Wayne Elisens - US grants

Dr. Wayne J. Elisens of the University of Oklahoma will conduct a multidisciplinary study designed to assess taxonomic relationships and evolutionary mechanisms in a group of long- lived desert perennials. Shrub snapdragons (the genus Galvezia) occur in desert habitats in continental North America, the California Islands, coastal South America, and the Galapagos Islands. Because of their biological characteristics and geographic distributional pattern, shrub snapdragons represent an ideal group for investigation of the processes and patterns of evolutionary change in plants that occur in a) islands and continents, b) an oceanic archipelago and a group of offshore islands, and c) desert biomes on two continents. Research methodologies include field study of and collections from natural populations, investigations of reproductive system and crossing among species propagated in greenhouses, laboratory studies of chromosomal and genetic divergence, and numerical estimates of genetic and phylogenetic relatedness. The major goals of the study are to elucidate evolutionary mechanisms among New World desert shrubs, quantify genetic differentiation among the species, reconstruct the evolutionary history of the shrub snapdragons, and propose a formal classification. This study is particularly significant because evolutionary mechanisms among desert woody plants are poorly understood and because floras of islands provide some of the best examples of natural experiments for examination of evolutionary divergence and processes associated with long- distance dispersal, establishment, and adaptation. The results of this study are important for the conservation, management, and utilization of desert woody plants in North and South America and the Galapagos Islands.

Comparative studies of variation in nuclear DNA and chloroplast DNA have helped elucidate the pattern of evolutionary relationships in many plant groups. A phylogenetic framework is particularly important in groups of organisms used as model systems, to correctly interpret biological phenomena and apply valuable data. This research is a molecular phylogenetic investigation of a lineage of flowering plants, tribe Antirrhineae (Scrophulariaceae) that includes a model system in genetic and developmental studies, the cultivated snapdragon. To provide a broad molecular database that will insure rigorous tests of hypotheses, a broad experimental and analytical approach based on comparative DNA sequencing in nuclear and chloroplast genomes and restriction site variation of five chloroplast genes has been designed. The objectives here are to evaluate: (a) the evolution of floral morphological characters, (b) the origin and evolution of "Tam" transposable elements, and (c) how floral homeotic genes have evolved and whether their evolution has been influenced by "Tam" elements. %%% This research presents unusual opportunities for studying basic patterns and processes of molecular evolution, floral morphology, and developmental genetics using Antirrhinum majus and its relatives as model organisms. A phylogenetic context offers the chance to develop optimal application, extrapolation, and interpretation of biological results and this study, when completed, will constitute a robust demonstration of such a piece of research.

A grant has been awarded to the University of Oklahoma under the direction of B. Hoagland to develop a database of plant specimens for the state of Oklahoma that will be accessible via the worldwide web. The approximately 250,000 species housed in herbaria at state research institutions are a valuable resource for state scientists, personnel at state and federal agencies, and the public at large. These specimens also represent an important North American resource for many groups of plants. At the present time, the information contained in these specimens can be accessed only by visiting state herbaria or by requesting information from curators. In order to make this information widely and quickly available to researchers and the public, a comprehensive, web accessible, Oklahoma Vascular Plants database is to be developed. Specific objectives of the undertaking are: (1) to database all Oklahoma plant specimens; (2) to develop web-based access to their information; (3) to georeference all specimens; and (4) to bar code all specimens.
Databasing of the plant specimens will be conducted by trained undergraduate and graduate students supervised by the projects principal investigators. Databasing will build upon an existing database of 80,000+ specimens. Web access tools will be developed so that researchers at all Oklahoma colleges and universities can input specimen records into the database in the future. These web tools also will allow individuals to search the database for information on particular species, map the county distributions of species, and develop plant species lists for any county. After the plant specimens have been entered into the database, a computer program will be used to assign latitude and longitude coordinates to them, a process known as georeferencing. This will facilitate the mapping of species' distributions using Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Finally, bar code labels will be affixed to each specimen as it is being databased as an aid in management of the herbarium specimens.
The significance of the Oklahoma Vascular Plants database is rapid access to information. When completed, the database and website will facilitate the acquisition and dissemination of information regarding Oklahoma plants not only to workers in the state, but to those throughout the United States and the world. Increased access to plant specimen data by government, educational, and non-government organizations will; (1) guide activities of the Oklahoma Biological Survey; (2) help track the status of rare, threatened, and endangered plants; (3) allow the incorporation of plant collection data into GIS databases; and (4) facilitate rapid accumulation and dissemination of biodiversity information. Furthermore, the database will have direct use by the general public. Landowners will be able to access the website and acquire information about the species known to be present in their counties. The project also will enhance Oklahoma's science and education infrastructure by providing training in biological databasing and data sharing via: (1) work experiences for students and researchers; (2) collaboration among state scientists; and (3) training workshops for state researchers.

A 3-day meeting, digitization workshop, and best practices session will be held from 8 to 10 April 2011 for 36 curators of plant research collections (herbaria) throughout Texas and Oklahoma. This event will strengthen operational infrastructure within the TORCH (Texas Oklahoma Regional Consortium of Herbaria) collections network and will train herbarium curators in digitization methods and cybertechnologies. Three primary outcomes are anticipated from this event: 1) Enhancement of the organizational functionality of TORCH to coordinate digitization efforts among regional herbaria, 2) Hands-on learning among participating curators and students in biodiversity informatics tools, digitization techniques, and national initiatives involving data sharing and imaging of natural history collections, and 3) Development of best practice standards for the TORCH community. This workshop will prepare herbarium curators to collaborate and function as a regional node for national biological collections digitization initiatives.

Workshop attendance supported by travel stipends is a necessary incentive to ensure sufficient input from regional curators and graduate students, thus engendering maximum support for and commitment to future TORCH activities. Development of a collaborative management plan and work strategy for herbarium digitization and data mobilization is imperative so that TORCH may contribute to federal initiatives such as the U.S. Biological Collections Resource/ Network Integrated Collections Alliance. The planned digitization and sharing of data contained in the 3.5 million herbarium specimens in Texas and Oklahoma will increase substantially the synthetic value of these data for biologists, ecologists, resource managers, and policy makers at the national and international level.