Phylogenetic Relationships in Cheilanthoid Ferns            (Adiantaceae) Based on Chloroplast DNA Restriction Site     Variation and rbcL Sequence Data
{'Code': '08010207', 'Directorate': {'Abbreviation': 'BIO', 'LongName': 'Direct For Biological Sciences'}, 'Division': {'Abbreviation': 'DEB', 'LongName': 'Division Of Environmental Biology'}}
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The large numbers of ferns adapted to semi-desert or                       otherwise exposed conditions in the Southwest and Mexico have                   long perplexed taxonomists and biologists interested in the                     phylogenetic relationships and processes of evolution in these                  plants.  With new biotechnological tools of molecular analysis,                 Drs. Gerald Gastony and George Yatskievych of Indiana University                are studying genetic variation in chloroplast DNA of                            representative samples of genera and species of Cheilanthoid                    ferns of North America, to solve this problem.                                       Because DNA is not subject to modifying environmental                      influences in the way that stems, leaves, and reproductive                      structures are, the comparison of nucleotide differences among                  species can reveal genealogical affinities of the species                       examined.  By digesting the chloroplast DNA with enzymes that                   cleave the molecule at specific nucleotide sites (so-called                     restriction-site enzymes, developed from bacteria) comparative                  data from a large number of species can be obtained.  Their                     preliminary data reveal extensive amounts of restriction-enzyme                 site variability, indicating extensive mutational differences                   among species.  Computer programs will be used to analyze the                   data and to arrange species into the most probable evolutionary                 groupings on the basis of their shared DNA characteristics.  This               phylogeny will then permit detailed analysis of processes of                    speciation and of character convergence in these ferns in their                 adaptive evolution to harsh habitats.
{'FirstName': 'Gerald', 'LastName': 'Gastony', 'PI_MID_INIT': 'J', 'PI_SUFX_NAME': None, 'PI_FULL_NAME': 'Gerald J Gastony', 'EmailAddress': 'gastony@indiana.edu', 'NSF_ID': '000272654', 'StartDate': '06/01/1989', 'EndDate': None, 'RoleCode': 'Principal Investigator'}
{'Name': 'Indiana University', 'CityName': 'BLOOMINGTON', 'ZipCode': '474057000', 'PhoneNumber': '3172783473', 'StreetAddress': '107 S INDIANA AVE', 'StreetAddress2': None, 'CountryName': 'United States', 'StateName': 'Indiana', 'StateCode': 'IN', 'CONGRESSDISTRICT': '09', 'CONGRESS_DISTRICT_ORG': 'IN09', 'ORG_UEI_NUM': 'YH86RTW2YVJ4', 'ORG_LGL_BUS_NAME': 'TRUSTEES OF INDIANA UNIVERSITY', 'ORG_PRNT_UEI_NUM': 'YH86RTW2YVJ4'}
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{'Code': '1127', 'Text': 'Evolutionary Processes'}
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