DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Systematics of the Neotropical Plant Genus Alloplectus (Gesneriaceae)

来自安第斯山脉西北部的一种常见的灌木，其花朵可以被视为花商的Gloxinia的倒置版本。四倍体和花商的Gloxinia都属于同一组，但在异体植物的某些种类中，花是倒置的。这个项目将研究异体植物和苦艾科的相关成员的多样化模式，以及这一组中花的再供应的进化。苦瓜科的新热带成员是有问题的，因为形态细节缺乏文献记载，密切相关的分类群展示了广泛的花型，传粉者鲜为人知，分子系统发育没有足够的物种样本来阐明广泛的形态变异。最不为人所知的新热带Gesneriads类群之一是异形虫属。这个项目将产生系统发育假说，以检验Gesneriad进化的相互竞争的理论，解决Episcieae部落内的系统发育关系，并完成该属的分类修订。将在玻利维亚和巴拿马进行实地考察，以研究植物及其传粉者，并收集材料用于实验室和植物标本馆的研究。将对欧洲草本植物进行访问，以研究历史和最近的植物收藏。将收集核ITS区和叶绿体trnL内含子和间隔区的分子序列数据。将对形态特征进行研究，并为系统发育分析打分。尽管热带生态系统吸引了越来越多对了解和管理地球生物资源感兴趣的生物学家和自然资源保护者的关注，但关于组成这些生态系统的植物和其他有机体的多样性，仍有许多不了解的地方。例如，科学上至少有五种新发现的异种，这一类中的许多成员受到地理限制，生活在受到伐木和农业转换威胁的森林中。该项目的结果将提供一个可靠的系统发育假说和数据，可用于解决关于植物多样性和保护、形态进化和传粉生物学的问题。

0206512Herendeen and Clark The genus Alloplectus, a common shrub from the northwestern Andes, has flowers that may be viewed as an upside down version of those of the Florists' Gloxinia. Alloplectus and the Florists' Gloxinia both belong to the same group, but the flowers are resupinate (inverted) in some species of Alloplectus. This project will look at the pattern of diversification in Alloplectus and related members of the family Gesneriaceae and the evolution of flower resupination in this group. The Neotropical members of Gesneriaceae are problematic because morphological details are poorly documented, closely related taxa exhibit a wide range of flower forms, pollinators are poorly known, and molecular phylogenies have insufficient species sampling to clarify the wide range of morphological variation. One of the least understood groups of Neotropical gesneriads is the genus Alloplectus. This project will generate phylogenetic hypotheses to test competing theories of gesneriad evolution, to resolve phylogenetic relationships within the tribe Episcieae, and to complete a taxonomic revision of the genus. Field expeditions will be carried out in Bolivia and Panama to study the plants and their pollinators and collect material for study in the laboratory and herbarium. Visits to European herbaria will be conducted to study historical and recent plant collections. Molecular sequence data will be collected for the nuclear ITS region and the chloroplast trnL intron and spacer. Morphological characters will be studied and scored for phylogenetic analyses. Although tropical ecosystems are attracting increasing attention from biologists and conservationists interested in understanding and managing the earth's biological resources, there is much that is not understood about the diversity of plants and other organisms that make up these ecosystems. For example, there are at least five species of Alloplectus that are new to science and many members of this group are geographically restricted and live in forests that are threatened by logging and agricultural conversion. Results from this project will provide a robust phylogenetic hypothesis and data that may be used to address questions about plant diversity and conservation, morphological evolution, and pollination biology in this poorly known group of tropical plants.