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

我的实验室已经展示了植物亲缘识别；也就是说，植物的性状受到邻居是亲属还是陌生人的影响。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性能。我们假设植物会减少与同胞邻居的竞争，而更多地合作。然而，通过实验证明亲缘识别的适应度结果是困难的。我提出了一种三管齐下的方法来理解植物亲缘识别反应的适应性后果。在平行的研究项目中，我的实验室将1)测量该物种中显示亲缘关系的特征的自然选择；2)确定兄弟姐妹中菌根产量增加是否有健身效益；3)研究生活史特征之间的权衡如何受到与亲属或陌生人一起成长的影响。在第一部分中，我将使用多层次选择分析方法来确定植物性状如何对邻居有益或有害。然而，由于许多表现出植物亲缘识别的性状都是分配性状，只能破坏性地进行测量，因此我建议采用一种版本的Rausher家族选择，即在一个家族的一些成员中测量早期分配，而在其他成员中测量适应性。我们将扩大这一方法与多个已知线，测量亲属识别及其后果在低和高营养水平。在第二部分中，我将研究兄弟姐妹群体中菌根关联增加的适应度后果。由于菌根经常与植物联系在一起并能提供益处，这种增加的联系兄弟群体提供了一种潜在的机制来增加兄弟群体的适应性。在第三部分中，我们将测量生活史特征中的亲属识别。与兄弟姐妹相比，与陌生人一起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。***了解亲缘关系的适应度结果将为了解植物亲缘识别如何进化提供重要信息。它将表明这些种群过程，通过它们与菌根的相互作用，是否对生态系统过程有影响。了解植物的性状是如何在密切相关的个体群体中表达的，从而提高它们的适应性，对加拿大和世界的农业、园艺和林业具有实际应用价值。*****

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.*****