NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY 2011

Hernandez Kyle M, Lafayette IN

Investigators

Abstract

This action funds an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology for FY 2011, Broadening Participation. The fellowship supports a research and training plan in a host laboratory for the Fellow who also presents a plan to broaden participation in biology. The title of the research and training plan for this fellowship to Kyle Hernandez is "Modeling the responses of plants to herbivory in changing environments." The host institution for this research is the University of Texas at Austin, and the sponsoring scientist is Dr. Thomas Juenger. Tolerance is the degree to which plants are unaffected by plant-eating insects. The ability of plants to maintain fitness in the face of herbivore damage has important ecological, evolutionary and applied implications, yet relatively little is known of its environmental consequences or its genetic basis. This research investigates the patterns of tolerance in plants in different environments, identifies possible underlying phenotypic and physiological mechanisms, determines the genetic architecture of these underlying mechanisms, and describes the genetic trade-offs associated with tolerance using the model species Brachypodium distachyon. This research has a strong mathematical modeling aspect that allows more accurate estimations of important genetic parameters in continuous traits. Also, Brachypodium is being developed as a model system for research, as biofuel, and as a food crop. Therefore, this project explores the basic biology of an important plant with potentially significant broader impacts for society. Training objectives include developing a novel perspective for the study of tolerance in plants and acquiring skills in mathematical modeling to permit comparisons of the relative merits of different mathematical models for estimating evolutionary parameters of continuous traits. Career development activities include improved technical writing, mentorship, leadership, teaching, and outreach skills. Broader impacts include educational and outreach activities with a diverse body of students in the Austin, TX area, local communities, and schools.