DOCTORAL DISSERTATION: Phylogeny and Character Evolution in the Panicoid/centothecoid Clade (Poaceae)

博士论文：Panicoid/centothecoid Clade（禾本科）的系统发育和性状进化

• 批准号: 0308810
• 负责人: Lynn Clark
• 金额: $ 0.59万
• 依托单位: Iowa State University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2003
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2003-06-01 至 2004-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0308810&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: DOCTORAL; DISSERTATION; Phylogeny; Character; Evolution

A grant has been awarded to Dr. Lynn Clark and Mr. Jorge G. Sanchez-Ken at Iowa State University to conduct research on evolutionary relationships within the panic grasses (also called the Panicoid/Centothecoid clade). Current knowledge of grass diversity shows two major groups: 1) the bamboos, rices, and bluegrasses, and 2) the panic grasses, wiregrasses, lovegrasses and reeds. The latter group comprises about half the species diversity of the grass family (over 5,000 species), including several major crops and weeds, yet relationships within this group are still poorly understood, hampering a rigorous understanding of the evolution of several biologically significant features. The objectives of this study are 1) reconstruction of major evolutionary relationships within the panic grasses (a lineage of over 3,000 species including sorghum, maize, sugarcane, and some important weeds), and 2) the evolutionary interpretation of flower sexuality, starch grains, and leaf anatomy within this group. Information from chloroplast and nuclear genes, as well as morphological data, will be used, and sampling of the poorly understood Centothecoids and allies will be increased. A preliminary study of changes in the waxy gene and its effects on the development of the starch grains will be included. The broader significance and scientific importance of this project are that an improved understanding of the evolutionary history and diversification of a major group of grasses will provide a point of departure for broader research in fields such as ecology and conservation, crop improvement, weed control, and molecular biology. A predictive classification for this lineage will also result, and the first steps in exploring gene expression in starch grains in grasses will be taken. A graduate student from an underrepresented group will be provided with advanced training in modern systematics.

爱荷华州立大学的 Lynn Clark 博士和 Jorge G. Sanchez-Ken 先生获得了一笔资助，用于研究恐慌草（也称为 Panicoid/Centothecoid 分支）内的进化关系。目前对草类多样性的了解显示出两大类：1) 竹子、水稻和早熟禾，2) 禾本科植物、金丝草、爱情草和芦苇。 后一类包含禾本科物种多样性的大约一半（超过 5,000 种），包括几种主要作物和杂草，但该类群内的关系仍然知之甚少，妨碍了对几个具有生物学意义的特征的进化的严格理解。 The objectives of this study are 1) reconstruction of major evolutionary relationships within the panic grasses (a lineage of over 3,000 species including sorghum, maize, sugarcane, and some important weeds), and 2) the evolutionary interpretation of flower sexuality, starch grains, and leaf anatomy within this group. 来自叶绿体和核基因的信息以及形态数据将被使用，并且将增加对知之甚少的 Centothecoids 和盟友的采样。 将包括对蜡质基因的变化及其对淀粉粒发育的影响的初步研究。 该项目更广泛的意义和科学重要性在于，加深对主要禾本科类群的进化历史和多样化的了解，将为生态学和保护、作物改良、杂草控制和分子生物学等领域的更广泛研究提供一个出发点。 还将对该谱系进行预测分类，并迈出探索草类淀粉粒基因表达的第一步。 来自代表性不足群体的研究生将接受现代系统学的高级培训。