COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: Systematics and Evolution of Malpighiaceae

木兰科是热带开花植物的一个大家族，在新大陆最多样，但在东半球，从非洲到菲律宾，由七个进化群组成，每个进化群与一个新热带群的亲缘关系比与其他古热带群的亲缘关系更密切。此前的分子研究表明，该家族是新大陆的单一祖先的后裔，在新大陆，花的独特形态与它们通过采油蜜蜂授粉有关。这些蜜蜂没有伴随迁徙到旧大陆的植物物种，那里的花形态更加多样化。在这项研究中合作的三位专家结合了在传统分类学和现代分子和分析技术方面的培训和经验，以及在锦鸡儿科系统学和进化方面的多年工作。他们计划了一套四个相互关联的项目：1)额外的分子测序，以解决该科系统发育树中剩余的最糟糕的问题；2)利用脱氧核糖核酸序列、化石证据、大陆历史和现在的地理分布来解决这七个古热带群体的祖先从新大陆迁移到东半球所遵循的路径问题(S)；3)应用古热带物种及其新热带近亲的差异的形态研究来评估关于花形态进化的假说；以及4)修订该科的属分类，并将分类结果放在网站上，包括系统发育树、互动检索表、命名法、描述、插图、照片和分布图。这项研究将弥合分子研究和传统形态技术之间的差距。由此产生的研究人员的综合将成为一种新的系统学方法的范例，将服务于世界上所有依赖系统学家对热带生物进行最佳、最现代分类的人的需求：自然资源保护者、生态学家、林学家和普通人。该网站将提供一种方式，及时传达这项工作的所有结果，并将允许不断更新和扩大所提供的信息。研究新大陆和东半球物种之间的关系及其迁徙路线，对于正在努力解决其他动植物种群中类似问题的生物学家来说，将是非常有意义的。对形态差异的研究将使生物学家更好地了解生命之树中形态停滞是如何维持的。至少有一名巴西植物学家将根据这笔赠款访问美国进行高级研究，这将有助于美国和巴西科学家之间的融合与合作，巴西是南美洲最大和最重要的国家。本科生和研究生也将参与这项研究。

The Malpighiaceae are a large family of tropical flowering plants, most diverse in the New World but represented in the Old World, from Africa to the Philippines, by seven evolutionary groups, each more closely related to a neotropical group than to other paleotropical groups. Previous molecular studies have shown that the family is descended from a single ancestor in the New World, where the distinctive morphology of the flowers is related to their pollination by oil-collecting bees. Those bees did not accompany the plant species that migrated to the Old World, where the floral morphology is more diverse. The three specialists collaborating in this research combine training and experience in both traditional systematics and modern molecular and analytical techniques, and many years of work in the systematics and evolution of the Malpighiaceae. They plan a set of four interlocking projects: 1) additional molecular sequencing to resolve the worst remaining problems in the family's phylogenetic tree; 2) use of DNA sequences, fossil evidence, continental history, and present geographical distributions to address the question of the path(s) followed by the ancestors of those seven paleotropical groups in their migration from the New World to the Old World; 3) application of morphological studies of disparity to paleotropical species and their neotropical relatives to evaluate hypotheses on the evolution of floral morphology; and 4) a revision of the generic taxonomy of the family and the placement of the resulting classification on a website, with phylogenetic trees, interactive keys, nomenclature, descriptions, illustrations, photographs, and distribution maps.This study will bridge the gap between molecular studies and traditional morphological techniques. The resulting synthesis among investigators will be a paradigm for a new approach to systematics that will serve the needs of all those around the world who rely on systematists for the best, most modern classifications of tropical organisms: conservationists, ecologists, foresters, and laypeople. The website will provide a way to convey all the results of this work in a timely manner, and will allow for constant updating and amplification of the information provided. The studies of the relationships between New World and Old World species, and their migration routes, will be of great interest to biologists grappling with similar problems in other groups of plants and animals. Studies of morphological disparity will allow biologists to understand better how morphological stasis is maintained in the tree of life. At least one Brazilian botanist will visit the United States for advanced research under this grant, which will contribute to the integration and cooperation between scientists in the United States and Brazil, the largest and most important country in South America. There will also be participation in this research by both undergraduate and graduate students.