Research Topics
Department of Plant Biology
Ph.D. (1987) University of Alberta, Canada
Research Topics
Research Interests
My laboratory is using the record of molecular change contained within the chloroplast and, to a lesser extent, nuclear genomes to trace evolutionary histories and to determine phylogenetic relationships in several major groups of extant flowering plants. In an effort to reveal this record, three approaches are being used: (1) the comparative analysis of chloroplast DNA (cpDNA) restriction site mutations; (2) the sequencing of several chloroplast genes, introns, and intergenic spacer regions, as well as the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions of nuclear ribosomal DNA; and (3) the characterization and distribution of major cpDNA structural rearrangements, such as inversions, the losses of various gene and intron sequences, and variation in size and position of the large, duplicated inverted repeat (IR) region. The information obtained through these studies contributes both to the understanding of the molecular evolution of the chloroplast genome, and, in the context of the inferred evolutionary history of a particular group, to the elucidation of patterns of morphological, molecular, and chemical character-state change.Research in our laboratory is currently centered on estimating the generic-level relationships within Apiaceae (Umbelliferae) subfamily Apioideae.
Key Words Organelle Genomes, Molecular Evolution, Genome Organization/RFLP
Mapping, Molecular Systematics
Current Research Funding
NSF