Project Details
Projekt
Types and genomes - Solving a conflict in frequently hybridizing taxa of Veronica
Applicant
Professor Dr. Dirk Albach
Subject Area
Evolution and Systematics of Plants and Fungi
Term
from 2017 to 2024
Project identifier
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 351710143
Species circumscriptions have always been influenced by the availability of different characters to study them. Genomic analyses are doing so in a hitherto unprecedented way. In species with frequent hybridization, such as Veronica spicata, a possible result is that type specimens may be hybrids, potentially destabilizing the taxonomy of these species. In this project, we will investigate several aspects of the conflict between types and genomics by analyzing type material and extant plants from type localities using genomics and morphology. Our aim is to evaluate possibilities to reach a stable system reflecting traditional taxonomy and genetic identity for several names in Veronica subg. Pseudolysimachium from Europe. Novel aspects of the project comprise the use of ancient DNA methods to DNA extraction from herbarium specimens including whole genome amplification, the evaluation of Hyb-Seq and microfluidic PCR amplicon sequencing as promising high throughput-sequencing methods for degraded DNA and the morphometric analysis including outline analysis for a large number of types.
DFG Programme
Priority Programmes
