Tackling a Taxonomic Giant - the Genus Croton (Euphorbiaceae)

0212481贝里在威斯康星大学麦迪逊分校保罗·贝里教授的指导下，该项目将研究世界上最大的植物属之一巴豆的物种和关系，全球约有1,300个已描述的物种。这个类群之所以被选中，是因为它代表了植物多样性的重要部分(占所有开花植物的0.5%)，在生态和医学上具有重要意义(特别是在热带地区)，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该类群内的系谱关系。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。它将对大量描述性文献和标本进行系统化，并提供一个关于巴豆的名称、分布和图像的在线数据库。这应有助于物种鉴定和为世界任何地区编制该属的区域清单。该项目具有很强的协作性，因为它将形成一个研究网络，利用世界各地数十名从事克罗顿研究的植物学家，并培训新学生分子系统学、数据库管理和野外工作。该项目对生物学具有重要意义，因为它将提供更好的理解，使人们更好地了解开花植物中最大、最不为人所知的群体之一的物种和关系。巴豆子具有药用价值，这一项目可能会为更深入的药理学研究找出该属中有希望的群体。在更广泛的背景下，该项目寻求为如何处理其他大型和困难的生物群体提供一个有效的模式-使用互联网资源来显示图像、数据库和识别辅助工具；在世界各地形成研究人员网络，包括在美国和其他国家培训研究生和本科生；以及利用尖端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，克罗顿项目应对编目和了解全球生物多样性并以及时和易于获取的形式向公众展示这一社会目标作出重大贡献。

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.