Tackling a Taxonomic Giant - the Genus Croton (Euphorbiaceae)

0212481 Berry在威斯康星大学麦迪逊分校的Paul Berry教授的指导下，该项目将研究巴豆属的物种和关系，巴豆属是世界上最大的植物属之一，全世界约有1,300种。选择这一组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（特别是在热带地区），但该物种是出了名的难以识别，没有人应用现代技术来了解该组内的系谱关系。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。它将系统化大量的描述性文献和标本，并提供一个在线数据库，以名称，分布和巴豆图像。这将有助于物种识别和生成世界任何地区的属的区域清单。该项目具有很强的协作性，因为它将形成一个研究网络，吸引全球数十位曾在巴豆上工作过的植物学家，并培训分子系统学、数据库管理、这个项目对生物学意义重大，因为它将提供一个更好的了解物种和关系的一个最大的和最不好理解的群体开花植物巴豆是药用的，这个项目可以为更深入的药理学研究确定该属中有前途的群体。在更广泛的范围内，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、数据库和识别辅助工具;在全世界建立一个调查人员研究网络，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，建立一个坚实的科学框架，命名物种，并建立他们的家谱关系。通过这种方式，Croton项目应该为实现编目和了解全球生物多样性并及时以易于获取的格式向公众展示的社会目标做出重大贡献。

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.