This Americas Program award will support Dr. Judy L. Stone of Colby College, Maine in a research collaboration with Dr. Oscar J. Rocha-Nunez and Dr. Paul Hanson of the Universidad de Costa Rica in San Pedro, Costa Rica. The researchers intend to investigate genetic and ecological forces acting on the evolution of self-fertilization, one of the most common evolutionary transitions in flowering plants. The collaborators propose to expand the knowledge base of self-compatible and self-incompatible plant systems that are important in modeling the evolution of self-fertilization and, ultimately, make contributions to the genetic and ecological factors influencing selection in mating systems.
The collaborators will bring complementary skills to the project that will allow them to integrate ecological processes in the field, theoretical predictions of models, and patterns of change for the genes of interest. Stone has expertise in sequencing the gene that controls self-fertilization and in relating changes at the genetic level to changes in ability to self-fertilize, Rocha has expertise in the study of self-fertilization in plants in their natural settings, and Hanson's expertise with insects is needed to determine how differences in insect pollinators will affect the degree of self-fertilization. In addition, the project will help to support the involvement of four undergraduate students from the United States.?????
