Did you ever wonder why there are so many variation in flowers and their colors?
Flower color is one of the most striking traits to attract pollinators and it can vary between species and populations. Pollinators may have preferences for certain flower colors, but at the same time, environmental factors like soil nutrients, pH, water availability, and tissue structure can influence color.
In Digitalis purpurea we find different colors from white, pink and dark violet. However we recently found that flower variation in Digitalis is not affected by pollinators or abiotic factors like soil nutrients, pH or water content. We found that the nectary guides are almost always pigmented and complete albino plants are very rare.
It is still not known how different color morphs interbreed or if certain crosses are favored providing an advantage and how the genetic basis is regulated between petal and nectary guides tissues.
In this project you can work in the field with native populations from Sweden making crossings between different color morphs, or work in the lab to understand the genetic basis of different gene expression for anthocyanin pigmentation, or do both!
This project is suitable for both bachelor and master level.
Time of work (field and lab) between June-August.
Contact: Sissi Lozada Gobilard sissi.lozada_gobilard@biol.lu.se