RPG: A Phylogenetic Analysis of the Dichrostachys Group (Leguminosae: Mimosoideae)

Dichrostachys组包括五个豆科植物属，在马达加斯加和亚热带北美的多样性中心。新大陆属已被充分研究，但物种和属的限制是很少收集马达加斯加属知之甚少。这项研究将调查五属物种之间的进化关系，整合形态学，花粉，叶绿体DNA和花发育的数据。系统发育树将有助于澄清属的限制，以及提供一个框架，研究花粉和花发育的豆科植物。这项研究也应该提供新的见解热带北美豆科植物的地理关系。在这个组中的一些新热带种正在被开发作为饲料豆类，和一个温带种作为多年生粮食作物。可能的是，尚未研究的马达加斯加物种也可以提供食物和饲料豆类。此外，拟议在马达加斯加开展的实地工作将有助于提供关于马达加斯加不常采集的豆科植物群的原始数据。这项研究代表了一个显着的发展，在豆科含羞草亚科的分子特征系统的使用，是第一次，涉及花发育的字符已整合与形态和分子特征的系统分析。

The Dichrostachys group includes five genera of legumes with centers of diversity in Madagascar and subtropical North America. The New World genera have been well-studied, but species and generic limits are poorly understood in the rarely collected Malagasy genera. The proposed research will investigate evolutionary relationships among species in the five genera, integrating data from morphology, pollen, chloroplast DNA, and floral development. A phylogenetic tree will serve to clarify the generic limits, as well as provide a framework for study of the evolution of pollen and floral development in legumes. This study should also provide new insights into the biogeographic relationships of tropical North American legumes. Some neotropical species in this group are being developed as forage legumes, and one temperate species as perennial food crop. It is possible that the as yet unstudied Malagasy species could likewise provide food and forage legumes. In addition, the proposed field work in Madagascar will contribute primary data on the infrequently collected legume flora of Madagascar. This study represents a significant development in the use of molecular character systems in the Mimosa subfamily of legumes, and is the first time that characters involving floral development have been intergrated with morphological and molecular characters in a systematic analysis.