Dr. Matthew Aaron Gitzendanner University of Florida Assistant Scientist, Department of Botany Collection Manager, Florida Museum of Natural History PO Box 117800 Gainesville, FL 32611-7800 Phone: 352-273-1960 Fax: 352-846-2154 E-mail: magitz@ufl.edu

Research Interests:

I am an evolutionary geneticist with special interests in conservation biology and the population genetics of rare species. Current research projects include:

• Conservation genetics of Ziziphus celata:
• AFLP genotyping: We are currently working on genotyping individuals with AFLPs. We have two main goals for this project:
1. Understand the patterns of variation present in the natural populations.
2. Provide genetic data to maximize diversity in introductions and augmentations.
• Self incompatibility allele screening: We are in the beginning stages of using PCR-based methods to genotype individuals at their SI loci as a means of finding compatible individuals for crosses.
• Phylogeography of Florida endemics
• My graduate student, Charlotte Germain-Aubrey, is studying the phylogeographic patterns in a number of Florida endemics.
  
• High Performance Computing in the Life Sciences
• In addition to being the systems administrator for the UF Phyloinformatics Cluster for High Performance Computing in the Life Sciences, I have several research projects that make use of this cluster, as well as the University's High-Performance Computing Center.
• Lomatium phylogenetics:
• A paper on the phylogeny of Lomatium based on ITS and ETS is in preparation.

Teaching:

• Bot 6935: Special Topics: Population Genetics; 2 credits Fall 2006

Software:

• ApomorphyTally
• iNquiry cluster XLM files for phylogenetic population genetics software.

Lab manager:

In addition to my research, I am the laboratory manager for Pam and Doug Soltis.

• Advising and training students, post docs and visitors.
• Supply and equipment ordering
• Information Technology...keeping a computer cluster and about 30 computers going takes a lot of time!

Recent Publications:

• Soltis, D. E., M. A. Gitzendanner, P. S. Soltis. 567-Taxon data set for angiosperms: the challenges posed by bayesian analyses of large data sets. In press, International Journal of Plant Sciences.
• Soltis, D. E., J. W. Clayton, C. C. Davis, k. J. Wurdack, M. A. Gitzendanner, M. Cheek, V. Savolainen, A. M. Amorim, P. S. Soltis. Phylogenetic relationships of the enigmatic amphitropical family Peridiscaceae. In press, Taxon.
• E. J. Meléndez-Ackerman, P. Speranza, W. J. Kress, L. Rohena, E. Toledo, C. Cortés, D. Treece, M. Gitzendanner, P. Soltis, and D. Soltis. 2005 Microevolutionary processes inferred from AFLP and morphological variation in Heliconia bihai (Heliconiaceae). International Journal of Plant Sciences 166: 781-794.[Abstract]
• Mavrodiev, E. V., M. Tancing, A. M. Sherwood, M. A. Gitzendanner, J. Rocca, P. S. Soltis, D. E. Soltis. 2005. Phylogenetic relationships in Tragopogon L. (Asteraceae) based on ITS and ETS sequence data. International Journal of Plant Science 166: 117-133.[Abstract]
• Mavrodiev, E. V., C. E. Edwards, D. C. Albach, M. A. Gitzendanner, P. S. Soltis, and D. E. Soltis. 2004. Phylogenetic Relationships in Subtribe Scorzonerinae (Asteraceae: Cichorioideae: Lactuceae) Based on ITS Sequence Data. Taxon 53: 699-712.[Abstract]