EAPSI:Tracing the Evolution and Distribution of an Alpine-Arctic Plant Between North America and China

植物在东亚（EAS）和北美（NA）之间的不连续分布代表了北温带植物群中最显著的模式之一，它吸引了生物学家超过150年。人们提出了多种相互矛盾的假设来解释它，通过调查一个显示这种分布模式的群体，可以获得很多东西。小花草属（虎耳草科），是一个高山-北极草本植物属，发现于亚洲和北美的山区，是研究这种模式的一个很好的候选者。这项研究将与中国科学院昆明植物研究所的Chun-Lei Xiang博士合作进行，他在中国进行了广泛的实地考察。这项研究将测试用于解释EAS-NA分布的假设，并使研究人员能够评估植物如何适应和辐射以应对大陆之间和大陆内部的历史气候变化。这些信息可以用来预测植物如何应对未来的气候变化，并将广泛适用于其他物种。了解一个物种如何以及为什么获得了目前的分布，可以深入了解进化过程，并有助于揭示生物多样性和多样化的一般模式。这项研究将评估关于这种分离的假设，并提供有关北方演化和辐射机制的新输入。这将有助于假设迁移路线和随后的多样化爆发，以应对历史上的气候变化。中国南部可能是某些特有类群的起源中心，这些类群为跨大陆迁移提供了重要的联系。这支的一个全面的地理重建将描绘迁移路线和随后的多样化浪潮，以应对历史气候变化。广泛的实地考察，植物标本馆研究，下一代测序和尖端的计算分析都将被用来解开这个群体的进化和植物地理学。该NSF EAPSI奖支持美国研究生的研究，并与中国科技部合作资助。

The discontinuous distribution of plants between Eastern Asia (EAS) and North America (NA) represents one of the most remarkable patterns in the North Temperate Flora, and it has fascinated biologists for over 150 years. Multiple conflicting hypotheses have been put forth to explain it, and there is much to be gained by investigating a group that shows this distribution pattern. Micranthes (Saxifragaceae), is an alpine-arctic herbaceous plant genus found in the mountains of Asia and North America, and is an excellent candidate for investigating this pattern. This research will be conducted in collaboration with Dr. Chun-Lei Xiang, who has done extensive fieldwork in China, from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming Institute of Botany in Kunming, China. This research will test hypotheses offered to explain the EAS-NA distribution, and will allow the researcher to assess how plants adapted and radiated in response to historic climate change between and within continents. This information can be used to predict how plants will respond to future climate change and will be broadly applicable to other species.Understanding how and why a species has obtained its current distribution allows for insights into evolutionary processes and helps to unravel general patterns of biodiversity and diversification. This research will evaluate hypotheses about this disjunction and provide new input about the mechanisms of evolution and radiation in the northern hemisphere. This will serve to hypothesize routes of migration and subsequent bursts of diversification in response to historic climate change. Southern China possibly served as the center of origin for some of the endemic taxa, and these taxa provide an important connection for trans-continental movements. A comprehensive biogeographic reconstruction of this clade will delineate routes of migration and subsequent surges of diversification in response to historic climate changes. Extensive fieldwork, herbarium research, next generation sequencing, and cutting-edge computational analyses will all be used to unravel the evolution and biogeography of this group. This NSF EAPSI award supports the research of a U.S. graduate student and is funded in collaboration with the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology.