A Molecular Approach to the Phylogeny of Bryophytes Using Chloroplast DNA

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As the most primitive living lineages of embryophytes, bryophytes are critical to an understanding of the phylogeny of the land flora. A relatively robust cladogram already exists for the plants based on morphology and chemistry. However, several aspects of their phylogenetic relationships appear unclear. The aim of this project is to obtain nuclei acid sequences from a large sample of bryophyte chloroplasts and to use these in developing and testing hypotheses about their phylogeny. Two rRNA and rbcL genes will be sequenced for a broad array of species representing most phylogenetic lineages. The PIs also intend to use these data sets and analyses to explore various attributes of the interactions of cladistic methods and types of data. Thus, a better understanding of both the bryophytes and the methods and applications of cladistics should be derived from this study.