Abstract Detail

Fossil plants at the intersection of evo-devo and phylogeny: celebrating the contributions of Gar W. Rothwell to biodiversity and evolution

Wyatt, Sarah [1].

Plant Evolution: genes, fossils, and molecular fingerprints.

Combining molecular data with knowledge of evolutionary patterns determined from the fossil record brings a new depth of understanding to the evolution of plant form. Research using methods in molecular biology suggests the developmental mechanisms of evolution; paleontological studies reveal the sequence in which evolutionary changes have occurred. Paleontological approaches to plant development provide a framework for extending that understanding to the ontogeny and evolution of whole organisms through time. Some genetic, regulatory, and biochemical mechanisms give rise to specific structural features that provide developmentally diagnostic features. Evolution of those diagnostic features represents critical developmental alterations, which can be identified in the fossil record where they represent “fingerprints” for gene mediated regulatory pathways. These fingerprints can provide a record of growth regulation for both living species and plant fossils. For example, the fossil record of vascular plants provides vast evidence about the ontogeny of tissues, organs, whole organisms, and the evolutionary pathways by which they evolved. This evidence can be directly related back to structural changes brought about in experimental studies of gene activity in living plants.

1 - Ohio University, Environmental And Plant Biology, 315 Porter Hall, Athens, OH, 45701, United States

Keywords:
Evolution
genetic pathways.

Presentation Type: Colloquium Presentations
Session: C11b, Fossil plants at the intersection of evo-devo and phylogeny: celebrating the contributions of Gar W. Rothwell to biodiverstiy and evolution Part 2
Location: 110/Mayo Civic Center
Date: Wednesday, July 25th, 2018
Time: 2:00 PM
Number: C11b001
Abstract ID:618
Candidate for Awards:None