Collaborative Research: From Acorus to Zingiber - Assembling the Phylogeny of the Monocots

单子叶植物（包括草、棕榈、兰花和喜林芋等类群）包括 65,000 多种开花植物，几乎出现在所有栖息地，并提供了人类的大部分饮食。 该群体的明确家谱将被开发并用于了解单子叶植物在地质时期的大规模演化。 601个物种的23个基因、175个物种的叶绿体全基因组以及50个物种的所有表达基因将被测序并用于重建该类群的进化历史。此外，还将收集现存物种和化石物种的表型数据，并对所有数据进行综合分析，以提供对单子叶植物进化的全面了解。由此产生的家谱将为开花植物的生理学、生态学、生物地理学和基因组学方面的许多新研究提供基础。研究人员和 K-12 教师和学生将可以通过网络访问所有数据和结果。 数名博士后研究员、研究生和本科生（重点是女性和少数族裔）将接受培训，四名年轻教师将得到支持。将在纽约、芝加哥、丹佛和伯克利的知名场馆举办有关开花植物进化的博物馆展览，并在纽约植物园举办儿童单子叶植物花园展览。 展示单子叶植物多样性和进化的海报将分发给大学，工作人员将在公立高中进行演讲。

Monocots (including such groups as grasses, palms, orchids, and philodendrons) include more than 65,000 species of flowering plants, occur in almost all habitats, and provide the great majority of the human diet. A definitive family tree for this group will be developed and used to understand the broad-scale evolution of monocots over geologic time. A total of 23 genes in 601 species, whole chloroplast genomes in 175 species, and all genes expressed in 50 species will be sequenced and used to reconstruct the evolutionary history of this group. Additionally, phenotypic data from living and fossil species will be collected, and all data will be analyzed integratively to provide a comprehensive understanding of monocot evolution.The resulting family tree will provide the foundation for many new studies in physiology, ecology, biogeography, and genomics of flowering plants. Web access to all data and results will be provided to researchers and K-12 teachers and students. Several post-doctoral fellows, graduate students, and undergraduates (with a focus on women and minorities) will be trained, and four young faculty will be supported. A museum exhibit on the evolution of flowering plants will be produced for high-profile venues in New York, Chicago, Denver, and Berkeley, and a children's monocot garden exhibit will be developed at the New York Botanical Garden. Posters illustrating monocot diversity and evolution will be distributed to colleges, and staff will give talks at public high schools.