Plant molecular biology has produced an ever-increasing flood of data about genes and genomes. Evolutionary biology and systematics provides the context for synthesizing this information. This book brings together contributions from evolutionary biologists, systematists, developmental geneticists, biochemists, and others working on diverse aspects of plant biology whose work touches to varying degrees on plant molecular evolution. The book is organized in three parts, the first of which introduces broad topics in evolutionary biology and summarizes advances in plant molecular phylogenetics, with emphasis on model plant systems. The second segment presents a series of case studies of gene family evolution, while the third gives overviews of the evolution of important plant processes such as disease resistance, nodulation, hybridization, transposable elements and genome evolution, and polyploidy.

In the five years since the publication of Molecular Systematics of Plants, the field of molecular systematics has advanced at an astonishing pace. This period has been marked by a volume of new empirical data and advances in theoretical and analytical issues related to DNA. Comparative DNA sequencing, facilitated by the amplification of DNA via the polymerase chain reaction (PCR), has become the tool of choice for molecular systematics. As a result, large portions of the Molecular Systematics of Plants have become outdated. Molecular Systematics of Plants II summarizes these recent achievements in plant molecular systematics. Like its predecessor, this completely revised work illustrates the potential of DNA markers for addressing a wide variety of phylogenetic and evolutionary questions. The volume provides guidance in choosing appropriate techniques, as well as appropriate genes for sequencing, for given levels of systematic inquiry. More than a review of techniques and previous work, Molecular Systematics of Plants II provides a stimulus for developing future research in this rapidly evolving field. Molecular Systematics of Plants II is not only written for systematists (faculty, graduate students, and researchers), but also for evolutionary biologists, botanists, and paleobotanists interested in reviewing current theory and practice in plant molecular systematics.

Plant molecular biology has produced an ever-increasing flood of data about genes and genomes. Evolutionary biology and systematics provides the context for synthesizing this information. This book brings together contributions from evolutionary biologists, systematists, developmental geneticists, biochemists, and others working on diverse aspects of plant biology whose work touches to varying degrees on plant molecular evolution. The book is organized in three parts, the first of which introduces broad topics in evolutionary biology and summarizes advances in plant molecular phylogenetics, with emphasis on model plant systems. The second segment presents a series of case studies of gene family evolution, while the third gives overviews of the evolution of important plant processes such as disease resistance, nodulation, hybridization, transposable elements and genome evolution, and polyploidy.

In the five years since the publication of Molecular Systematics of Plants, the field of molecular systematics has advanced at an astonishing pace. This period has been marked by a volume of new empirical data and advances in theoretical and analytical issues related to DNA. Comparative DNA sequencing, facilitated by the amplification of DNA via the polymerase chain reaction (PCR), has become the tool of choice for molecular systematics. As a result, large portions of the Molecular Systematics of Plants have become outdated. Molecular Systematics of Plants II summarizes these recent achievements in plant molecular systematics. Like its predecessor, this completely revised work illustrates the potential of DNA markers for addressing a wide variety of phylogenetic and evolutionary questions. The volume provides guidance in choosing appropriate techniques, as well as appropriate genes for sequencing, for given levels of systematic inquiry. More than a review of techniques and previous work, Molecular Systematics of Plants II provides a stimulus for developing future research in this rapidly evolving field. Molecular Systematics of Plants II is not only written for systematists (faculty, graduate students, and researchers), but also for evolutionary biologists, botanists, and paleobotanists interested in reviewing current theory and practice in plant molecular systematics.

The application of molecular techniques is rapidly transforming the study of plant systematics. The precision they offer enables researchers to classify plants that have not been subject to rigorous classification before and thus allows them to obtain a clearer picture of evolutionary relationships. Plant Molecular Systematics is arranged both conceptually and phylogenetically to accommodate the interests not only of general systematists, but also those of people interested in a particular plant family. The first part discusses molecular sequencing; the second reviews restriction site analysis and the sequencing of mitochondrial DNA. A third section details the analysis of ribosomal DNA and chloroplast DNA. The following section introduces model studies involving well-studied families such as the Onagraceae, Compositae and Leguminosae. The book concludes with a section addressing theoretical topics such as data analysis and the question of morphological vs. molecular data.

A collection of seventeen papers discussing the phylogeny of various legume groups. The first paper attempts a cladistic analysis of the whole family, and is followed by two dealing with molecular aspects of phylogeny. The remainder survey the phylogeny of various tribes and genera.