Collaborative research: Branching in chloridoid grasses: phylogeny and inflorescence diversification

该奖项是根据2009年美国复苏和再投资法案（公法111-5）资助的。绿球藻草是一个庞大的，经济和生态上重要的群体，约有150属1500种，使用花序的高度可变特征（花是如何排列的）进行分类。尽管它们的重要性，相对知之甚少的物种之间的关系或花序发育的调节，所以这些问题将通过所有属和三分之一的物种的研究来解决。DNA序列将被用来重建进化关系，并创建一个新的分类，花序将被研究从早期发展到成熟，以表征在进化背景下的差异。其他物种的花序发育中涉及的基因将被检查他们在chloridoids中的作用。chloridoids草是经济上重要的，因为几个物种被种植作为粮食作物或草坪草为人类，许多提供牲畜饲料。了解该群体的进化和花序发育的调控对作物或草坪的改良具有重要意义，因为其他人正在寻求理想性状或增加谷物产量的来源。除了主要的研究人员，该项目还涉及一个小型学院的本科生，以及研究生和博士后学者。研究结果将通过印刷品和网上渠道广泛传播。

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).The chloridoid grasses are a large, economically and ecologically important group of approximately 1500 species in 150 genera that have been classified using the highly variable features of the inflorescence (how flowers are arranged). Despite their importance, relatively little is known about the relationships among the species or the regulation of inflorescence development, so these issues will be addressed through studies of all genera and one-third of the species. DNA sequences will be used to reconstruct the evolutionary relationships and create a new classification, and inflorescences will be studied from early in development to maturity to characterize the differences in an evolutionary context. Genes involved in inflorescence development of other species will be examined for their role in chloridoids.Chloridoid grasses are economically important because several species are grown as food crops or turf grasses for humans, and many provide livestock forage. Understanding the evolution of the group and the regulation of inflorescence development can have important implications for crop or turf improvement as others seek sources of desirable traits or increased grain yields. In addition to the principal investigators, the project involves undergraduate students at a small college, as well as graduate students and a postdoctoral scholar. The research findings will be broadly disseminated through print and online outlets.