Collaborative Research: Phylogeny and Systematics of the Characeae (Charales)

石藻和金藻是绿藻(轮藻科)的一种，包括世界各地淡水湖中常见的物种，作为无脊椎动物和小鱼的食物和栖息地具有重要的生态意义。石兰也被用于栖息地修复，是细胞生物物理学研究中的重要模式生物。此外，石兰被认为与大约5亿年前殖民土地的第一批植物密切相关。尽管它们在生态学、基础生物学研究和进化论中很重要，但它们之间的关系却鲜为人知。本项目将通过使用现代基因组学方法重新评估该类群的分类学，来研究这一独特的绿藻类群的系统学和系统发育。该项目将对200多个物种进行采样，并使用来自核、叶绿体和线粒体基因的DNA序列数据。产生的数据将用于修订目前对这类绿藻的混乱分类，并将为世界范围内研究藻类多样性和进化提供关键数据。这笔拨款将支持纽约城市大学一名拉美裔第一代学生的毕业论文研究，以及支持附近几所大学的学生参与本科生的研究。将为BioBus开发课堂课程，BioBus是一个创新的移动实验室，配备最先进的显微镜设备，访问纽约市地区的K-12学校。BioBus课程将介绍可以用其研究级显微镜设备观察到的藻类的结构和功能。

Stoneworts and brittleworts are types of green algae (family Characeae) that include species that are common in freshwater lakes worldwide and that are ecologically important as food and habitat for invertebrates and small fish. Stoneworts are also used in habitat remediation and are important model organisms in studies of cell biophysics. Furthermore, stoneworts are believed to be closely related to the very first plants that colonized land almost 500 million years ago. Despite their importance in ecology, basic biological research, and evolution, the relationships within this group are very poorly known. This project will study the systematics and phylogeny of this distinctive group of green algae by using modern genomic methods to re-evaluate the taxonomy of the group. The project will sample more than 200 species and use DNA sequence data from nuclear, chloroplast, and mitochondrial genes. The data produced will be used to revise the current confused classification of this group of green algae, and it will provide critical data for worldwide studies of algal diversity and evolution. The grant will support the graduate dissertation research of a Hispanic first-generation student at the City University of New York, as well as support undergraduate research involvement of students from several nearby colleges. Classroom lessons will be developed for the BioBus, an innovative mobile laboratory with state-of-the-art microscopy equipment that visits K-12 schools in the New York City region. The BioBus lessons will cover an introduction to structure and function of algae that can be observed with their research-grade microscope equipment.