| 项目编号: | 1457346
|
| 项目名称: | Evolutionary genetics of a cosmopolitan generalist herbivore |
| 作者: | Richard Clark
|
| 承担单位: | University of Utah
|
| 批准年: | 2014
|
| 开始日期: | 2015-04-15
|
| 结束日期: | 2018-03-31
|
| 资助金额: | USD437355
|
| 资助来源: | US-NSF
|
| 项目类别: | Continuing grant
|
| 国家: | US
|
| 语种: | 英语
|
| 特色学科分类: | Biological Sciences - Environmental Biology
|
| 英文关键词: | generalist herbivore
; herbivore
; research
; gene
; two-spotted spider mite herbivore
; animal herbivore
|
| 英文摘要: | To counteract grazing by animal herbivores, plants use a large array of defenses that include the production of toxic compounds. In turn, herbivores exploit diverse strategies to overcome these plant defenses. As herbivores have profound impacts on natural plant communities, and are one of the major sources of crop loss in agriculture, understanding the genetic basis and strategies for how herbivores adapt to feed on plant hosts is of ecological and agricultural relevance. The objective of this research is to characterize the genetic underpinnings of the interaction between the two-spotted spider mite herbivore and different plant hosts. This mite species is well known as a generalist herbivore, meaning that it can feed on many plant species, including more than a hundred crop plants. The research will further our understanding of the extent to which given strains of generalist herbivores can persist equally well on diverse plant hosts, or alternatively may be specialized to more specific subsets of plant species. Furthermore, the research will characterize which genes and alleles, including ones that impact variation in gene expression regulation, are important for the life history of this generalist herbivore. Outcomes of the research will include specific insights into forces shaping genetic variation in generalist herbivores relevant to human welfare, and the work will more broadly inform studies in diverse organisms that aim to elucidate the genetic basis of adaptation to changing environments. The research will also train K-12, undergraduate, and graduate students.
To accomplish the research objectives, mite strains from diverse geographical locations and host plants will be collected. Using high-throughput DNA sequencing, the genomes of the strains will subsequently be determined to describe genetic variation. Molecular signatures of selection will then be assessed for genes associated with, for example, the metabolism of plant toxins. Complementing these studies of DNA variation, high-throughput transcriptome sequencing will also be performed to assess the possibility that variation in the regulation of these genes underlies establishment on different hosts. Finally, genetic crosses, followed by sequencing of resulting populations selected on different plant hosts, will be carried out to identify specific genes and alleles underlying host-plant adaptation. |
| 资源类型: | 项目
|
| 标识符: | http://119.78.100.158/handle/2HF3EXSE/94848
|
| Appears in Collections: | 影响、适应和脆弱性
气候减缓与适应
|
|
There are no files associated with this item.
|
| Recommended Citation: | |
Richard Clark. Evolutionary genetics of a cosmopolitan generalist herbivore. 2014-01-01.
|
|
|