STAR: The genetic and genomic architecture of repeated trait evolution

This project explores how different plant species repeatedly develop the same traits even when they evolve separately from each other. Flower color is an essential trait for attracting animal pollinators, which helps plants reproduce and contributes to their amazing diversity. This research will help scientists understand the genetic reasons controlling independent changes in flower color in a model plant known as the monkeyflower that has multiple species that repeatedly evolved red flowers from their yellow-flowered ancestors.

This study will provide new knowledge about how organisms adapt to their surroundings and the evolution of new species. By revealing how specific genetic patterns and environmental factors combine to cause these changes, the findings will provide critical information needed to understand how plants and animals could adapt or be adapted in the future.

The project will also train undergraduate and graduate students in fundamental aspects of research in plant science, genetics, and evolution. In addition, the project includes a community outreach program that will engage children, encouraging early interest in plant biology and environmental science.

This project investigates the genetic and genomic factors underlying the repeated evolution of red flowers in the Mimulus aurantiacus species complex, a system where previous work has uncovered a complex evolutionary history and genetic basis related to this trait. Researchers will identify candidate mutations controlling the trait, will map epistasis and determine its impact on the efficacy of selection, and will distinguish between linkage and pleiotropy as causes for existing genetic correlations with red flowers.

The study will have important implications for distinguishing which traits and loci are the targets of natural selection, and how genome structure generates genetic correlations that can alter the evolutionary response to this selection. By examining whether the same or different mutations cause the repeated evolution of red flowers, the research will address fundamental questions about predictability and the constraints driving evolutionary change and will elucidate the fundamental role of genetic architecture in shaping natural selection.

The project will provide interdisciplinary training for undergraduate and graduate students in plant science, genetics, evolution, and bioinformatics. This project also includes a community outreach program in a local elementary school that is aimed at enhancing early scientific engagement and curiosity in evolution and biodiversity.

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.