This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).
Understanding how species adapt to local climates is critical for predicting how global climate change will affect species distributions and their ecological interactions. This research examines the genetic and ecological processes that determine patterns of cyanogenesis (cyanide release with tissue damage) in white clover populations across North America. Cyanogenesis protects plants against small herbivores; however, cyanogenic compounds are energetically expensive and come at a cost of decreased growth and reproduction. The research will employ DNA sequencing, greenhouse- and field-experiments to determine whether the cyanogenic and acyanogenic forms can arise multiple times independently, or whether cyanogenesis represents ancient genetic variation maintained through natural selection.
Because white clover occurs in school lawns across North America, this system is easily adapted to the high school Biology classroom, where it can serve as a hands-on tool for understanding the connection between genetics, physiology, and ecology. This project will use a multifaceted approach to develop science educational resources: 1) summer lab internships for high school Biology teachers, where they will receive hands-on scientific training; 2) dissemination of classroom lab kits to high school teachers nationwide, where they and their students will collect cyanogenesis data from local clover populations; and 3) web-based resources where students around the country will contribute and analyze data addressing research questions on clover cyanogenesis and climatic adaptation.
