Tackling a Taxonomic Giant - the Genus Croton (Euphorbiaceae)

应对分类学巨人——巴豆属（大戟科）

• 批准号: 0212481
• 负责人: Kenneth Sytsma
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: University of Wisconsin-Madison
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2002
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2002-09-01 至 2006-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0212481&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Tackling; Taxonomic; Giant; Genus; Croton

0212481BerryUnder the direction of Prof. Paul Berry at University of Wisconsin-Madison, this project will study the species and relationships of Croton, one of the world's largest plant genera, with about 1,300 described species worldwide. This group was selected because it represents a significant segment of plant diversity (0.5% of all flowering plants), it is ecologically and medicinally important (especially in the tropics), yet the species are notoriously difficult to identify, and nobody has applied modern techniques to understand the genealogical relationships within the group. The project will conduct a broad molecular-based phylogenetic study of the genus, targeting about a fifth of the total species to determine how they relate in an evolutionary and geographical context. It will systematize a huge body of descriptive literature and specimens and provide an online database to names, distributions, and images of crotons. This should facilitate species identification and generation of regional checklists of the genus for any region of the world. There is a strong collaborative element in the project, as it will form a research network drawing upon scores of botanists worldwide who have worked on Croton, as well as training new students in molecular systematics, database management, and field work.This project is significant to biology because it will provide a much better understanding of the species and relationships of one of the largest and least well understood groups of flowering plants. Croton is used medicinally, and this project could pinpoint promising groups in the genus for more intensive pharmacological research. In a broader context, the project seeks to provide an effective model on how to deal with other large and difficult groups of organisms - using Internet resources to display images, databases, and identification aids; forming a research network of investigators worldwide, including training of graduate and undergraduate students in the U.S. and other countries; and utilizing cutting-edge molecular tools to establish a solid scientific framework for naming species and establishing their genealogical relationships. In this way, the Croton project should contribute significantly towards the societal goal of cataloging and understanding global biodiversity and presenting it to the public in a timely fashion and in a readily accessible format.

[021248 . 81]浆果在美国威斯康辛大学麦迪逊分校Paul Berry教授的指导下，本项目将研究Croton的种类和亲缘关系。Croton是世界上最大的植物属之一，在全世界有大约1300个已描述的物种。之所以选择这一类群，是因为它代表了植物多样性的一个重要部分（占所有开花植物的0.5%），它在生态和医学上都很重要（尤其是在热带地区），但众所周知，这些物种很难识别，而且没有人应用现代技术来了解这一类群内的谱系关系。该项目将对该属进行广泛的基于分子的系统发育研究，目标是大约五分之一的物种，以确定它们在进化和地理背景下的关系。它将把大量的描述性文献和标本系统化，并提供一个关于谷物名称、分布和图像的在线数据库。这将有助于世界上任何地区的物种鉴定和该属的区域核对表的产生。这个项目有很强的合作元素，因为它将形成一个研究网络，吸引世界各地从事Croton研究的植物学家，并在分子系统学、数据库管理和实地工作方面培训新学生。这个项目对生物学来说意义重大，因为它将更好地了解开花植物中最大但最不为人所知的群体之一的物种和关系。Croton是一种药用植物，这个项目可以为更深入的药理学研究找到有前途的群体。在更广泛的背景下，该项目寻求提供一个如何处理其他大型和困难的生物群体的有效模式-利用互联网资源显示图像，数据库和识别辅助；在全球范围内建立研究网络，包括培训美国和其他国家的研究生和本科生；并利用尖端的分子工具，为物种命名和建立它们的谱系关系建立坚实的科学框架。通过这种方式，Croton项目将对编目和了解全球生物多样性的社会目标作出重大贡献，并以及时和易于获取的形式向公众展示。