Dissertation Research: A Biosystematic Study of the Genus Hosta

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Under the guidance of faculty adviser Dr. Samuel Jones at the University of Georgia, Mr. Myong Chung will study the morphology, chromosome composition, and patterns of genetic variability in Korean and Japanese species of the monocot genus Hosta, source of the horticulturally important hosta lilies. Numerous populations in Korea and Japan have been collected by the student over the past few years, and samples from these and other collections will provide materials for herbarium and laboratory studies. Genetic barriers between species will be evaluated through a program of artificial hybridizations in a common-garden experiment, in part to test whether species are reproductively isolated. Electrophoretic techniques are being used to measure amounts of gene differences between species, focusing upon a subset of seven species in a genus estimated to have 20 or so species in nature. The hosta lilies, native to eastern Asia, are in a taxonomically confused condition, and the project will help establish a reliable basis for species identification and for inferring evolutionary relationships among the various forms.