REU: Molecular Evolution and Adaptive Radiation in the Bromeliad Genus Brocchinia

威斯康星州大学的吉夫尼什和西茨玛博士 研究该属物种的进化历史 凤梨科的凤梨属。 这群 植物具有科学价值，因为它们被认为是 原始的家庭成员，可能是过渡到 先进的附生形式，因为它们是原生的最 圭亚那地盾（Guyana Shield）是南美洲的一个古老地区， 它们进化出了一系列非凡的手段 矿物营养素，包括食肉动物，共生氮 固定和蚂蚁喂养。 研究人员将收集大约21个 产于委内瑞拉、巴西和哥伦比亚的该属的一个种。 他们 将通过分析评估物种间的基因组关系 叶绿体DNA 将这些结果与 花和营养性状将允许评估 传统解剖性状在分类学上的可靠性 分类。 这项研究的目的是了解 物种的进化，它们是如何适应 极端的土壤贫瘠，以及它们是如何分散在 南美洲北方山脉的地质年代。

Drs. Givnish and Sytsma of the University of Wisconsin are studying the evolutionary history of species of the genus Brocchinia of the pineapple family, Bromeliaceae. This group of plants is of scientific interest because they are considered primitive members of the family and may be transitional to advanced epiphytic forms, because they are native to the most ancient part of South America, the Guyana Shield, and because they have evolved a remarkable range of means for capturing mineral nutrients including carnivory, symbiotic nitrogen fixation, and feeding by ants. The investigators will collect specimens of the estimated 21 species of the genus in Venezuela, Brazil, and Colombia. They will assess genomic relationships among species through analysis of chloroplast DNA. Comparison of these results with study of floral and vegetative traits will permit evaluation of the reliability of traditional anatomical characters in taxonomic classifications. The goal of the research is to understand how the species evolved, how they have adpated to conditions of extreme soil infertility, and how they have dispersed through geological time across the northern range of South America.