Phylogeny and Biogeography of the Fern Genus Elaphoglossum (Elaphoglossaceae)

0211969Moran，Mickel和Motley该蕨类植物约有650种，是世界上最大的蕨类植物之一。大多数物种生活在美洲热带地区，尤其是中美洲和安第斯国家。这笔为期三年的拨款将使纽约植物园的科学家能够继续他们对该属的合作分类学研究。利用DNA序列和形态的证据，他们将产生物种的进化树，并将这棵树用作解决关于进化和生物地理的问题的框架。他们将提出的一些进化问题的例子是：Elaphoglossum中的主要进化群体是什么？从DNA研究中获得的进化树与之前基于形态的分类系统相比如何？某些关键的形态特征是在该属内进化过一次，还是多次出现？生物地理学问题的例子有：夏威夷群岛上发生了多少次不同的Elaphoglossum物种引进，它们的地理来源是什么？美洲热带和非洲-马达加斯加物种之间的进化关系是什么？为了回答这些问题，有必要在世界各地收集该物种的样本。实地考察将前往物种丰富的拉丁美洲国家，如厄瓜多尔和玻利维亚，几位同事将在非洲、马达加斯加和亚洲的热带地区采集植物。这些样本将被用来研究形态特征，并提取和测序DNA，所有这些都旨在为构建进化树提供数据。这项研究将解决有关世界上最大的蕨类之一的主要进化和生物地理问题。这些结果应该为与其他植物类群进行比较提供有用的基础。该项目的一个副产品是将发现许多新物种，并为其提供科学名称。这项研究将对参与该项目的博士后科学家和研究生产生教育效益，包括培训研究DNA的实验室方法和在美洲热带地区的实地考察工作。莫兰博士在哥斯达黎加为热带研究组织教授热带植物系统学课程(英语和西班牙语版本)，并将让学生参加与拟议研究有关的实地项目。美国蕨类协会纽约分会的几名成员将培养孢子以研究配子体的特征(生命周期的有性阶段)，因此将参与该项目。公众和科学家将在该项目的网站上获得有关活动和结果的信息，该网站位于纽约植物园的“Elaphoglossum主页”。

0211969Moran, Mickel, and Motley The fern genus Elaphoglossum contains about 650 species and is one of the world's largest fern genera. Most species occur in the American tropics, particularly in Central America and the Andean countries. This three-year grant will enable scientists at The New York Botanical Garden to continue their collaborative taxonomic study of the genus. Using evidence from DNA sequences and morphology, they will produce an evolutionary tree to the species and use this tree as a framework for addressing questions about evolution and biogeography. Examples of some evolutionary questions they will pose are: What are the main evolutionary groups within Elaphoglossum? How does the evolutionary tree obtained from DNA studies compare to a previous classification system based on morphology? Did certain critical morphological characters evolve once within the genus, or did they arise several times? Examples of biogeographic questions are: How many different introductions of Elaphoglossum species have occurred onto the Hawaiian Islands, and what were their geographic source areas? What are the evolutionary relationships between the species in the American tropics and Africa-Madagascar? To answer these questions, it is necessary to collect samples of the species in various parts of the world. Field trips will be taken to species-rich countries in Latin America, such as Ecuador and Bolivia, and several colleagues will be collecting plants in the tropics of Africa, Madagascar, and Asia. The samples will be used to study morphological characteristics and to extract and sequence DNA, all aimed at providing data to construct an evolutionary tree. This research will address major evolutionary and biogeographic questions about one of the world's largest groups of ferns. The results should provide a useful basis for comparison to other groups of plants. One spin-off of this project is that many new species will be discovered and provided with scientific names. The study will have educational benefits to the post-doctoral scientist and graduate students involved in the project, including training in both laboratory methods for studying DNA and fieldwork in the American tropics. Dr. Moran teaches the Tropical Plant Systematics course (both English and Spanish versions) in Costa Rica for the Organization for Tropical Studies, and will involve students in this course in field projects relating to the proposed research. Several members of the New York Chapter of the American Fern Society will grow spores to study the characteristics of the gametophytes (the sexual phase of the life cycle) and will thus be involved in the project. The public and scientists will be informed about activities and results on the project's web site, the "Elaphoglossum homepage" maintained at the New York Botanical Garden.