Grant: Discovery Grants Program - Individual

The study of plant evolution is essential to hypothesizing the changes in ancient plants that led to the diversity of plant and flower forms we see today. Currently, a number of techniques are available to researchers interested in flower evolution. The first, phylogeny, or genealogical decent, is essential for providing a framework for representing relationships amongst groups of plants. My research seeks to construct phylogenies from comparative analyses of DNA sequences and floral development data from two economically and ecologically important groups of plants.     Roses belong to a group of plants that includes potentillas, raspberries, strawberries, and many ecologically important plants. Phylogenetic trees from analyses of DNA demonstrate that not all members of this group are closely related to one another. My research will use comparative floral development data to determine characters that differ among members of this group to better understand these relationships. Results from these studies will provide a basis for studying the evolution of floral organ identity genes.     Blueberries belong to a group of plants that also includes cranberries, bilberries, and partridge berries. Previous analyses blueberry of phylogeny use single sources of data, or do not fully clarify relationships within this group. Therefore, I will collect data to complete a large, multi-gene DNA data set to refine our understanding of relationships amongst these plants. I will also carry out comparative analyses of flower development of this group to investigate the basis for the wide variation we see in their flowers.     Thorough investigations of the relationships amongst plant groups not only provide us with insight into their evolution, but also provide information concerning characters with socio-economic importance. Information from my research has the potential to assist breeding programs by helping understand the genetic control of developmental processes, as well as determining characteristics in wild relatives that may be of use in breeding. This information can also be employed in determining strategies for the conservation of wild populations.