Abstract Detail

Symposia: Emerging Results from Studies of Gymnosperms on the Tree of Life II

Mathews, Sarah [1], Campbell, Christopher S. [2], Cronn, RC [3], Gernandt, David A. [4], Holman, Garth [2], Ickert-Bond, Steffi [5], Kelch, Dean [6], Li, Jianhua [7], Liston, Aaron [8], Little, Damon [9], Mapes, Gene [10], Mei, Wenbin [11], Morris, Julie A. [12], Nagalingum, Nathalie [13], Parks, Matthew [14], Rai, Hardeep [1], Raubeson, Linda A. [15], Rothwell, Gar W. [10], Ryberg, Patricia E. [10], Schwarzbach, Andrea E. [12], Stockey, Ruth A. [16].

A focus on gymnosperm clades: Establishing the context to understand seed plant phylogeny.

Despite the predominance of angiosperms in most ecosystems and their inordinate contribution to plant diversity, they are just one of many lineages that comprise the seed plant clade, all others being gymnosperms. Due to their importance, angiosperms have figured heavily in attempts to understand the evolution of seed plants, but this is like trying to understand the solar system without being able to determine the positions and to understand the composition of most of the planets. To establish the context for understanding the evolution of seed plants, and thus the origin of angiosperms, our project, “Gymnosperms on the tree of life: resolving the phylogeny of seed plants” is focused on extensive sampling in both living and extinct clades of gymnosperms. Living gymnosperms comprise approximately 1000 species distributed in 5 lineages: cycads, Gingko, gnetophytes, Pinaceae, and cupressophytes. Extinct gymnosperms are distributed in at least 18 lineages: including Elkinsia, Lyginopteris, Quaestora, medullosans, gigantoperids, cordaites, Voltziales, bennettitites, glossopterids, corystosperms, peltasperms, Caytoniales, Pentoxylales, Autunia, Laceya, and Bilignea. Thanks to the generosity of many collaborators who have provided tissue or DNA samples, we have sampled nucleotide characters from nearly all living species. From a subset of these (~ 16%), covering critical nodes in available trees, we are sampling many additional nucleotide characters. These same core taxa, along with many extinct taxa, are the focus of thorough morphological study. Together these data establish an extensive foundation from which we revisit several persistent questions pertaining to seed plant evolution, explore approaches to infer deep divergences accurately, and evaluate insights from emerging lines of evidence, such as genome duplication histories.

Broader Impacts:

1 - Harvard University, Arnold Arboretum, 22 Divinity Ave., Cambridge, MA, 02138, United States
2 - University of Maine, School of Biology and Ecology, Orono, ME, 04469-5735, USA
3 - USDA Forest Service, Forest Genetics, Pacific Nothwest Research Station, 3200 SW Jefferson Way, Corvallis, Oregon, 97331, USA
4 - Instituto de Biolog ìa, Universidad Nacional Aut ònoma de M èxico, Departamento de Bot ànica, A. p. 70-233, M èxico Distrito Federal, 04510, M èxico
5 - University of Alaska Fairbanks, Department of Biology and Wildlife and UA Museum, 907 Yukon Dr., Fairbanks, Alaska, 99775-6960, U.S.A.
6 - California Department of Food & Agriculture, 3294 Meadowview Road, Sacramento, California, 95832, USA
7 - Hope College, Biology Department, 35 E 12th St., Holland, MI, 49423, USA
8 - Oregon State University, Department of Botany & Plant Pathology, 2082 Cordley Hall, Corvallis, Oregon, 97331-2902, USA
9 - The New York Botanical Garden, 200th Street & Southern Blvd., Bronx, NY, 10458, USA
10 - Ohio University, Department of Environmental & Plant Biology, Porter Hall, Richland Avenue, Athens, Ohio, 45701-2979, USA
11 - Central Washington University, Department of Biological Sciences, 400 E University Way, Ellensburg, WA, 98926-7537
12 - The University of Texas-Brownsville, Department of Biological Sciences, 80 Fort Brown, Brownsville, TX, 78520, USA
13 - University of California - Berkeley, Department of Integrative Biology, 3060 Valley Life Sciences Building, Berkeley, CA, 94720-3140, USA
14 - Oregon State University, Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, 2082 Cordley Hall, Corvallis, OR, 97331, USA
15 - Central Washington State University, Department of Biological Sciences, Ellensburg, Washington, 98926-7537, USA
16 - University of Alberta, Department of Biological Sciences, Biological Sciences Centre, CW5, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 2E9, CANADA

Keywords:
gymnosperms
Seed plant
phylogeny.

Presentation Type: Symposium or Colloquium Presentation
Session: SY1
Location: Ballroom C/Convention Center
Date: Monday, August 2nd, 2010
Time: 11:00 AM
Number: SY1007
Abstract ID:705