NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology: Characterizing Ecological and Genetic Mechanisms of Hybrid Vigor in Boechera

Sandstedt, Gabrielle D, Logan UT

Investigators

Abstract

This action funds an NSF Plant Genome Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology for FY 2023. 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 Gabrielle Sandstedt is "Investigating the genetic and ecological basis of hybrid vigor in nature". The host institution for the fellowship is Utah State University and the sponsoring scientists are Drs. Catherine Rushworth and Emily Josephs. A critical concern for plant breeding is ensuring food security in a world impacted by climate change. One approach to this problem is breeding genetically divergent plants to create hybrids that outperform their parents in survival and reproduction, a phenomenon called hybrid vigor. While hybrid vigor has led to the formation of many hybrid crops, it is not understood how hybrids will respond to changing environments. This work utilizes Boechera, a wildflower system to deepen an understanding of the genetics and ecology of hybrid vigor in nature. Such knowledge can be implemented to secure the food supply. Additionally, this research will allow to promote equitable opportunities for students in academia by participating in programs that support undergraduates from diverse backgrounds, such as Utah State University's Native American Summer Mentorship Program. The research also presents valuable opportunities initiating public discussions on the role of research in developing crops that meet the needs of a growing population. The Fellow will coordinate these discussions and provide learning activities at the longstanding scientific lecture series Science Unwrapped, a science outreach program hosted by Utah State University. The purpose of this research is to identify ecological variables and genetic mechanisms that facilitate hybrid vigor in nature. To pinpoint the effects of key environmental variables on hybrid vigor, parental lines and hybrid combinations of two Boechera species, along with wild-collected hybrids, will be planted in a manipulative field experiment and measured for fitness. The next objective uses genomic and transcriptomic sequencing data of natural hybrids and de novo crosses to determine the genetic mechanisms involved in hybrid vigor. This includes characterizing the distribution of genetic load within Boechera species, examining whether heterozygosity masking these alleles in hybrids predicts fitness across environments, and determining how differential gene expression underlying hybrid vigor phenotypes varies across environments. The research will generate extensive data, including seed collections, plant tissue samples, fitness and trait measurements (which will be submitted to https://datadryad.org), and several types of genomic sequence data (which will be made available on https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sra). Together, these data will reveal ecological and genetic factors that contribute to hybrid vigor while providing substantial ecological and genetic resources. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.