The family tree relationships and geographic history of the grape family (Vitaceae) will be investigated with a comprehensive approach that integrates data from DNA analyses, developmental studies, as well as the structural form and geographic distribution of both living and fossil representatives. Characteristics of flowers, seeds, pollen, leaves, and stems will be compared to show the similarities and differences among living and extinct fossil species. Developmental studies on living plants will clarify how mature form is achieved in species of different genera. This information will be analyzed collectively to provide an improved understanding of the evolutionary history of grapes as well as an optimal classification of grapes and closely related genera and species. The project has great potential to contribute to the understanding on how fossils, extant morphology and molecules can be integrated into evolutionary and biogeographic analysis.
The project uses an economically and culturally significant plant family as a model for integrating many types of systematic data into one study, providing training opportunities for first-generation college students at the University of Northern Iowa, as well as students abroad during field collections. Colleagues from Nepal and China will also be trained in appropriate molecular techniques and data analyses. Findings from this research will be incorporated into outreach programs in place at the Florida Museum of Natural History and the Smithsonian Institution.
