Molecular basis of adaptation to biological invasions and its utility for conservation under global change

人类行为改变了生物体之间的关系，让生物学家敢于更好地理解新的生物相互作用的机制和结果。在这些成果中，对变化的广泛进化反应正在迅速挑战应用生命科学中的许多战略和技术进步。同样重要的是，新的相互作用也在选择积极和可操作的结果，比如当受威胁的生物体适应变化的条件时，或者当原住民进化以更好地利用生物入侵者时。在全球变化驱动因素中，生物入侵带来了对物种相互作用的关注，全球变化驱动因素的许多局部影响可能会在那里发挥作用。作为进化生态学中的偶然实验，入侵也具有科学价值。这项研究将调查本地昆虫对植物入侵的反应的进化。具体地说，我计划探索澳大利亚本土皂莓虫(Leptocoris Agalicus)是如何进化成在与其本土宿主相关的环境杂草上繁衍生息的遗传基础。为了应对不同的气球藤本植物的引入，澳大利亚的皂莓虫进化出了更长的嘴巴(“喙”)，让它们能够以膨胀的水果为食。研究这种进化是如何发生的，以及它如何作为这些入侵藤本植物进化的本土生物控制机制，是这项提案的主要目标。为此，我计划阐明生活在本地寄主和引进寄主上的肥莓臭虫的进化史；比较外来物种上喙的长度作为入侵年龄和本地寄主植物密度的函数；确定喙长度的数量遗传学及其对入侵系统进化管理的影响，并揭开喙适应涉及的分子机制。该项目代表了进化分析和河岸森林生态系统管理之间的独特联系，是评估未来使用细毛虫作为控制剂的适应性生物计划有效性的更广泛计划的第一步。拟议的研究将导致培训几名本科生/研究生，他们将把自己的研究与新技术和教育结合起来。皂浆虫提供了一个直观的生态适应的明确例子，使这些昆虫成为进化的优秀大使。通过开发新的平板电脑学习工具，旨在说明GEC和适应的基本概念，该项目将补充正在进行的教育方案设计，以提高普通公众对进化论科学的认识。

Human actions alter relationships among organisms daring biologists to better understand the mechanisms and outcomes of novel biotic interactions. Among the outcomes, widespread evolutionary responses to change are quickly challenging many strategic and technical advances in the applied life sciences. Equally important, new interactions are also selecting for positive and manipulable outcomes, as when threatened organisms adapt to changed conditions, or when natives evolve to better exploit biological invaders. Among global change drivers, biological invasions bring focus to species interactions, where many of the local impacts of global change drivers are likely to play out. Invasions are also scientifically valuable as chance experiments in evolutionary ecology. This research will investigate the evolution in native insects in response to plant invasions. Specifically, I plan to explore the genetic basis of how native Australian soapberry bugs (Leptocoris tagalicus) have evolved to prosper on introduced environmental weeds related to their native hosts. In response to the introduction of different balloon vine species, Australian soapberry bugs have evolved longer mouthparts (‘beaks’) that allow them to feed on the inflated fruits. Investigating how this evolution has taken place, and how it may serve as an evolving indigenous biological control mechanism for these invasive vines, is a chief goal of this proposal. To do so, I plan to elucidate the evolutionary history of soapberry bugs living on both native and introduced hosts; compare beak length on exotics as a function of invasion age and the density of resident native host plants; determine the quantitative genetics of beak length and its consequences for the evolutionary management of invaded systems, and unravel the molecular mechanisms involved in beak adaptation. This project represents a unique link between evolutionary analyses and riparian forest ecosystem management, and it is a first step as part of a broader program to assess the validity of future adaptive biological programs using Leptocoris as a control agent. The proposed research will result in the training of several undergraduate/graduate students who will integrate their research with new technologies and education. Soapberry bugs provide an intuitively clear example of ecological adaptation, making these insects excellent ambassadors for evolution. Through the development of new tablet learning tools aimed to illustrate basic concepts of GEC and adaptation this project will complement ongoing educational programs design to increase the literacy about the science of evolution in the general public.