DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Extending anchored phylogenomics into plants with a case study of beaksedge (tribe Rhynchosporeae; Cyperaceae) diversification in the New World

鸟嘴(约375种)Rhynchosporreae；莎草科)是了解亚热带/热带草原和稀树草原这三个美国中心的多样性和多样性模式的理想选择，因为它们是每个地区最多样化的类群之一。例如，在所有植物属中，Rhynchospora拥有北美东南部沿海平原特有的最多的分类群(49个)。这项研究将使用“锚定系统发生学”(鉴定和测序100或1000个高度保守的锚定区域，两侧分布在基因组中的更多可变区)，为大约100种鸟喙类物种建立一个强大的系统发育图，这些物种将被用于类群多样化的时机以及果实形态、生境特异性和C3/C4光合作用的进化。该项目将为单子叶植物的锚定系统发生学生成一个‘工具包’。单子叶植物是一个由65,000个物种组成的群体，提供了人类的大部分食物(如水稻、玉米和小麦)。更好地了解这些作物与它们的野生近缘植物之间的关系对作物改良是有用的。该项目还将能够更准确地识别烧烤物种，由于识别困难，在生态和保育研究中通常只将这些物种识别为属。这一点尤其重要，因为在美国，81种烧烤植物被认为是湿地指标，而部落多样性的代表性不足降低了保护评估的准确性，使一些生态相互作用的研究变得不可能。该项目还将培训一名系统基因组学研究生，这一技能正在成为系统学、生物地理学、生态学和进化论中日益重要的技能。

The beaksedges (ca. 375 spp. in tribe Rhynchosporeae; Cyperaceae) are ideal for understanding patterns of diversity and diversification in the three American centers of subtropical/tropical grasslands and savanna because they are one of the most diverse groups in each area. For example, Rhynchospora has the greatest number of taxa (49) endemic to the SE North American Coastal Plain of any plant genus. This study will use 'anchored phylogenomics' (identifying and sequencing 100s or 1000s of highly conserved anchor regions flanked by more variable regions scattered throughout the genome) to produce a robust phylogeny for ca. 100 beaksedge species that will be used to the timing of diversification of the group and the evolution of fruit morphology, habitat specificity, and C3/C4 photosynthesis.The project will generate a 'toolkit' for anchored phylogenomics in the monocots, a group of 65,000 species that provides the great majority of the human diet (e.g., rice, maize, and wheat). Better knowledge of the relationships among these crop plants and their wild relatives is useful in crop improvement. The project will also enable more precise identifications of beaksedge species, which are often only identified to genus in ecological and conservation studies because of difficulties in identification. This is especially significant because 81 beaksedge species are recognized as wetland indicators in the United States and under-representation of the tribe's diversity reduces the accuracy of conservation assessments and makes the study of some ecological interactions impossible. The project will also train a graduate student in phylogenomics, which is emerging as an increasingly important skill set in systematics, biogeography, ecology, and evolution.