Evolutionary ecology of plant carbon acquisition traits: fitness consequences of plant kin recognition

我的实验室已经显示出植物亲缘关系的识别；也就是说，植物的特征会受到邻居是亲戚还是陌生人的影响。其他研究人员现在也发现了类似的结果。下一步是确定这些反应如何影响植物的表现。我们假设，植物之间的竞争将减少，而与兄弟姐妹邻居的合作将更多。然而，从实验上证明亲属识别的健康后果是困难的。我提出了一个三管齐下的方法来理解植物亲缘识别反应的健康后果。在平行的研究项目中，我的实验室将1)测量在该物种中表现出亲缘关系的特征上的自然选择；2)确定兄弟姐妹中菌根产量增加是否对健康有好处；3)研究与亲属或陌生人一起成长对生活史特征之间的权衡是如何影响的。在第一部分中，我将使用多水平选择分析方法来确定植物性状如何对邻居有利或有害。然而，由于显示植物亲缘关系识别的许多特征都是分配特征，只能用破坏性的方法来衡量，我建议采用Rausher的家系选择的一个版本，即早期分配将在一个家庭的一些成员上进行衡量，而适合度则在其他成员上进行衡量。我们将用多条已知线扩大这一方法的规模，测量亲属识别及其在低营养和高营养水平下的后果。在第二部分中，我将调查在兄弟姐妹群中菌根联合增加的适合性后果。因为菌根经常与植物联系在一起，可以提供益处，这种增加的关联性为增加兄弟姐妹群的适合度提供了一种潜在的机制。在第三个部分中，我们将测量亲缘关系在生活史特征中的识别。兄弟姐妹和陌生人的成长可能会通过影响这些特征之间的权衡来影响特定年龄的存活率和繁殖力等特征。 了解亲缘关系的适合性结果将为植物亲缘关系识别的进化提供关键信息。它将表明这些种群过程是否通过它们与菌根的相互作用对生态系统过程产生影响。了解植物在一组密切相关的个体中表现出的特征如何提高它们的适应性，对加拿大和世界上的农业、园艺和林业都有实际应用。

My lab has shown plant kin recognition; that is, plant traits are affected by whether neighbours are kin or strangers. Other researchers have now found similar results. The next step is determine how these responses affect plant performance. We hypothesize that plants will compete less and cooperate more with sibling neighbours. However, experimentally demonstrating the fitness consequences of kin recognition is difficult. I am proposing a three-pronged approach to understanding the fitness consequences of kin recognition responses in plants. In parallel research programs, my lab will 1) measure natural selection on traits that show kin recognition in that species; 2 ) determine whether there are fitness benefits of increased mycorrhizal production in siblings; and 3) examine how tradeoffs among life history traits are affected by growing with kin or strangers. In the first component, I will use a multilevel selection analysis approach to determine how plant traits can benefit or harm neighbours. However, because so many of the traits that show plant kin recognition are allocation traits that can only be measured destructively, I propose to incorporate a version of Rausher’s family selection, in which early allocation will be measured on some members of a family, while fitness is measured on others. We will scale this methodology up with multiple known lines, measuring kin recognition and its consequences in low and high nutrient levels. In the second component, I will investigate the fitness consequences of the increased mycorrhizal association in sibling groups. Because mycorrhizae are frequently associated with plants and can provide benefits, this increased association sibling groups provides a potential mechanism for increasing fitness in sibling groups. In the third component, we will measure kin recognition in life history traits. Growth with siblings vs. strangers may affects trait such as age-specific survivorship and fecundity, by affecting the tradeoffs among these traits. Understanding the fitness consequences of kinship will provide crucial information on how plant kin recognition evolves. It will indicate whether these population processes, through their interaction with mycorrhizae, have implications for ecosystem processes. Knowing how the traits expressed plants in groups of closely related individuals increase their fitness has practical applications for agriculture, horticulture, and forestry in Canada and the world.