| NSF Org: |
DEB Division Of Environmental Biology |
| Recipient: |
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| Initial Amendment Date: | September 23, 2013 |
| Latest Amendment Date: | May 18, 2021 |
| Award Number: | 1342873 |
| Award Instrument: | Continuing Grant |
| Program Manager: |
Christopher Balakrishnan
cbalakri@nsf.gov (703)292-2331 DEB Division Of Environmental Biology BIO Directorate for Biological Sciences |
| Start Date: | January 1, 2014 |
| End Date: | September 30, 2022 (Estimated) |
| Total Intended Award Amount: | $1,545,483.00 |
| Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $1,545,483.00 |
| Funds Obligated to Date: |
FY 2014 = $265,220.00 FY 2015 = $329,234.00 FY 2016 = $86,101.00 |
| History of Investigator: |
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| Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
1000 LAKE COOK RD GLENCOE IL US 60022-1168 (847)835-5440 |
| Sponsor Congressional District: |
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| Primary Place of Performance: |
IL US 60022-1168 |
| Primary Place of
Performance Congressional District: |
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| Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): |
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| Parent UEI: |
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| NSF Program(s): |
Cross-BIO Activities, Dimensions of Biodiversity |
| Primary Program Source: |
01001415DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT 01001516DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT 01001617DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT |
| Program Reference Code(s): |
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| Program Element Code(s): |
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| Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.074 |
ABSTRACT
Relationships among flowering plants and insects represent one of the great engines of terrestrial diversity. Plant scents are important drivers of these relationships (herbivory, plant defense, pollination), but remain poorly integrated into our understanding of floral evolution and pollination ecology. This study examines the role of floral scent in the diversification of the western North American evening primroses (Onagraceae) and their pollinators (hawkmoths, bees) and floral and seed predators (Mompha moths). Hypotheses that integrate across the genetic, phylogenetic, and functional dimensions of biodiversity are developed from the Geographic Mosaic Theory of Coevolution, which posits that variation in plant-animal interactions across the distribution of a species creates shifting evolutionary trajectories that drive local diversification. The research examines functional trait variation and selective forces in the field and experimental arrays, the genetic basis of the variation from the population to phylogenetic level using comparative genomics, and patterns of phylogenetic diversity in Onagraceae and Mompha. Mompha is a poorly understood genus that is the only known lepidopteran group to specialize on Onagraceae.
Few studies have tested the full spectrum of plant fitness outcomes when volatiles attract both mutualists and enemies, and no current studies have investigated scent-driven, geographic diversification in groups of interacting organisms. The hidden diversity of floral and seed predators and their potential as selective agents constitutes a considerable gap in pollinator-centric understanding of floral evolution. The integration of chemical ecology and comparative genomics provides a first attempt to explore the impact of past selective pressures on current patterns of diversity in non-model organisms. Additionally, the investigators will engage over 200 students (high school - graduate school, interns, and postdocs) in field work, experiments, and genomics/informatics activities. Private and public land owners and volunteers will participate in and/or be informed of conservation-focused components of this study.
PUBLICATIONS PRODUCED AS A RESULT OF THIS RESEARCH
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PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT
Disclaimer
This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.
The Landscapes of Linalool Dimensions Project made significant progress towards understanding the role that floral scent variation and floral traits may play in the diversification of the evening primrose family, Onagraceae. Our fieldwork revealed that floral antagonists can impose selective pressure on floral traits and floral scent in particular. We uncovered geographic variation in floral scent across the distribution of four species in four different sections of Oenothera. Population genetic data revealed that hawkmoth pollinators move pollen over greater distances than do bee pollinators in some but not all taxa and in selfing taxa, may contribute to selection for floral traits important to pollinator attraction and fidelity. Phylogenetic analyses identified leafmining on Onagraceae as the ancestral state for Momphidae, a clade of microlepidopteran antagonists, and shifts along three host plant axes (taxon, tissue type, and larval feeding mode) have contributed to the evolutionary success and diversification of momphids. We produced several genomic resources that will be valuable for future work on Onagraceae and for future work on the evolution of floral scent more broadly in all flowering plants. These resources include several complete genome sequences and a set of informative genes that were used to reconstruct an evolutionary tree ? a key framework for understand how species and traits in this family evolved. Our work identified specific genes, and alleles of those genes, that are involved in the production of a critical component of floral scent in evening primroses.
Last Modified: 01/31/2023
Modified by: Krissa Skogen
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