Phylogeny and Development in the Grass Tribe Andropogoneae

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9419748 KELLOGG In a two-part project Dr. Elizabeth Kellogg of Harvard University is studying the phylogenetic relationships and aspects of developmental biology of grasses in the tribe Andropogoneae. Both corn (maize) and sorghum are members of this tribe, a large group of warm-season grasses that also includes sugar cane and many of the world's forage grasses. The nuclear and chloroplast genomes as sources of character data, to measure mutational differences among the many species. The developmental study emphasizes aspects of growth and differentiation in floral and inflorescence structures among various species, studied within an explicit phylogenetic context. One goal of the project is to determine the evolutionary sequence of modifications in size, shape, and position of floral parts that have ultimately led to the origin of the cob in maize and of the related inflorescences in its close tribal relatives.