Sexual Reproduction in Ephedra and its Bearing on the       Evolution of Double Fertilization and Endosperm
{'Code': '08010207', 'Directorate': {'Abbreviation': 'BIO', 'LongName': 'Direct For Biological Sciences'}, 'Division': {'Abbreviation': 'DEB', 'LongName': 'Division Of Environmental Biology'}}
{'SignBlockName': 'Scott L. Collins', 'PO_EMAI': None, 'PO_PHON': None}
Flowering plants (angiosperms) constitute the most diverse                 and successful group of plants living on earth, yet many aspects                of their evolutionary origins from more primitive seed-bearing                  plants are poorly understood.  Plant biologists have proposed                   that much of the evolutionary success of angiosperms can be                     attributed to their unusual and highly derived pattern of sexual                reproduction.  Specifically this involves a double fertilization                process, the egg nucleus fusing with one pollen-borne sperm                     nucleus to produce the zygote of the embryo, and a second                       fertilization event involving another pollen-borne nucleus.  The                product of the second fertilization develops into a highly                      efficient nutrient-garnering tissue called endosperm, which                     functions to nourish the developing embryo inside the seed.                          Until now little effort has been devoted to understanding                  how the distinctive reproductive process of double fertilization                might have evolved.  Dr. William Friedman of the University of                  Georgia will examine patterns of sexual reproduction among                      members of the genus Ephedra, suspected of being the most closely               related living group of seed-bearing gymnosperms.  Although most                aspects of fertilization in Ephedra are not well understood,                    there are indications that events similar to the process of                     double fertilization in angiosperms may occur in this genus.                    Using modern techniques and apparatus for DNA measurement and for               microscopic analysis, Dr. Friedman will investigate reproduction                in several representative species of Ephedra, analyzing the                     ontogenetic patterns of gamete-formation, fertilization, and                    early development of the embryo.  Similarities may reveal clues                 about the intermediate steps leading to angiosperm double                       fertilization and help in understanding its adaptive                            significance.
{'FirstName': 'William', 'LastName': 'Friedman', 'PI_MID_INIT': 'E', 'PI_SUFX_NAME': None, 'PI_FULL_NAME': 'William E Friedman', 'EmailAddress': 'ned@oeb.harvard.edu', 'NSF_ID': '000184818', 'StartDate': '01/01/1989', 'EndDate': None, 'RoleCode': 'Principal Investigator'}
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{'Code': '1127', 'Text': 'Evolutionary Processes'}
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