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

石藻（Stoneworts）和脆藻（brittleworts）是绿藻的一种（家族特征），包括在世界各地的淡水湖中常见的物种，它们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。石草还被用于生境修复，是细胞生物物理研究中重要的模式生物。此外，石草被认为与近5亿年前第一批在陆地上定居的植物密切相关。尽管它们在生态学、基础生物学研究和进化中很重要，但它们之间的关系却鲜为人知。本项目将利用现代基因组学方法对这一独特的绿藻类群的系统学和系统发育进行研究，以重新评估该类群的分类学。该项目将对200多个物种进行采样，并使用来自细胞核、叶绿体和线粒体基因的DNA序列数据。所产生的数据将用于修订目前这组绿藻的混乱分类，并将为全球藻类多样性和进化研究提供关键数据。这笔资金将用于支持纽约城市大学一名西班牙裔第一代学生的研究生论文研究，以及支持附近几所大学学生的本科生研究参与。课堂课程将为BioBus开发，BioBus是一个创新的移动实验室，拥有最先进的显微镜设备，访问纽约市地区的K-12学校。BioBus课程将介绍藻类的结构和功能，这些藻类可以用研究级显微镜设备观察到。

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.