，植物耐盐雾的遗传和生理机制。钠运输在整个叶器官和单个叶细胞的水平将被检查，以测试的假设，沿海生态型具有较高的耐受性，泵钠的细胞质外质外体和液泡。总的来说，这项研究将使人们更好地理解在压力环境中的适应性是如何成为多种复杂生物适应的一种新特性。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并被认为值得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来支持。

A fundamental goal of biology is to understand how and why biological organisms evolve, from the level of genes to ecosystems. This research explores these evolutionary processes by studying the yellow monkeyflower, Mimulus guttatus, and how it adapts to oceanic salt spray. For a long time, scientists have known that salt spray influences which plant species can survive near the ocean. However, little is known about how plants evolve adaptations to live in coastal areas in the first place. The research focuses on understanding how coastal monkeyflower populations evolved to 1) avoid salt spray by remaining short and not flowering during windy periods, 2) resist salt spray by preventing it from entering plant tissues, and 3) tolerate salt spray by transporting salt to parts of the plant where it will cause the least amount of damage. Overall, this research should uncover multiple dimensions of these adaptations from the gene to the population level. The research will also result in the development of new tools for genetic engineering of monkeyflowers. Ultimately, the work will expand understanding of plant evolution and aspects of plant resilience in challenging environments, with potential applications for agricultural crops. The results of the research will be incorporated into educational materials, including a comic book and audio podcasts. To evaluate these educational materials, the investigators are working directly with teachers and hundreds of low-income minority high school students in Flint, MI through hands-on inquiry-based research.The proposed research aims to understand the genetic, developmental, morphological, and physiological mechanisms of local adaptation of the coastal perennial ecotype of Mimulus guttatus to oceanic salt spray. The extensive tools available for M. guttatus will facilitate studies of adaptation for multiple genes within gene networks. The research is divided into three aims, each of which is focused on a key component of salt spray adaptation: avoidance, resistance, and tolerance. Aim 1 is focused on understanding the mechanisms of locally adaptive salt spray avoidance by the coastal ecotype through the evolution of a compact growth form and a late-season flowering time. The research will test whether the developmental divergence between coastal and inland ecotypes underlying salt spray avoidance is caused by the evolution of genes within the gibberellin hormone gene network. Aim 2 will evaluate the role of morphological divergence between coastal and inland ecotypes in resistance to salt spray entry into plant tissues once it has landed on aerial plant organs. Aim 3 will evaluate the genetic and physiological mechanisms of salt spray tolerance once salt has entered aboveground plant tissues. Sodium transport at both the level of entire leaf organs and individual leaf cells will be examined to test the hypothesis that the coastal ecotype has higher tolerance by pumping sodium out of the cytosol into the apoplast and vacuoles. Overall, the research will lead to an increased understanding of how fitness in stressful environments is an emergent property of multiple complex organismal adaptations.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.