Abstract Detail

Systematics Section/ASPT

Hall , John D [1], Karol, Kenneth [2], Lewis, Louise [3], Lewis, Paul [4], Fucikova, Karolina [5], Leliaert, Frederik [6], Wysor, Brian [7], Lopez-Bautista, Juan [6], Cooper, Endymion [8], McManus, Hilary [9], Delwiche, Charles [10], McCourt, Richard [11].

Assembling the Green Algal Tree of Life (GrAToL).

Green plants, including the green algae and land plants, comprise one of the most diverse groups of eukaryotes. More than 14,000 species of green algae have been described. The green algae are an ancient group originating hundreds of millions of years before the invasion of land by plants. Although we have some ideas about the evolutionary history of land plants and green algae, many of the oldest relationships remain unresolved. For example, the sister taxon to land plants remains controversial, as does the relationship among the major lineages of Chlorophyta (the Chlorophyceae, Trebouxiophyceae and Ulvophyceae). Considering the large number of poorly studied, early-diverging lineages of green algae, a broader phylogenetic framework for understanding their evolutionary history is needed. The Green Algal Tree of Life (GrAToL) is a collaborative project focused on resolving the oldest evolutionary relationships among green algae. The project investigates a large number of taxa from all major groups of green plants, as well as representatives of land plants. Increasingly we are using Next Generation sequencing technology to collect organellar genome data as well as transcriptomic data from select taxa. We will provide an overview of the project as well as a summary of our progress to date.

Related Links:
Green Algal Tree Of Life

1 - University Of Maryland, Plant Science And Landscape Architecture, 2102 Plant Sciences Building, College Park, MD, 20742, USA
2 - The New York Botanical Garden, 200 Street & Southern Boulevard, Bronx, NY, 10458, USA
3 - University Of Connecticut, Department Of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, 75 North Eagleville Rd, Unit 43, Storrs, CT, 06269-3043, USA
4 - University Of Connecticut, Department Of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, 75 N. Eagleville Road, Unit 43, Storrs, CT, 06269-3043, USA
5 - University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, USA
6 - University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL, USA
7 - Roger Williams University, Bristol, RI, USA
8 - University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA
9 - Le Moyne College, Ecology And Evolutionary Biology, 1419 Salt Springs St., Syracuse, NY, 13214, USA
10 - University Of Maryland, CELL BIOLOGY AND MOLECULAR GENETICS, Biosciences Research Building, COLLEGE PARK, MD, 20742-5815, USA
11 - Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, USA

Keywords:
systematics
phylogenetics
algae
Evolution
Charophyta
Streptophyta
Chlorophyta
genomics.

Presentation Type: Poster:Posters for Sections
Session: P
Location: Eyrie/Boise Centre
Date: Monday, July 28th, 2014
Time: 5:30 PM
Number: PSY001
Abstract ID:552
Candidate for Awards:None