Collaborative Proposal: Phylogenetics and Floral Symmetry Development of the Core Goodeniaceae

看似无穷无尽的花朵形状和颜色吸引着人类，但进化到引诱传粉者进行最复杂和关键的生物互动之一。该项目测试了花卉多样性对与向日葵大家族密切相关的植物科Goodeniaceae物种形成的影响。Goodeniaceae(400多种)是澳大利亚和太平洋群岛物种最丰富、最美丽的植物科之一，对受到威胁的全球生物多样性热点--澳大利亚西南部植物区系省尤为重要。目前对这些植物的分类并不能准确反映它们的进化史，因此将利用DNA序列对该类群进行全面的修订。将对数字图像分析、花对称基因表达和整个发育过程中的对称模式进行研究，以量化物种的花形状。关于这些形态对多元化比率影响的假设将使用这一新信息进行评估。本科生研究人员将帮助研究昆虫传粉者与西澳大利亚部分物种的相互作用。来自孟菲斯、田纳西和纽约皇后区不同社区的学生将成为该项目不可或缺的一部分，并将获得分子和进化生物学许多方面的专业知识。该项目还将有助于建立新的和潜在的稀有物种的保护地位。

The seemingly endless diversity of flower shapes and colors captivates humans but evolved to entice pollinators in one of the most intricate and crucial biological interactions. This project tests the impact of floral diversity on speciation in the plant family Goodeniaceae, which is closely related to the large sunflower family. Goodeniaceae (400+ species) is one of the most species-rich and beautiful plant families in Australia and the Pacific Islands, and is particularly important to the Southwestern Australian Floristic Province, a threatened global biodiversity hotspot. The current taxonomic classification of these plants does not accurately reflect their evolutionary history, so a comprehensive revision of the group will be made using DNA sequences. Digital image analysis, floral symmetry gene expression, and the patterns of symmetry throughout development will be examined to quantify the species' floral shape. Hypotheses of the impact of these shapes on rates of diversification will be assessed using this new information. Undergraduate researchers will help study the interaction of insect pollinators with a subset of species in Western Australia. Students from the diverse communities of Memphis, Tennessee and Queens, New York will be an integral part of the project and will gain expertise in many aspects of molecular and evolutionary biology. This project will also help establish the conservation status of new and potentially rare species.