Convergent multispecies interactions in coprophagous pitcher plant species

在这里，我们提出了一个多学科的合作项目，涉及来自四个国家的五所大学的研究小组。我们将研究独立进化出食腐作为新的营养获取策略的猪笼草物种，以及它们与哺乳动物共生伙伴和植物消化液中微生物群落的相互作用。通过比较食腐植物物种之间以及它们的节肢动物亲属，我和我的合作者将揭示它们与微生物群落之间可能的趋同适应和趋同相互作用。我们将研究这些多物种相互作用的群落和植物性状的差异。这些结果将使我们对驱动这些相互作用进化的选择压力得出结论。除了关于这些特定系统的许多有趣的研究问题（例如，为什么这些植物从食肉动物转变为食腐动物作为首选的营养获取策略），该项目还将阐明互惠研究中一些最有趣的一般问题：1)伙伴物种的哪些特征促进互惠互动？2)互惠互动是否包含在一个更大的网络中，如微生物，如果是这样的话，不同的参与物种是如何相互作用的？3)在相似类型的共生关系中是否可以找到相似的适应和社区结构？4)种间相互作用中导致趋同适应和群落结构的选择压力是什么？为了解决这些问题，我和我的合作者将进行详细的现场和实验室实验，并使用最先进的技术，如下一代测序和宏蛋白质组学。这些结果将被转移到广泛的互惠关系中，例如，进一步的动植物互惠关系及其微生物相互作用伙伴。此外，该项目将有助于更好地了解其他消化系统的相互作用，包括植物间的相互作用以及动物与肠道微生物之间的相互作用。最后，通过提供对这些动物-植物-微生物相互作用的新见解，我们希望激发关于相互作用的起源和进化的新理论方法。

Here we propose a multidisciplinary, collaborative project that involves research groups from five universities in four countries. We will investigate pitcher plant species that independently evolved coprophagy as novel nutrient acquisition strategy and their interactions with mammal mutualism partners and the microbial communities within the plants' digestive fluid. By comparing coprophagous plant species with each other and with their arthropod-capturing relatives my collaborators and I will reveal possible convergent adaptations and convergent interactions with their microbial communities. We will study the communalities and the differences of these multispecies interactions and of the plants' traits. These results will allow us to draw conclusions on the selective pressures that drive the evolution of these interactions. In addition to many fascinating research questions on these specific systems that remain to be answered (e.g., why these plants switched from carnivory to coprophagy as preferred nutrient-acquisition strategy), this project will shed light on some of the most interesting general questions in mutualistic research: 1) Which traits of the partner species facilitate mutualistic interactions? 2) Are mutualistic interactions included in a larger network of further participants, e.g., microbes, and if this is the case, how do the different involved species interact? 3) Can similar adaptations and community structures be found in similar types of mutualisms? 4) What are the selective pressures leading to convergent adaptations and community structures in interspecific interactions? To address these questions, my collaborators and I will conduct elaborated field and lab experiments and use state-of-the-art technologies such as Next Generation Sequencing and metaproteomics. The results will be transferable to a wide range of mutualisms, e.g., to further animal-plant mutualisms and their microbial interaction partners. Moreover, this project will contribute to a better understanding of other digestive mutualisms, including ant-plant mutualisms and mutualisms between animals and microbes in their intestinal tracts. Finally, by providing novel insights into these animal-plant-microbe interactions we hope to inspire novel theoretical approaches on the origin and evolution of mutualisms.