The Origin and Diversification of Vaccinieae: Using Molecular and Morphological Data to Determine Major Clades of the Blueberry Tribe

蓝莓科（蓝莓族，属于石南和杜鹃花科）是温带和热带木本植物的一个多样化群体，除南极洲外，在所有大陆都有发现。这一组的温带成员是我们熟悉的蓝莓和越橘。不太为人所知的牛苗科热带成员在花形态上极其多样化，是许多山地热带森林（例如云雾林）的主要组成部分。该项目将利用叶绿体和细胞核基因组三个区域的DNA序列数据以及形态数据来解决蓝莓部落内部的进化关系。分子系统学家（PI-Kron）与热带蓝莓形态学和野外工作专家（coPI-Luteyn）的合作是开展如此大规模研究的有力途径，也是项目成功的关键。蓝莓是检验一个普遍持有的假设的绝佳模型，该假设认为热带地区最多样化的分类群一定起源于热带地区。由于该分类群的形态多样性、庞大（1000种）和广泛的地理分布，对其内部关系的进化研究将为了解地球总体进化史提供一个重要的窗口。这项研究的结果将有助于更广泛地理解共同的历史因素，这些因素促成了新热带地区惊人的多样性。这些比较将有助于更全面地了解世界上一些最多样化的生态系统中多样化的原因和模式。

Kron and Luteyn 9903719The Vaccinieae (the blueberry tribe, in the heather and rhododendron family) are a diverse group of temperate and tropical woody plants found on all continents except Antarctica. The temperate members of this group are the familiar blueberries and bilberries. The lesser known tropical members of the Vaccinieae are extremely diverse in floral morphology and form a major component of many montane tropical forests (e.g., cloud forests). This project will address evolutionary relationships within the blueberry tribe using DNA sequence data from three regions in the chloroplast and nuclear genomes, and morphological data. The collaboration of a molecular systematist (PI-Kron) with the expert in tropical blueberry morphology and field work (coPI-Luteyn) is a powerful approach to such a large scale study and is key to the success of the project. The blueberries are an excellent model for testing the commonly held assumption that taxa that are most diverse in the tropics must have originated in the tropics. Because of the morphological diversity, large size (1000 spp.) and widespread geographic distribution of this taxon, evolutionary studies of relationships within Vaccinieae will provide an important window on the general evolutionary history of the earth. The results of this study will contribute to a broader understanding of the common historical factors that have contributed to the amazing diversity in the Neotropics. These comparisons will contribute to a more complete understanding of causes and patterns of diversification in some of the most diverse ecosystems in the world.