REU: Molecular Evolution and Adaptive Radiation in the Bromeliad Genus Brocchinia

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Drs. Givnish and Sytsma of the University of Wisconsin are studying the evolutionary history of species of the genus Brocchinia of the pineapple family, Bromeliaceae. This group of plants is of scientific interest because they are considered primitive members of the family and may be transitional to advanced epiphytic forms, because they are native to the most ancient part of South America, the Guyana Shield, and because they have evolved a remarkable range of means for capturing mineral nutrients including carnivory, symbiotic nitrogen fixation, and feeding by ants. The investigators will collect specimens of the estimated 21 species of the genus in Venezuela, Brazil, and Colombia. They will assess genomic relationships among species through analysis of chloroplast DNA. Comparison of these results with study of floral and vegetative traits will permit evaluation of the reliability of traditional anatomical characters in taxonomic classifications. The goal of the research is to understand how the species evolved, how they have adpated to conditions of extreme soil infertility, and how they have dispersed through geological time across the northern range of South America.