Dissertation Research: Molecular Systematics of Crassulaceae and Adaptive Radiation in Aeonium

[9800887 . SOLTIS]开花植物天竺葵科（石作物）庞大而多样。许多种被用作观赏植物。其他的被用作实验生物，特别是在光合作用研究中。尽管有这种兴趣，很少确定的历史（系统发育）关系的成员之间的天竺葵科。获得这些关系的可靠重建的挑战考验了科学家解决植物生物学中复杂问题的能力。例如，强大的重建应该有助于研究人员寻找这些植物中重要性状的出现和变化的生物学背景。在本博士论文研究中，Douglas E. Soltis和学生Mark E. Mort将重建天竺葵科成员之间的系统发育关系。重建将主要基于分子序列的数据，但也将使用来自植物形态学、解剖学和生理学的信息。他们将集中研究Macaronesia（加那利群岛）的天竺葵科，特别是Macaronesia Aeonium属。选择Aeonium是为了验证一个想法，即一个岛屿上的单一创始物种可以迅速产生许多物种，每个物种都与亲代物种在形态、解剖、生理和生态方面存在巨大差异。本研究将评估这种类型的历史对植物系统发育重建提出的挑战。从Macaronesian工作中学到的原理将应用于重建世界范围内天竺葵科属之间的系统发育关系。

9800887 SOLTIS The flowering plant family Crassulaceae (the stonecrops) is large and diverse. Many species are used as ornamentals. Others are used as experimental organisms, especially in photosynthesis research. Despite this interest, little is certain about the historical (phylogenetic) relationships among members of the Crassulaceae. The challenge of obtaining robust reconstructions of these relationships tests the ability of scientists to resolve complex problems in plant biology. Robust reconstructions should (for example) assist investigators who seek a biological context for the appearance of, and changes in, significant traits among these plants. In this doctoral dissertation research, Douglas E. Soltis and student Mark E. Mort will reconstruct the phylogenetic relationships among members of the Crassulaceae. The reconstructions will be based primarily on data from molecular sequences, but will also use information from the morphology, anatomy, and physiology of the plants. They will work intensively on the Crassulaceae of Macaronesia (Canary Islands), and especially on the Macaronesian genus Aeonium. Aeonium is chosen to test the idea that a single founding species on an island can rapidly give rise to many species, each differing profoundly from the parent and from each other in morphology, anatomy, physiology and ecology. The research will evaluate the challenges to phylogeny reconstruction presented by this type of history in plants. Principles learned from the Macaronesian work will be applied to efforts to reconstruct the phylogenetic relationships among the genera of Crassulaceae worldwide.