US-Brazil Dissertation Research - Phylogenetic History and Species Delimitation in the Neotropical Plant Genus Pagamea Aubl. (Rubiaceae)

在这篇由国际科学与工程办公室的美洲计划和环境生物学部门的系统生物学计划支持的论文中，密苏里大学圣路易斯分校和密苏里植物园的彼得·F·史蒂文斯、伊丽莎白·A·凯洛格和阿尔贝托·维森蒂尼将使用现代分子系统学技术和形态计量学对导致南美洲Pagamea物种多样化的机制产生可检验的假说。由于Pagamea是一种相当大和困难的新热带属，在亚马逊盆地分布广泛，因此将在巴西、委内瑞拉、秘鲁和圭亚那进行实地考察。植物的精确位置数据将与有关气候、土壤和扩散障碍的地理模式的信息组合在一起。系统发育关系将在精细的分辨率水平上重建。这项工作的结果可以为研究和理解这一复杂而罕见的茜草科属的系统学和进化提供一个模式。国外同行是巴西马瑙斯国家植物研究所(INPA)的Rogerio Gribel。这项研究将有助于更广泛地了解其他南美洲分布相似的被子植物种群的生物地理格局。为了确定南美国家稀有或濒危成员的保护优先事项，必须对Pagamea进行现代分类。在这个项目中，一名来自代表性不足群体的学生将获得国际经验，美国和巴西三所大学之间的联系将得到加强。

In this dissertation enhancement award supported by the Americas Program in the Office of International Science and Engineering and the Systematic Biology Program in the Division of Environmental Biology, Peter F. Stevens, Elizabeth A. Kellogg, and Alberto Vicentini of the University of Missouri, St. Louis and the Missouri Botanical Garden will use modern molecular-phylogenetic techniques and morphometrics to produce testable hypotheses of the mechanisms that have contributed to the diversification of Pagamea in South America. Since Pagamea is a fairly large and difficult Neotropical genus with a wide range in the Amazon basin, fieldwork will be conducted in Brazil, Venezuela, Peru, and Guyana. Precise location data for plants will be combined with assembly of information regarding the geographical pattern of climate, soils, and barriers to dispersal. Phylogenetic relationships will be reconstructed at a fine level of resolution. The results of this work can provide a model for studying and understanding the systematics and evolution of this complex and unusual genus of Rubiaceae. The foreign counterpart researcher is Rogerio Gribel at Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazonia (INPA) in Manaus, Brazil.This study should contribute to a broader understanding of biogeographical patterns in other South American angiosperm groups with a similar distribution. A modern classification of Pagamea is imperative for establishing conservation priorities for rare or endangered members in South American countries. During this project a student who is a member of an underrepresented group will gain international experience, and contacts between three U.S. and Brazilian institutions will be strengthened.