Plant Systematics World

Genomics, bioinformatics, and plant systematics

Genomics and bioinformatics are emerging disciplines that have the potential to fundamentally alter current approaches to molecular systematics. The sequencing of eukaryotic genomes has demonstrated the ability to obtain and interpret nucleotide sequences at a scale and efficiency that was unimaginable just a few years ago. The immense amount of sequence information generated by genome projects...

Plant Systematics: Beginnings and Endings

Molecular systematics of New World suboscine birds.

Phylogenetic relationships among New World suboscine birds were studied using nuclear and mitochondrial DNA sequences. New World suboscines were shown to constitute two distinct lineages, one apparently consisting of the single species Sapayoa aenigma, the other made up of the remaining 1000+ species of New World suboscines. With the exception of Sapayoa, monophyly of New World suboscines was s...

Plant systematics in the age of genomics.

As plant biologists enter a new era in which comparative genomics promises to address fundamental questions in botany, such as unraveling metabolic and regulatory networks, the inestimable value and usefulness of robust systematic studies quickly become clear. In simplest terms, systematic studies can indicate which genomes in the plant kingdom to search, sample, and study for the answers to qu...

The Role of Chemistry in Plant Systematics

Although the hybrid discipline of biochemical systematics has been a distinct field of study for only about ten years, it has had a telling impact on taxonomic practice. Nevertheless, the chemical approach, with its emphasis on the exact, tends to exlude much of the wealth of natural phenomena that are the backbone of taxonomy. It is necessary for the chemist and biochemist to acquire a better ...