Rosaceae and vaccinium floral evolution

对植物进化的研究对于推测古代植物的变化是至关重要的，这些变化导致了我们今天所看到的植物和花卉形式的多样性。目前，对花卉进化感兴趣的研究人员可以使用许多技术。第一，系统发育学，或称谱系学体面，对于提供一个框架来表示植物群体之间的关系是必不可少的。我的研究试图通过对DNA序列和两个经济和生态上重要的植物群体的花发育数据的比较分析来构建系统发育图。欧洲玫瑰属于一类植物，包括潜伏草、覆盆子、草莓和许多具有生态重要性的植物。DNA分析的系统发育树表明，并不是这一组的所有成员都彼此密切相关。我的研究将使用比较的花发育数据来确定这一组成员中不同的特征，以更好地理解这些关系。这些研究结果将为研究花器官识别基因的进化提供基础。传统的蓝莓属于一类植物，还包括蔓越橘、越橘和山莓。以前的系统发育分析蓝莓使用单一的数据来源，或者没有完全澄清这一组内的关系。因此，我将收集数据来完成一个大型的多基因DNA数据集，以完善我们对这些植物之间关系的理解。我还将对这一群体的花发育进行比较分析，以调查我们在他们的花中看到广泛差异的基础。然而，彻底调查植物群之间的关系不仅为我们提供了对它们的进化的洞察，而且还提供了关于具有社会经济意义的特征的信息。从我的研究中获得的信息，通过帮助理解发育过程的基因控制，以及确定可能在育种中有用的野生近亲的特征，有可能帮助育种计划。这些信息也可用于确定保护野生种群的战略。

The study of plant evolution is essential to hypothesizing the changes in ancient plants that led to the diversity of plant and flower forms we see today. Currently, a number of techniques are available to researchers interested in flower evolution. The first, phylogeny, or genealogical decent, is essential for providing a framework for representing relationships amongst groups of plants. My research seeks to construct phylogenies from comparative analyses of DNA sequences and floral development data from two economically and ecologically important groups of plants.     Roses belong to a group of plants that includes potentillas, raspberries, strawberries, and many ecologically important plants. Phylogenetic trees from analyses of DNA demonstrate that not all members of this group are closely related to one another. My research will use comparative floral development data to determine characters that differ among members of this group to better understand these relationships. Results from these studies will provide a basis for studying the evolution of floral organ identity genes.     Blueberries belong to a group of plants that also includes cranberries, bilberries, and partridge berries. Previous analyses blueberry of phylogeny use single sources of data, or do not fully clarify relationships within this group. Therefore, I will collect data to complete a large, multi-gene DNA data set to refine our understanding of relationships amongst these plants. I will also carry out comparative analyses of flower development of this group to investigate the basis for the wide variation we see in their flowers.     Thorough investigations of the relationships amongst plant groups not only provide us with insight into their evolution, but also provide information concerning characters with socio-economic importance. Information from my research has the potential to assist breeding programs by helping understand the genetic control of developmental processes, as well as determining characteristics in wild relatives that may be of use in breeding. This information can also be employed in determining strategies for the conservation of wild populations.