RUI: Molecular and Morphological Phylogenetic Systematics of Extant and Fossil Characeae (Charophyta)

小行星9407606 在一个有趣的和具有挑战性的应用分子和形态学数据的一个问题，在遗传学，教授理查德麦考特在德保罗大学将研究藻类组被称为石藻，轮藻。 将通过核苷酸测序方法分析该组所有七个属的活成员的代表的一些基因，以获得物种之间突变差异的数据。 这些相同的类群的形态特征，沿着与法国古植物学的同事合作获得的这些藻类的化石形式的丰富记录的数据，将与DNA的结果整合，重建轮藻的系统发育关系。 轮藻相对较大且复杂;它们在枝的顶端有生长区，并且有鞭毛精子细胞，与某些陆地植物相比，它们更类似于其他绿色藻类。 轮藻是与陆生植物在进化上最接近的藻类类群之一，轮藻可能表现出进化适应性，这将有助于理解陆生植物起源的变化顺序。 同时，它们的化石记录也提供了一个校准基因中分子变化速率的机会。

9407606 McCourt In an intriguing and challenging application of both molecular and morphological data to a problem in phylogeny, Professor Richard McCourt at DePaul University will be studying the algal group known as stoneworts, the Charophyta. Representatives of all seven genera of living members of the group will be analyzed for a number of genes by nucleotide sequencing methods, to acquire data on mutational differences among the species. Morphological features of these same taxa along with data on the rich record of fossil forms of these algae, acquired in collaboration with French paleobotanical colleagues, will be integrated with the DNA results to reconstruct the phylogenetic relationships of the charophytes. The charophytes are relatively large and complex for algae; they have growing regions at the apex of branches and flagellated sperm cells that are more similar to those of certain land plants than to other green algae. As one of the algal groups closest phylogenetically to the land plants, the charophytes are likely to show evolutionary adaptations that will help understand the sequence of changes in the origin of land plants. As well, their fossil record provides an opportunity to calibrate rates of molecular change in genes.