Improving crop plants can be accomplished by creating hybrids. Some hybrids, like mules, are sterile, because the parents have different chromosome numbers. In plants, some sterile hybrids can become fertile when their chromosome number is doubled, a process called polyploidy. Many important crop plants, such as alfalfa, cotton, potato, and wheat are recent polyploids while others, such as maize, soybean, and cabbage, retain the vestiges of ancient polyploid events. This project will investigate how polyploidy can give rise to novel traits, such as the resistance to insects, in the order Brassicales (broccoli, mustards, capers, papaya, and relatives). The investigators of this project have developed new phylogenomics methods that allow one to understand the evolutionary history of how species are related while simultaneously determining whether or not they are polyploid.
At a time when rapid global changes are placing unprecedented pressure on plants in agricultural and natural landscapes, it is imperative that scientists think beyond a single discipline. Phylogenomics has emerged as an interdisciplinary approach in the biological sciences; however, there are few opportunities to learn the genomic and bioinformatics tools becoming required in biology. To address this gap, this project will develop modules for undergraduate courses; create an interdisciplinary research environment that uses computational methods; and engage in outreach to systematic biologists by annual workshops. All research proposed here involves recruiting and mentoring students from underrepresented groups.
