Turning Selaginella into a model of plant reproductive evolution and ecology

古老的卷柏属植物可以揭示自然选择如何塑造植物繁殖的基本特征，如孢子的形态分化(种子进化的先决条件)和生殖投资的性别分裂。然而，人们对卷柏进化的“生态剧场”几乎一无所知。该项目将研究卷柏属生殖性状的全球系统发育模式，并结合澳大利亚和马来西亚物种的田间和温室研究，以检验进化生态学中的基本思想，如性别分配理论，并开始建立生态和适应的对应物，以应对卷柏属作为基因组模式生物的新兴角色。

The ancient genus Selaginella can reveal how natural selection shaped fundamental traits of plant reproduction like morphological differentiation of spores (a prerequisite for the evolution of seeds) and sexual division of reproductive investment. However, almost nothing is known of the ‘ecological theatre’ in which Selaginella evolves. This project will examine the worldwide phylogenetic pattern of reproductive traits in the genus, and combine field and greenhouse studies of Australian and Malaysian species in order to test fundamental ideas in evolutionary ecology such as the theory of sex allocation, and begin to establish the ecological and adaptive counterpart to Selaginella’s emerging role as a genomic model organism.