Phylogeny and Speciation in Sphagnum Section Subsecunda

该项目应用各种实验室和现场技术来了解泥炭（泥炭藓）的生态和遗传过程。 该项目有三个主要组成部分。 第一部分涉及泥炭多样性的全球分析，以确定遗传关系是否反映植物之间的地理邻近性或结构相似性。 研究的第二部分调查了一组广泛分布于北美，欧洲和亚洲的密切相关物种的生态，遗传和形态变异。 DNA序列的分析，以了解系谱关系将补充染色体数目的研究，物种之间的生态差异的调查，旨在澄清形态变异的遗传基础的实验工作。 该项目的最后一部分侧重于种群内发生的遗传过程，这些过程导致了前两部分工作中记录的更广泛的生物多样性模式。 DNA指纹法将用于确定自然种群的繁殖模式以及共存物种杂交的程度。 这项研究的意义超出了这组植物本身。泥炭藓经常占主导地位的栖息地，它发生，形成深泥炭沉积在北方地区的北方半球。泥炭地是全球碳的重要储存库，对甲烷（CH4）和其他大气气体（包括CO、N2O、NH3、H2S、COS和DMS）的运动至关重要，并在确定区域水文、永久冻土和生物多样性模式方面发挥着重要作用。据指出，泥炭藓属的生物量比任何其他现存的植物属都多。北方泥炭地为各种生物提供了栖息地，包括许多独特的植物，原生生物，动物和真菌。就其生态优势而言，泥炭藓属在植物中无与伦比。该项目涉及与生物多样性的产生和维持有关的基本问题。 特别是，该研究将澄清这一至关重要的群体中的物种划界，评估物种在生态上等同并因此相互替代的程度，并澄清当地规模遗传过程（如杂交）在产生生物多样性方面的重要性。 该项目将研究生和本科生培训纳入研究计划，并将通过万维网公开提供所有信息。学生的参与为美国科学基础设施的持续发展做出了重要贡献。

This project applies a variety of laboratory and field techniques to understanding ecological and genetic processes in peatmosses (Sphagnum). The project has three major components. The first part involves a global analysis of peatmoss diversity in order to determine if genetic relationships reflect geographic proximity or structural similarity among plants. The second part of the research investigates ecological, genetic, and morphological variation in a group of closely related species that are widespread in North America, Europe, and Asia. Analyses of DNA sequences to understand genealogical relationships will be complemented with studies of chromosome number, investigations of ecological differences among species, and experimental work designed to clarify the genetic basis of morphological variation. The last part of the project focuses on the genetic processes occurring within populations that give rise to the broader biodiversity patterns documented in the first two parts of the work. DNA fingerprinting methods will be used to determine reproductive patterns in natural populations and the extent to which co-occurring species hybridize. The research has implications beyond this group of plants per se. Sphagnum frequently dominates habitats in which it occurs, forming deep peat deposits in boreal regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Sphagnum-dominated peatlands constitute an important reservoir for global carbon, are critical to the movement of methane (CH4) and other atmospheric gases including CO, N2O, NH3, H2S, COS, and DMS, and play a prominent role in determining patterns of regional hydrology, permafrost, and biodiversity. It has been stated that more biomass is bound up in the genus Sphagnum than in any other living genus of plants. Boreal peatlands provide habitat for diverse organisms including many unique plants, protists, animals, and fungi. In terms of its ecological dominance, the genus Sphagnum is without parallel among plants. This project addresses fundamental issues related to the generation and maintenance of biodiversity. In particular, the research will clarify species delimitation in this critically important group, evaluate the extent to which species are ecologically equivalent and hence mutually replaceable, and clarify the importance of local scale genetic processes such as hybridization in generating biodiversity. The project integrates graduate and undergraduate training into the research program and will make all information publicly available through the worldwide web. Student involvement provides an important contribution to the continuing development of scientific infrastructure in the United States.