ROW: Generic Relationships in North American Astereae (Compositae) Using Chloroplast DNA Restriction Site Mapping

菊科是一个重要的生态群体，特别是在美国西部，但其135个属之间的进化关系却鲜为人知。文献中关于这个话题的讨论主要集中在部落中染色体数量变化的可能模式上，但即使是这个问题也没有得到解决。梅雷迪思·莱恩博士将在康涅狄格大学罗伯特·詹森博士的实验室工作，学习叶绿体DNA限制性位点定位的强大新技术。她将用这些方法对该建筑群中的33个属进行研究，以获得比较数据。这些数据将用于计算机辅助系统发育分析，并与形态学数据的类似分析进行比较。这样的系统发育将有助于解决菊科染色体数目进化模式的问题，并将澄清属间的分类关系。利用比较DNA信息可以回答一些关于若干问题属（如Lessingia和Benitoa， Chrysothamnus和erica america）分类地位的具体问题。对单爪龙（Haplopappus）大属及其近亲的研究也将开始。詹森博士的实验室是一个非常活跃的实验室，与其他系统学家的合作互动将增加莱恩博士未来研究的可能性。

Evolutionary relationships among the 135 genera of sunflowers of the tribe Astereae, an ecologically important group especially in the American West, are poorly known. What discussion of this topic there has been in the literature has concentrated mostly on possible modes of change in chromosome numbers within the tribe, but even that issue remains unresolved. Dr. Meredith Lane, under a Career Advancement Award, will work in the laboratory of Dr. Robert Jansen at University of Connecticut to learn the powerful new techniques of chloroplast DNA restriction site mapping. She will use these methods to study 33 genera in the complex, to obtain comparative data. These data will be used in a computer-aided phylogenetic analysis and compared to a similar analysis of morphological data. Such a phylogeney will help resolve the question of the mode of chromosome number evolution in the Astereae and will clarify intergeneric taxonomic relationships. A number of specific questions about the taxonomic status of several problematic genera such as Lessingia and Benitoa, and Chrysothamnus and Ericameria can be answered using the comparative DNA information. Work will also begin on the large genus Haplopappus and its relatives. Dr. Jansen's laboratory is a very active one, and collaborative interactions with other systematists will enhance possiblities for future research by Dr. Lane.