Collaborative Research: Phylogenetic Analysis Dalechampia (Euphorbiaceae) Using DNA and Morphological Data

了解生物的分类关系、进化和生物地理历史依赖于准确的系统发育信息，即对该群体谱系的了解。阿拉斯加大学的斯科特·阿姆布拉斯特博士与杜克大学的布鲁斯·鲍德温博士合作，正在重建泛热带植物Dalechampia属（大胡科）的旧世界和新世界物种的系统发育，以深入了解该物种的授粉系统及其生物地理历史。具体目标包括：1。收集液体保存标本和植物标本馆标本，用于形态分析和叶绿体和核糖体基因的DNA测序；2. 确定一个旧大陆分类群样本的授粉生态学，从而补充对新大陆物种的认识；3. 利用核和叶绿体DNA数据和形态学重建物种分化的系统发育模式；和4。利用系统发育来追踪该类群的生物地理历史，并产生关于传粉生态学和花形态变化的可检验的假设。系统发育信息在进化生物学和生态学中的应用近年来引起了相当大的兴奋。用估计的系统发育来研究进化的重要特征包括能够推断化石记录中未保存的特征的长期进化历史，例如植物和动物之间的生态关系，以及区分适应性进化与系统发育约束和过去随机事件的影响。阿姆布鲁斯特和鲍德温项目将推进这一议程。

9318640 Schwaegerle Understanding the taxonomic relationships, evolution, and biogeographic history of organisms depends upon accurate phylogenetic information, that is, knowledge of the genealogy of the group. Dr. Scott Armbruster of the University of Alaska in collaboration with Dr. Bruce Baldwin of Duke University is reconstructing the phylogeny of Old and New World species of the pantropical plant genus Dalechampia (Euphorbiaceae family) in order to gain insights into the evolution of the group's pollination system and its biogeographic history. Specific objectives include: 1. to collect liquid preserved and herbarium specimens for morphological analysis and for DNA sequencing of chloroplast and nuclear ribosomal genes; 2. to determine the pollination ecology of a sample of Old World taxa, thus complementing knowledge of New World species; 3. to reconstruct the phylogenetic pattern of species divergences using nuclear and chloroplast DNA data and morphology; and 4. to use the phylogeny to trace the biogeographic history of the group and to generate testable hypotheses about change in pollination ecology and floral form. The application of phylogenetic information to evolutionary biology and ecology has generated considerable excitement in recent times. Important features of studying evolution with an estimated phylogeny include the ability to infer long term evolutionary history of characteristics not preserved in the fossil record, such as ecological relationships between plants and animals, and to distinguish adaptive evolution from the effects of phylogenetic constraint and past stochastic events. The Armbruster and Baldwin project will advanc e that agenda.