CAA: Application of Molecular Data to Plant Evolutionary Biology

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

DEB 9707693 McDade This project will enable the PI to acquire the skills needed to carry out a number of techniques in molecular biology with the goal of applying evidence from these techniques to her on-going research in plant evolutionary biology. In particular, the PI's projects that will benefit greatly from acquisition of molecular data are: (1) phylogenetic relationships and evolutionary patterns within the large flowering plant family Acanthaceae; (2) the pattern of hybridization between species of tropical plants, and the evolutionary and conservation implications of such hybridization; and (3) patterns of evolutionary differentiation among populations of plants that occur on a series of mountain top habitat islands in southwestern North America (U.S. states of Arizona and New Mexico, plus the northwestern Mexican states of Sonora and Chihuahua). The research plan has two key components. First, the PI will visit three very active laboratories of molecular plant systematics which complement each other in terms of expertise and interests. These are at the Smithsonian Institution (the Laboratory of Molecular Systematics, Dr. E. Zimmer, sponsor) and the University of Washington (laboratories of Drs. R. Olmstead and H. Bradshaw). In addition to providing expertise in key techniques that the PI seeks to acquire, these working visits will lead to collaborative research efforts. Second, the PI will implement all of the techniques that she acquires via these visits in a communal molecular laboratory at her home institution. This component is critical to ensure the long-term success of the project in adding to the PI's suite of research tools. \\Clm-06\debpop\POPBIO\ABSTRACT\MCDADE.CAA.doc