Collaborative Research: Phylogeny and Floral Evolution of Malpighiaceae

Harvard University, Cambridge MA

Investigators

Abstract

Malpighiaceae is a large, ancestrally New World flowering plant family that has dispersed independently to the Old World on seven separate occasions during the past ~60 Myr. The distinctive floral morphology of New World species includes oil glands, which provide pollinators with rewards other than pollen or nectar. The flowers that produce nutrient oils also have a unique bilateral floral symmetry that has been conserved for millions of years via interactions with specialist oil-bee pollinators. All Old World species, in contrast, have regular flowers with radial symmetry. This project will investigate diversification in plant-pollinator mutualism within the family by producing a morphological and molecular phylogeny of ~1300 Malpighiaceae species. In addition, the researchers will investigate the early genetic and developmental basis of bilateral symmetry in the New World species and establish the genetic and developmental basis for the convergent evolution of regular flower phenotypes in the Old World species. This study of this large and ecologically important group of tropical plants will serve as a model to understand whether similar genetic and developmental mechanisms are driving the parallel evolution of flower shape. The project will train a post-doctoral researcher, undergraduate and graduate students, including individuals from under-represented groups. Research results will be disseminated through an online monograph on the Malphigiaceae, and through targeted short-courses for elementary and high school students within Cambridge, MA.