Career Award: Phylogeny and Floral Evolution of the Core Malvales

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9876070 Baum This career development plan focuses on phylogenetics, the reconstruction and interpretation of the historical record of organisms. The research component is a study of historical relationships among the core Malvales, a group of approximately 3000 plants including such economically important species as cotton, chocolate, okra, durian, balsa, and jute. The teaching component involves courses at the college level and a workshop for high school teachers on phylogeny as a framework for teaching biological diversity. The DNA sequence of five genes for representatives of Malvales will be determined. By comparing and analyzing these sequences and integrating information from plant morphology and paleontology, it will be possible to estimate historical relationships within the group. This will help clarify the timing and geographic context for the origin and radiation of core Malvales, as well as the historical mechanisms underlying floral diversity and pollination mechanisms in the group. Courses taught will include one undergraduate course (Biological Diversity) and two graduate courses. An intensive workshop for teachers will be taught through the Center for Innovation in Urban Education, Northeastern University: The Tree of Life: Phylogeny as a Foundation for the Teaching of Organismic Biology. This will introduce teachers to phylogenetic trees using case studies (e.g., origin of whales, HIV phylogeny, origin of birds), debates (e.g., "life, by definition, exists only on earth"; "conservation is a phylogenetic problem"), and a hands-on project using skull characters to reconstruct history of the carnivores. We will also discuss how to bring these ideas into classrooms so as to improve biological literacy at the high school level.