ARTS: Collaborative Research: Understanding the relationships and radiation of Old World Croton (Euphorbiaceae)

这项研究将更好地了解世界上最大的开花植物属之一巴豆属(大戟科)的物种多样性和进化关系。许多巴豆属物种具有重要的生态意义、药用价值或被认为是濒危物种，但大量的物种和全球分布阻碍了先前充分了解该属系统学的努力。波多黎各大学和密歇根大学的研究人员的这项研究建立在之前一个调查北美、中美洲和南美洲的巴豆物种的项目的基础上，现在专注于为大约450种原产于亚洲、非洲和马达加斯加的巴豆物种建立一个全面的系统发育和分类系统。本科生研究人员和研究生，包括代表不足群体的成员，将参与这项研究的所有方面，包括波多黎各高中教师的植物生物学研讨会，以强调植物对广大观众的重要性。这项研究将使用田间、植物标本馆和分子技术相结合的方法，调查非洲、亚洲和马达加斯加约450种巴豆物种的系统学。将使用至少10个核、叶绿体和线粒体标记的组合来重建系统发育关系，以提供必要的进化框架，以研究巴豆内生物地理进化的速度和模式，重点是在整个东半球的殖民和扩散。不同物种的描述、图像和其他信息，包括该属的综合专著，将通过《马达加斯加生命百科全书》和《马达加斯加维管植物目录》网页免费在网上传播。这项研究还将为马达加斯加物种建立一个DNA条形码数据库，以帮助识别这些物种。

This study will provide a better understanding of the species diversity and evolutionary relationships within one of the world's largest flowering plant genera, Croton (Euphorbiaceae). Many Croton species are important ecologically, used medicinally, or considered endangered, but the large number of species and worldwide distribution has hampered previous efforts to fully understand the systematics of the genus. This study by researchers at the University of Puerto Rico Mayaguez and the University of Michigan builds on a previous project investigating Croton species in North, Central and South America and now focuses on producing a comprehensive phylogeny and classification system for the estimated 450 Croton species native to Asia, Africa and Madagascar. Undergraduate researchers and graduate students, including members of under-represented groups, will be involved in all aspects of the study including plant biology workshops for high school teachers within Puerto Rico to highlight the importance of plants to a large and broad audience.This study will investigate the systematics of the estimated 450 Croton species in Africa, Asia and Madagascar using a combination of field, herbarium and molecular techniques. Phylogenetic relationships will be reconstructed using a combination of at least 10 nuclear, chloroplast and mitochondrial markers to provide necessary the evolutionary framework to investigate the tempo and mode of biogeographical evolution within Croton, with an emphasis on the colonization and dispersal throughout the Old World. Descriptions, images and additional information for different Croton species, including a comprehensive monograph of the genus, will be disseminated freely online through the Encyclopedia of Life and Catalogue of the Vascular Plants of Madagascar webpages. This study will also produce a DNA barcode database for the Malagasy species to help identify these species.