Postdoctoral Fellowship: PRFB: Whole genome duplication and climatic niche evolution

This action funds an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology for FY 2024, Integrative Research Investigating the Rules of Life Governing Interactions Between Genomes, Environment, and Phenotypes. The fellowship supports research and training of the Fellow who will contribute to the area of Rules of Life in innovative ways. Whole-genome duplication, or polyploidy, is ubiquitous across all flowering plants.

Polyploidy may allow plants to persist in times of stress by changing how they interact with their environment. To date, analyses of the impacts of whole genome duplication on the ecology of naturally occurring species have focused on the establishment of new polyploids or the comparison of broad spatial patterns between diploids and polyploids. However, few approaches have attempted to link evolutionary processes with ecological outcomes of whole genome duplication.

This project connects phenotypes, environment, and genotypes to understand the consequences of whole genome duplication on species ecology. This work will be of broad interest to those wanting to understand the evolution of a complex continuous trait. This Fellow will facilitate and mentor undergraduate researchers, as well as develop inclusive data science teaching material.

Hybridization is common across the tree of life; therefore, models and frameworks to understand the impact of discordance on trait evolution and species diversification are needed to recognize the rules of life. To identify the ecological implications of whole genome duplication, the nonindependence of climatic niche dynamics for a polyploid and its diploid progenitor(s) must be accounted for by considering their shared and reticulated evolutionary history.

The Fellow will develop new phylogenetic comparative methods that incorporate admixture proportions and gene-tree discordance to reconstruct ancestral niche dynamics. This method will then be used to understand the consequences of whole-genome duplication on species ecology by classifying niche dynamics among Galax urceolata (Diapensiaceae) mixed-cytotype populations and across the phylogeny of the order Ericales.

This research will leverage previously generated sequence data, paired with a cutting-edge phylogenetic reconstruction approach, to discern the consequences of whole genome duplication on climatic niche dynamics. This project will assemble a large amount of occurrence data, which will be disseminated with their associated phylogenies in a portal hosted by the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) as part of a new global initiative to connect phylogenies, occurrences, and traits.

Broader impacts include developing inclusive teaching material and mentoring undergraduate students in independent research.

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.