Postdoctoral Fellowship: PRFB: Investigating the Origin and Persistence of Self-fertilization in Mimulus

Ritter, Eleanore Jeanne, Athens GA

Investigators

Abstract

This action funds an NSF Plant Genome Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology for FY 2025. The fellowship supports a research and training plan in a host laboratory for the Fellow who also presents a plan to maximize participation in biology. The title of the research and training plan for this fellowship to Eleanore J. Ritter is "Investigating the origin and persistence of self-fertilization in Mimulus" The host institution for the fellowship is the University of Georgia and the sponsoring scientist is Dr. Andrea Sweigart. While some plant species rely exclusively on pollinators, wind, and/or water to spread pollen and reproduce with other individuals (i.e. outcrossing), many plant species can also pollinate themselves (i.e. self-fertilization). The ability of many crop species (e.g. wheat, tomato, orange) to self-fertilize greatly facilitates plant breeding programs and provides farmers with a means to increase fruit yield when pollinators are limited. Self-fertilization is also important in wild plant populations as pollinator populations decline and habitat fragmentation makes it more difficult for pollen to spread between individuals. This project will investigate the evolutionary processes that drive the origin and persistence of primarily self-fertilizing (i.e. selfing) monkeyflower species (genus Mimulus) to provide insights into the benefits and drawbacks of self-fertilization. This research will clarify the ways in which self-fertilization may impact the robustness and adaptability of plants while providing the Fellow with training in evolutionary genomics, population genetics, and modeling. Additionally, the Fellow will mentor undergraduates in research projects related to this research and develop a bioinformatics workshop for undergraduate researchers at the University of Georgia. She will also participate in K-12 outreach programs with local schools and develop a hands-on activity for K-12 students that leverages the plants collected for this research. This research will combine environmental and genetic data in a phylogeographical context to understand a) what factors drive variation in self-fertilization rates in the outcrossing species Mimulus guttatus and M. bicolor and b) if similar processes shape the evolution of selfing in Mimulus. The project’s first aim will generate genetic sequencing data for multiple populations of Mimulus guttatus and M. bicolor to identify genetic, ecological, and/or environmental features linked to self-fertilization rate variation, as well as investigate the genetic basis of increased self-fertilization rates in these two outcrossing species. The project’s second aim will generate and leverage sequencing data for five distinct lineages of selfing Mimulus species along with their closest outcrossing relatives to determine what factors drove the parallel evolution of selfing in these species. This research will clarify the genetic/ecological causes and consequences of selfing evolution. Leaf tissue and seeds from this research will be available upon request. Sequencing data generated will be made publicly available through NCBI’s SRA and all phenotypic and environmental data will be shared publicly through Zenodo. Scripts used in data analyses and materials from the bioinformatics workshop will be made publicly available through the Fellow’s GitHub account: https://github.com/eleanore-ritter. Research findings will be shared broadly through open access publications. Keywords: self-fertilization, plant genomes, evolutionary genomics, population genetics. 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.