REU: Pollen Morphology and Evolution in the Proteaceae

变形科是一个多样化的植物群，其历史可以追溯到白垩纪，现在由于中生代冈瓦纳大陆的分裂而分散在南部大陆。将利用光学和电子显微镜收集现代和化石花粉的新数据。这是第一次将花粉数据与整个植物的形态学、解剖学和细胞学信息相结合来评估该家族内的祖先-后代关系。这项研究将扩大我们对大陆漂移时期植物科的进化和地理历史的理解，并将澄清其与其他植物科的关系。在评估关系时使用多个数据集也将阐明性格演变的过程。

The Proteaceae are a diverse group of plants dating back to the Cretaceous Period, now dispersed among the southern continents by the break-up of the Mesozoic continent Gondwana. New data on modern and fossil pollen will be gathered using light and electron microscopy. For the first time, the ancestor- descendant relationships within the family will be assessed by combining pollen data with information on the morphology, anatomy, and cytology of the whole plants. The proposed research will expand our understanding of the evolution and geographic history of the family during continental drift, and will clarify its relationships with other families of plants. The use of multiple datasets in assessing relationships will also illuminate the process of character evolution.