Contagious Asexuality via Introgressive Hybridization: a Test of Hypotheses using Genetic Mapping in Flowering Plants

University Of Central Arkansas, Conway AR

Investigators

Abstract

An issue of broad concern in biology is the impact of hybridization ("crossing") between different species, which encompasses phenomena as diverse as the escape of transgenes from cultivated crops, to the dynamics and outcomes of hybridization between native species. The proposed research aims to study from a genetic perspective the spread by hybridization of the ability in plants to produce seeds without fertilization, a phenomenon termed apomixis. In this research, hybrids between sexual and apomictic plants in a common herb (fleabane, Erigeron, sunflower plant family) will be studied. Genetic mapping using molecular markers will be used to test different hypotheses relating to the tempo of trait spread and also to evaluate the number, location, and interactions among genome regions affecting apomictic reproduction. This research is important because it provides a novel perspective on the genetics and evolution of asexual reproduction. Results will inform (1) efforts to transfer apomictic reproduction from wild to agronomic species; (2) models for the maintenance of sexual reproduction in natural populations; and (3) our understanding of how gene interactions influence the dynamics of the hybridization process. In addition, money from this project will be used to train several undergraduate and graduate students in molecular biology.