DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Phylogeny and evolution of the Brassica crops and wild relatives (tribe Brassiceae, Brassicaceae): morphological diversification and homoplasy

University Of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia MO

Investigators

Abstract

Humans have used Brassicas for thousands of years as a source of food, energy and medical cures. Plant architecture, leaf form, and flower and fruit structure have evolved independently and multiple times in wild and domesticated Brassicas. Little is known about how these important and diverse groups of plants are related to each other. Integrating the knowledge about genetic relationships with morphological data will help to decipher the dynamics of evolution and plant domestication. The research goals for this study are to: (1) Understand the evolutionary relationships among Brassica crops and wild relatives (2) Examine the evolution of morphology (3) Relate morphological evolution with gene molecular variation The proposed methods offer new and inexpensive ways to sequence multiple genes at once while simultaneously providing an innovative way to understand plant development. Graduate and undergraduates students will be trained on the methods developed here, including an online resource for the scientific community. An ?evo-devo? lab that takes advantage of college freshman?s familiarity with the grocery store Brassica oleracea (cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, etc.) will be implemented. Outreach to the public through the Columbia Center of Urban Agriculture (CCAU) is planned.