DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Hybridization, genome duplication, and chemical diversification in the evolution of Calendula (Asteraceae)

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Plants are remarkable chemists. They produce many distinct chemical compounds, and these compounds are different between different species. Even more variation occurs when plant species hybridize and duplicate their genomes. The effects of hybridization and genome duplication (polyploidy) on plant chemistry will be explored in Calendula, a small group of Mediterranean plants rich in chemical diversity, with polyploid species presumably created by hybridization. The project will use DNA sequences to determine how the species are related to each other, and will survey chemical diversity using liquid and gas chromatography and mass spectrometry. The genes that encode the enzymes that make the various chemicals will be investigated by examining when and where they are expressed, and sequencing their transcripts. Understanding processes that create genetic and phenotypic novelty and drive divergence of species is fundamental to understanding biodiversity at all levels. This project brings together the disciplines of systematics, molecular biology, ecology, and biochemistry, and facilitates international collaboration and exchange. It will increase understanding of plant diversification in the Mediterranean and may inform treatments of the genus in Mediterranean floras. All data and results will be disseminated widely via databases such as GenBank, TreeBASE, and NAPRALERT, and specimens collected in the field will be deposited at Cornell and at collaborating institutions abroad. Insights gained during the execution of this project will enrich mentorship provided through the PlantingScience program, which connects middle and high school students with working plant scientists.