Presenter: Connor Benson
Mentors: Matt Streisfeld and Sean Stankowski, Biology
Poster: 4
Major: Biology
Understanding the genetic basis of adaptive traits lends insight into the mechanisms that generate biodiversity. Flower color has been implicated as an adaptive trait in numerous studies, and is thought to be a primary driver
of speciation in angiosperms due to selection by differential pollinator preference. Here I used molecular genetic techniques to examine the relationship between two regulatory genes involved in the production of red floral pigment, a trait thought to underlie the evolution of two new subspecies in Mimuls aurantiacus. I used genotype-phenotype comparisons in lab bred plants to characterize how MaMyb1, the less studied of these two genes, impacts the production of red floral pigment. I also utilized virus-induced gene silencing in an attempt to understand the functional role of MaMyb1 in producing red flowers. My results thus far suggest that MaMyb1 does not play a significant role in producing red flower pigment. This work aims to better our understanding of the genetic relationships underlying flower color divergence in an important model system for the study of speciation.