PRF: Molecular Systematics of the Coleochaetaceae (Cholorophyta, Class Charophyceae), and the Origin of Embryophytes (Land Plants)

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Variation in nucleotide sequence in the gene rbcL will be used to study phylogeny within the green algal order Coleochaetales (class Charophyceae). Because of an apparent close relation between Coleochaetales and plants (embryophytes), this project has the potential to clarify the longstanding problem of the nature of the algal ancestor to plants. The taxa involved are small and difficult to obtain in large biomass; the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) will be used to amplify rbcL in order to obtain adequate quantities of DNA for analysis. Data will be analyzed with a variety of parsimony (and distance) methods.