National Science Foundation Award Goes to Assistant Professor of Biology Foen Peng

This study seeks to provide an in-depth, genome-wide view of the genes that influence floral traits important in attracting animal pollinators, such as corolla color and shape. In addition, it will also try to understand how these genes interact with each other to form a network in regulating flower trait development.

The successful completion of this project is expected to help move the field forward in several ways. The approach developed in this project could be applied in other studies when the traits of interest are controlled by many genes, which in general are much more challenging to study than traits controlled by a single gene. Also, the gene interaction networks identified in this project are likely conserved, which means researchers could use the knowledge gained in this project to understand flower variation when studying other plants. Finally, since the project will use an unbiased approach to discover new genes, novel mechanisms of gene functional change could be uncovered, which will influence how researchers study trait evolution in general.

“Monkeyflowers (Mimulus) have been studied for decades, and it has become an important plant model system,” says Professor Peng. “Over the years, we accumulated a lot of resources in this system which are enabling us to carry out this kind of detailed genetic analysis.”

Spanning a four-year period from Sept. 1, 2023 to Aug. 31, 2027, the award totals $360,131 and will fund a collaborative project that includes Peng’s colleagues at the University of Connecticut. The grant is part of the NSF's Enabling Discovery through GEnomics (EDGE) program, which supports the development of innovative resources and technologies that advance biological research connecting genes and phenotypes and functional genomic research. 

Successful pollination is a prerequisite for the reproduction of the approximately 325,000 flowering plant species on earth. Many flowers have evolved a suite of floral phenotypes that enable specialized associations between the flower and the pollination agents such as bees, or even wind. Called the pollination syndrome, these traits include flower size, color, scent, shape, orientation, nectar reward, and pistil and stamen arrangements.

And yet, says Peng, little is known about actual genetic changes that ultimately cause the phenotypic evolution in a pollinator syndrome switch. “In our system, we will focus on three species that are (genetically) really closely related,” he says. “In terms of evolutionary history, they're like cousins, but in terms of appearance, they are very different. One species is pollinated by hummingbirds; the flower is red, it's really rich in nectar, and it does not produce scent. Another species is bumblebee-pollinated, it has a wide corolla for bees to land, and it provides scents as chemical cues to guide the bees. The third species is self-pollinated. It has tiny flowers and has no scent or nectar, since it does not rely on animal pollination.”

As a child growing up in the countryside of south China, Peng became fascinated by the nature that surrounded him – fish, frogs, and flowers were constant companions. After receiving his B.S. degree in urban and rural planning and resource management in Shanghai, he came to the United States and attended the University of Washington. There he switched to evolutionary biology and plant genetics, earning a Ph.D.

As part of the NSF grant, Peng and his colleagues will engage students and the public through several activities. At Haverford, a course-based undergraduate research experience will be created as part of the Superlab series, offering authentic research experiences to many undergraduate students. Through the collaboration, it will also provide valuable training opportunities to students at every level—postdoc, postbac, graduate, and undergraduate students. A focused effort will be made to engage students from populations underrepresented in STEM fields, through the McNair Scholars Program at UConn and the Chesick Scholars Program at Haverford College. 

“This is kind of a highlight for our project,” says Peng. “Basically, we will be having students running most parts of the project.”

Additionally, a variety of Mimulus plants in the Demonstration Garden on the UConn campus will be planted every summer as a live exhibit for students and the general public. This will also serve as a base to engage local communities in an organized pollinator observation experiment to raise public awareness of animal pollination service. Working with a professional science communicator, Peng and his collaborators will also produce videos aimed at bringing their Mimulus pollination syndrome research story to life. These videos will be released on a highly subscribed YouTube channel, Science IRL, to add even further to the project’s profile.

—Sam Donnellon