Research Description

Delineating Dilleniaceae: Positioning the Family Within the Eudicots

The Dilleniaceae family was considered a bridge between primitive and more evolutionary advanced angiosperms (flowering plants) before the advent molecular systematics. With large genetic based data sets, the position of this family was placed firmly among the most advanced plants, the eudicots. My project will use a larger data set and additional taxa to resolve the position of Dilleniaceae within the Eudicots. I will primarily utilize the highly conserved inverted repeat section of the chloroplast genome to provide the increased resolution necessary to solve my problem. Determining the position of Dilleniaceae will solve one of the largest remaining problems in angiosperm phylogeny.