EAPSI: Using Molecular Genomics to Analyze the Chloroplast Genome of Illicium

Leonard Opal R, Murfreesboro TN

Investigators

Abstract

Illicium is a genus of flowering plants comprising roughly 40 species across the Southeast of United States (U.S.), Mexico, Greater Antilles, and Southeast Asia. Illicium is recognized by its star-shaped fruits, which give the group the common name "star anise". The fruits are found in teas, incense, and Indian and Chinese cuisine, and some species of Illicium are producers of an important precursor of Tamiflu. Illicium is one of the earliest diverging lineages of flowering plants and is therefore an important model for the study of floral development and evolution. In this study samples of Illicium that are inaccessible in the U.S. will be collected. DNA from the samples will be extracted, and the chloroplast genomes will be sequenced using next-generation sequencing. This research will be conducted in collaboration with Dr. Zhiduan Chen at the Institute of Botany at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, granting access to 30 species of Illicium found in Asia that are not accessible in the U.S. Previous molecular studies supported recognition of two major groups: one Old World, located in Asia, and one New World, located in southeast U.S. Species resolution within both groups is lacking, leaving questions regarding boundaries between species and biogeographic history unanswered. Molecular tools are being developed for use to address these questions and long standing taxonomic issues. This research will use the sequenced genomes for comparison to identify the most informative noncoding chloroplast regions in species of New and Old World Illicium, and use the most informative regions to analyze the evolutionary relationships within Illicium. The genome sequences will be deposited into GenBank. This NSF EAPSI award is funded in collaboration with the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology.