Phylogenetic Studies in Neotropical Vaccinieae (Ericaceae): The Systematics of Macleania, Psammisia, Mycerinus

蓝莓科形态学和分子学专家之间的一项很有前途的合作，旨在研究中美洲和南美洲热带山地“蓝莓”的几个属。纽约植物园的James Luteyn博士在野外采集和分类修订工作方面经验丰富，对新大陆植物有浓厚的兴趣；维克森林大学（Wake Forest University）的凯瑟琳·克朗（Kathleen Kron）博士是植物分子系统发育分析方面的专家，对新旧世界的杜鹃花和其他菊科植物很感兴趣。利用新采集的野外资料和保存的植物标本，对蓝莓科蓝莓科的Macleania属、Psammisia属和Mycerinus属及其推定的近缘种进行形态和分子（DNA）分析。分类学修订工作将产生所有已确认物种的完整描述、鉴定密钥、带有最新学名的命名表、栖息地注释以及所有物种地理分布的完整清单。将对叶绿体基因和核糖体区域进行DNA测序，其中核苷酸差异（突变替代）可能证明物种和属之间的系统发育信息。结合形态学和DNA数据集，可以构建这些菊科植物类群的系统发育树。从这样的分类单元谱系中，人们可以研究特征进化（例如花的形式和果实的类型）并推断物种的迁移历史。Ericaceae在新热带的安第斯地区种类丰富，并且在其分布中通常高度局部或地方性。越来越多的栖息地破坏增加了对这些植物和其他植物的研究的紧迫性。形态学和分子方法的结合是对现代热带植物生物多样性研究需要的一个令人鼓舞的反应。分类和系统发育调查的结果将在生态学和进化以及种质资源研究和保护方面证明有用。

9628841 Luteyn A promising partnership between morphological and molecular specialists on the heath family, Ericaceae, is directed toward study of several genera of tropical montane "blueberries" in Central and South America. Dr. James Luteyn of New York Botanical Garden is experienced in field collecting and in taxonomic revisionary work, with a major interest in New World ericads; Dr. Kathleen Kron of Wake Forest University is a specialist in molecular phylogenetic analyses of plants, with interests in New and Old World rhododendrons and other ericads. Combined morphological and molecular (DNA) analyses will focus on the genera Macleania, Psammisia, and Mycerinus and their putative relatives in the Vaccinieae or blueberry group of Ericaceae, making use of newly collected field materials and preserved herbarium specimens. The taxonomic revisionary work will produce full descriptions of all recognized species, identification keys, a nomenclator with updated scientific names, habitat notes, and full inventory of the geographic distribution of all the species. DNA sequencing will be done for both chloroplast genes and the nuclear ribosomal region, where nucleotide differences (mutational substitutions) are likely to prove phylogenetically informative between species and genera. The combined morphology and DNA data sets can be analyzed to construct a phylogenetic tree of these ericad taxa. From such a taxon genealogy, one can study character evolution (in floral form, for example, and fruit type) and infer migrational histories for the species. The Ericaceae are species-rich in the Andean regions of the neotropics, and often highly localized or endemic in their distribution. Increasing habitat destruction adds urgency to the study of these and other plants. The union of morphological and molecular approaches is an encouraging response to the need for modern biodiversity studies of tropical plants. Results of the taxonomic and phylogenetic investigations will prove useful in ecology and evolut ion and for germplasm research and conservation.