NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY 2015

Turner Kathryn G, Austin TX

Investigators

Abstract

This action funds an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology for FY 2015, Research Using Biological Collections. The fellowship supports a research and training plan for the Fellow to take transformative approaches to grand challenges in biology that employ biological collections in highly innovative ways. The title of the research plan for this fellowship to Kathryn G. Turner is "Rewinding the blue mustard invasion using herbarium genomics." The host institution for this fellowship is Colorado State University, and the sponsoring scientists are Drs. John McKay and Ruth Hufbauer. Biological invasions of non-native plant species present compelling motivation to understand how human-induced changes in the environment and species distributions influence ecological and evolutionary processes. Their documented geographic spread across time makes them ideal for study using historic collections, allowing better insight to evolutionary change over short time scales. Applying advanced genomic approaches to historic samples is key to understanding the processes that allow plants to rapidly establish and adapt to new environments. Theory predicts that dramatic ecological and evolutionary changes affect invasive species soon upon arrival in a new habitat. Yet current research relies on sampling contemporary populations, and therefore reveals little about the initial stages of invasion. The fellowship research is a study of the history of an invasive weed by exploiting an untapped historical resource to observe "snapshots" of the initial stages of invasion and the genetic changes that occur as a plant species spreads. It involves sampling genetic material from dried plant specimens collected throughout the course of an invasion, from herbarium collections across North America, including the New York Botanical Garden, the University of Kansas, the California Academy of Sciences, the University of British Columbia, Colorado State University, and perhaps others. Techniques for ancient DNA originally developed to study long extinct organisms such as mammoths are being used to study evolution over the course of the 100 year invasion of North America by blue mustard (Chorispora tenella, Brassicaceae), a widespread and governmentally listed noxious invasive weed. Training goals include gaining mastery of molecular and genomic techniques and bioinformatic analyses. Techniques for ancient DNA studies are being learned through a visit to the lab of Dr. Hernán Burbano at the Max Planck Institute. Public outreach is to established invasive species communities in North America as well as a public website to promote communication and increase awareness of the impact of invasive species and a citizen-science project to collect occurrence data. Results promise to contribute to a predictive framework for invasion biology broadly, and the understudied blue mustard invasion specifically. Predicting the circumstances and starting conditions that make invasion possible can help target prevention and mitigation efforts.