Phylogenetic Studies in Neotropical Vaccinieae (Ericaceae): The Systematics of Macleania, Psammisia, Mycerinus

小行星9628841 石楠科的形态学和分子学专家之间的一个有前途的伙伴关系，是针对中美洲和南美洲热带山地“蓝莓”的几个属的研究。纽约植物园的James Luteyn博士在野外采集和分类修订工作方面经验丰富，主要对新大陆杜鹃花类植物感兴趣;维克森林大学的Kathleen Kron博士是植物分子系统发育分析专家，对新大陆和旧大陆杜鹃花类植物及其他杜鹃花类植物感兴趣。结合形态学和分子（DNA）分析将集中在属Macleania，Psammisia，和Mycerinus和他们的推定亲属在越桔族或蓝莓组的杜鹃花科，利用新收集的现场材料和保存的标本。分类学修订工作将编制所有已确认物种的全面说明、识别检索表、附有最新学名的命名者、生境说明以及所有物种地理分布的全面清单。将对叶绿体基因和核核糖体区域进行DNA测序，其中核苷酸差异（突变取代）可能证明种和属之间的遗传信息。结合形态学和DNA数据集可以进行分析，以构建这些杜鹃花科分类群的系统发育树。从这样一个分类单元系谱，人们可以研究性状的进化（例如花的形态和果实的类型），并推断该物种的迁徙历史。 杜鹃花科在新热带的安第斯地区物种丰富，并且在其分布中通常高度本地化或特有。越来越多的栖息地破坏增加了对这些和其他植物的研究的紧迫性。形态学方法和分子生物学方法的结合是对现代热带植物生物多样性研究需求的一个令人鼓舞的回应。分类学和系统发育学的研究结果对生态学、进化学、种质资源的研究和保护具有重要意义。

9628841 Luteyn A promising partnership between morphological and molecular specialists on the heath family, Ericaceae, is directed toward study of several genera of tropical montane "blueberries" in Central and South America. Dr. James Luteyn of New York Botanical Garden is experienced in field collecting and in taxonomic revisionary work, with a major interest in New World ericads; Dr. Kathleen Kron of Wake Forest University is a specialist in molecular phylogenetic analyses of plants, with interests in New and Old World rhododendrons and other ericads. Combined morphological and molecular (DNA) analyses will focus on the genera Macleania, Psammisia, and Mycerinus and their putative relatives in the Vaccinieae or blueberry group of Ericaceae, making use of newly collected field materials and preserved herbarium specimens. The taxonomic revisionary work will produce full descriptions of all recognized species, identification keys, a nomenclator with updated scientific names, habitat notes, and full inventory of the geographic distribution of all the species. DNA sequencing will be done for both chloroplast genes and the nuclear ribosomal region, where nucleotide differences (mutational substitutions) are likely to prove phylogenetically informative between species and genera. The combined morphology and DNA data sets can be analyzed to construct a phylogenetic tree of these ericad taxa. From such a taxon genealogy, one can study character evolution (in floral form, for example, and fruit type) and infer migrational histories for the species. The Ericaceae are species-rich in the Andean regions of the neotropics, and often highly localized or endemic in their distribution. Increasing habitat destruction adds urgency to the study of these and other plants. The union of morphological and molecular approaches is an encouraging response to the need for modern biodiversity studies of tropical plants. Results of the taxonomic and phylogenetic investigations will prove useful in ecology and evolut ion and for germplasm research and conservation.