Immunological and Electrophoretic Studies of Systematic     Relationships of the Poaceae (Grasses)
{'Code': '08010207', 'Directorate': {'Abbreviation': 'BIO', 'LongName': 'Direct For Biological Sciences'}, 'Division': {'Abbreviation': 'DEB', 'LongName': 'Division Of Environmental Biology'}}
{'SignBlockName': 'James E. Rodman', 'PO_EMAI': None, 'PO_PHON': None}
The grass family (Poaceae) is economically the most                     important plant family, being the source of cereal grains such as               wheat, corn, rice, barley, sorghum, and millets.  Sugar cane and                lawn grasses are also members of this family.  In addition,                     grasses constitute the fourth largest flowering plant family and                comprise over one-fourth of the world's vegetation.                             Unfortunately, the phylogeny (genealogy) of this family is merely               speculative; numerous groups such as genera and tribes are still                unclassified, and the boundaries and naturalness of several                     tribes are questionable.  These difficulties arise from the                     extreme reduction and consequently limited usage of grass floral                morphology in classification and suspected parallel evolution                   where two unrelated species superficially look alike becasue of                 adaptations to the same environment.                                                    Drs. Hilu and Esen of Virginia Polytechnic Institute will be            using the molecular size and immunological properties of a class                of storage proteins called prolamins as a measure of genetic                    distance between various groups of grasses.  The prolamins are                  found only in grasses and are known to be little affected by                    environmental conditions.  When these virtues are combined with                 refined molecular methodologies, the P.I.s have an effective                    approach for assessing the genomic relationships between various                groups of grasses.  Preliminary work on representative grass                    genera using prolamins clearly demonstrates the far-reaching                    applications of this molecular approach.                                                The potential impact of the research is two-fold.  First, it            will increase our understanding of the biology of this large and                important plant family.  Second, since all of the cereal grains                 will be included, this study will help to define the gene pool of               grasses that can be used in improved breeding of cereal crops.
[{'FirstName': 'Asim', 'LastName': 'Esen', 'PI_MID_INIT': None, 'PI_SUFX_NAME': None, 'PI_FULL_NAME': 'Asim Esen', 'EmailAddress': 'aevatan@vt.edu', 'NSF_ID': '000457662', 'StartDate': '10/15/1987', 'EndDate': None, 'RoleCode': 'Co-Principal Investigator'}, {'FirstName': 'Khidir', 'LastName': 'Hilu', 'PI_MID_INIT': 'W', 'PI_SUFX_NAME': None, 'PI_FULL_NAME': 'Khidir W Hilu', 'EmailAddress': 'hilukw@vt.edu', 'NSF_ID': '000295199', 'StartDate': '10/15/1987', 'EndDate': None, 'RoleCode': 'Principal Investigator'}]
{'Name': 'Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University', 'CityName': 'BLACKSBURG', 'ZipCode': '240603359', 'PhoneNumber': '5402315281', 'StreetAddress': '300 TURNER ST NW', 'StreetAddress2': 'STE 4200', 'CountryName': 'United States', 'StateName': 'Virginia', 'StateCode': 'VA', 'CONGRESSDISTRICT': '09', 'CONGRESS_DISTRICT_ORG': 'VA09', 'ORG_UEI_NUM': 'QDE5UHE5XD16', 'ORG_LGL_BUS_NAME': 'VIRGINIA POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE & STATE UNIVERSITY', 'ORG_PRNT_UEI_NUM': 'M515A1DKXAN8'}
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{'Code': '1127', 'Text': 'Evolutionary Processes'}
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