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

单子叶植物(包括草、棕榈树、兰花和水龙)包括超过65,000种开花植物，几乎出现在所有栖息地，提供人类绝大多数的食物。将为这一群体建立一个明确的系谱，并用来了解单子叶动物在地质时间上的广泛进化。共有601个物种的23个基因、175个物种的叶绿体全基因组和50个物种表达的所有基因将被测序，并用于重建该类群的进化史。此外，还将收集活物种和化石物种的表型数据，并对所有数据进行综合分析，以全面了解单子叶植物的进化。由此产生的家谱将为许多新的开花植物的生理、生态学、生物地理学和基因组学研究提供基础。所有数据和结果的网络访问将提供给研究人员和K-12教师和学生。将培训几名博士后研究员、研究生和本科生(重点是妇女和少数民族)，并支持四名年轻教员。博物馆将为纽约、芝加哥、丹佛和伯克利的知名场馆制作关于开花植物进化的展览，纽约植物园将制作儿童单子叶花园展览。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发表演讲。

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.