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Frontiers in Integrative Biological Research (FIBR) 2003 awards "Integrated Ecological and Genomic Analysis of Speciation in Mimulus"
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September 2003
Because evolution takes generations, it is difficult to discern how new species arise. Indeed, through conventional approaches, the process was difficult to monitor during a scientist's lifetime.
Now, however, a collaboration of experts in population biology, genetics, ecology and computational biology, brought together through an NSF Frontiers in Integrative Biological Research project, will bring genomics and information systems to bear on the problem. Led by John Willis of Duke University, they will focus on the molecular mechanisms at work in four species of Mimulus, a genus whose members are more commonly known as monkeyflowers.
The genetic analysis will shed light on how ecological isolation, mate choice and incompatibility of genomes can lead to the creation of new species. The researchers will also examine how small differences in habitats and flowering times can prevent different species of the same genus from reproducing at the same place and time, and thereby prevent hybridization that might lead to new species.
Looking closely at one pair of monkeyflower species, they hope to gain insights into the genetic incompatibilities responsible for sterile hybrids, which occur in the wild despite differences in flowering times and habitats. The project will also compare a low-altitude red monkeyflower pollinated by hummingbirds to a high-altitude purple one pollinated by bees to investigate how "pre-mating isolation" caused by such differences hinders interbreeding and affects speciation.
Lead principal investigator (Duke University):
John Willis, (919) 660-7340, jwillis@duke.edu
Participating institutions:
- Duke University (Willis, Fred Dietrich)
- University of Washington (Toby Bradshaw)
- Clemson University (Jeffrey Tomkins)
- University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (Todd Vision)
- University of Montana (Lila Fishman)
- Michigan State University (Douglas W. Schemske)
Media contact at Duke: Dennis Meredith, dennis.meredith@duke.edu, (919) 681-8054
Total NSF funding, through August 2008: $4,999,979
Helpful web sites:
http://www.biology.duke.edu/mimulus
http://www.biology.duke.edu/willislab/labresearch.htm
Award abstract: https://www.fastlane.nsf.gov/servlet/showaward?award=0328636
The FIBR projects announced today include the following:
- "The Evolution of Biological Social Systems"
- "Causes and Consequences of Recombination,"
- "Developmental Modeling and Informatics,"
- "Integrative Studies of Wolbachia-Eukaryotic Interactions: Genomes to Communities and Back,"
- "Do Species Matter in Microbial Communities?"
The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent federal agency that supports fundamental research and education across all fields of science and engineering, with an annual budget of nearly $5.3 billion. NSF funds reach all 50 states through grants to nearly 2,000 universities and institutions. Each year, NSF receives about 30,000 competitive requests for funding, and makes about 10,000 new funding awards. The NSF also awards over $200 million in professional and service contracts yearly.
Receive official NSF news electronically through the e-mail delivery system, NSFnews. To subscribe, send an e-mail message to join-nsfnews@lists.nsf.gov. In the body of the message, type "subscribe nsfnews" and then type your name. (Ex.: "subscribe nsfnews John Smith")
Useful NSF Web Sites:
NSF Home Page: http://www.nsf.gov
News Highlights: http://www.nsf.gov/od/lpa
Newsroom: http://www.nsf.gov/od/lpa/news/media/start.htm
Science Statistics: http://www.nsf.gov/sbe/srs/stats.htm
Awards Searches: http://www.fastlane.nsf.gov/a6/A6Start.htm
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