Goals:
This class has two major goals. The first goal is to gain a better understanding of how plants
evolve. This is an important topic. Plants provide the food we eat, the oxygen we breathe, the
homes that shelter us, the clothes we wear, and many of the drugs that protect us from disease.
Plants mitigate pollution, lessen climate change, contribute to healthy watersheds, control
erosion, provide habitat for animals, and add beauty to the places we live. Thus, there is
considerable incentive for understanding their origin and diversification.
The second goal is to make the transition from textbook learning to learning from the scientific
literature. We believe in total immersion, so there will be no textbook for this class. All
readings will be from refereed journal publications. To ease the transition, we will employ a
lecture/discussion format and focus on high-profile case studies and/or reviews of important
topics in plant evolution. Our emphasis will be the evolution of land plants, of which
approximately 300,000 species are extant today.
Expectations:
1. Preparation. This seminar will be a series of short lectures and discussions. To encourage
preparation of the participants and to allow time for integration and synthesis before class, each
of you should provide by 9 pm on Wednesday a one-paragraph summary of each paper as well
as a list of three or four salient points/questions for discussion. Such points could include: (a)
aspects of the study you did not understand or were unclear; (b) the significance of the research
to the field; (c) interesting methodology; (d) potential flaws (e.g. problems with the
experimental design or aspects of the analysis and interpretation); (e) further directions; (f)
connections to prior readings. Make sure you provide evidence to support your points and be
sure to properly cite any additional material where appropriate. For each paper, these
assignments should be no more than one page double-spaced. Summaries will be graded on a
scale of 0 to 6 points.
2. Discussion. Each of you will be asked to lead one Thursday discussion. This should include
a brief 5-10 minute presentation that describes the goals, experiments, results, and conclusions
of the papers to be discussed. Where appropriate, please introduce the plant(s) that are the
focus of the discussion. You may also wish to provide a short list of questions or topics for
discussion. It is your responsibility to encourage discussion among your peers, but not to
dominate the conversation.
3. Experiments. Propose two experiments that ought to be done to advance our understanding
of evolution. Ideally these would be experiments that you would be tempted to carry out, but
this is not a requirement. For each explain: (a) the question that motivates the proposed study;
(b) why it is important; (c) the appropriate methodology; (e) predicted results; and f) the
potential significance of the findings. Your proposal also should provide background for the
study, as well as a list of one or more appropriate organisms and why you chose them. The
research proposals should be approximately 5 pages in length double-spaced (12 point font,
Times New Roman). The first proposal is due February 25, whereas the second proposal is due
April 8. In addition, you will be asked to summarize one of these experiments for the class in
the last few days of the semester.
4. Quizzes. To encourage review and synthesis of lecture material, there will be short bi-weekly
quizzes on lecture material. With one exception, each quiz will take place on Thursday at the
start of class, be 10 minutes in length and cover four lectures. The questions will be short
answer or multiple choice and be 10 marks in total.
Grades:
Grades will be based on preparedness as demonstrated by your paper summaries/discussion
points, on your participation in class, and on the proposed experiments. There will also be short
bi-weekly quizzes on lecture material to encourage you to review and synthesize important
information and concepts. There will be a 10% penalty for each day an assignment is late or
awaiting revision.
Paper summaries/discussion points 1% each (25% total)
Quizzes 20%
Written research proposal 20% each (40% total)
Presentation of research proposal 5%
Discussion presentation 5%
Participation 5%
Readings:
Jan-7
Dlugosch KM, Parker IM. 2008. Founding events in species invasions: genetic
variation, adaptive evolution, and the role of multiple introductions. Molecular
Ecology 17: 431-449.
Jan-12
Ellstrand NC. 2014. Is gene flow the most important evolutionary force in plants?
American Journal of Botany 101: 737-753.
Jan-14
Bernard-Kubow KB, Debban CL, Galloway LF. 2015. Multiple glacial refugia lead to
genetic structuring and the potential for reproductive isolation in a herbaceous plant.
American Journal of Botany 102: 1842 – 1853 ,.
Jan-19
Fournier-Level A et al. 2011. A Map of Local Adaptation in Arabidopsis thaliana.
Science 333: 86-89.
Savolainen O. 2011. The Genomic Basis of Local Climatic Adaptation. Science 333:
49-50.
Jan-21
Whittall JB, Hodges SA. 2007. Pollinator shifts drive increasingly long nectar spurs
in columbine flowers. Nature 447: 706–709.
Jan-26
Kalisz S, Vogler DW, Hanley KM 2004. Context-dependent autonomous selffertilization yields reproductive assurance and mixed mating. Nature 430: 884-887.
Jan-28
Barrett SCH. 2002. The evolution of plant sexual diversity. Nature Reviews Genetics
3: 274-284.
Feb-2
Rieseberg LH et al. 2006. The nature of plant species. Nature 440: 524-527.
Feb-4
Lowry DB et al. 2008. The strength and genetic basis of reproductive isolating
barriers in flowering plants. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society BBiological Sciences 363: 3009-3021.
Feb-9
Fishman L, Stathos A, Beardsley PM, Williams CF, Hill JP. 2013. Chromosomal
rearrangements and the genetics of reproductive barriers in Mimulus (monkey
flowers). Evolution 67: 2547-2560.
Feb-11
Wood TE, Takebayashi N, Barker MS, Mayrose I, Greenspoon PB, Rieseberg LH.
2009. The frequency of polyploid speciation in vascular plants. PNAS 106: 1387513879.
Feb-23
Abbott RJ et al. 2010. Homoploid hybrid speciation in action. Taxon 59: 1375-1386.
Feb-25
de Vos JM et al. 2014. Heterostyly accelerates diversification via reduced extinction
in primroses. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 281:
20140075.
Mar-2
Jump AS, Peñuelas J. 2006. Effects of chronic habitat fragmentation in a windpollinated tree. PNAS 103: 8096-8100.
Mar-4
Franks SJ, Weber JL, Aitken SN. 2012. Evolutionary and plastic responses to climate
change in terrestrial plant populations. Evolutionary Applications 7: 123-139.
Mar-9
Colautti RI, Barrett SCH. 2013. Rapid adaptation to climate facilitates range
expansion of an invasive plant. Science 342: 364-366.
Mar-11 Purugannan MD, Fuller DQ. 2009. The nature of selection during plant
domestication. Nature 457: 843-848.
Mar-16 Tanksley SD, McCouch SR. 1997. Seed banks and molecular maps: Unlocking
genetic potential from the wild. Science 277: 1063-1066.
Mar-18 Siol M et al. 2010. The population genomics of plant adaptation. New Phytologist
188: 313-332.
Mar-23 Jaillon O et al. 2007. The grapevine genome sequence suggests ancestral
hexaploidization in major angiosperm phyla. Nature 449: 463-U5.
Mar-25 Naito K et al. 2009. Unexpected consequences of a sudden and massive transposon
amplification on rice gene expression. Nature 461: 1130-1135.
Mar-29 Bock, D.G., R.L. Andrew, and L.H. Rieseberg. 2014. On the adaptive value of
cytoplasmic genomes in plants. Molecular Ecology 23: 4899-4911.
Some Relevant Books:
Arnold ML. 1997. Natural Hybridization and Evolution. Oxford Univ. Press, Oxford.
Arnold ML. 2006. Evolution through Genetic Exchange. Oxford Univ. Press, Oxford.
Beebee T, Rowe G. 2004. An Introduction to Molecular Ecology. Oxford Univ. Press, Oxford.
Briggs D, Walters SM. 1997. Plant Variation & Evolution, 3rd Edition. Cambridge Univ. Press,
Cambridge.
Clausen J. 1961. Stages in the Evolution of Plant Species. Harper Publishing Company, New
York.
Conner JC, Hartl DL. 2004. A Primer of Ecological Genetics. Sinauer Associates, Sunderland,
MA
Coyne JA, Orr HA. 2004. Speciation. Sinauer Associates, Sunderland, MA.
Dieckmann U, Doebeli M, Metz JAJ, Tautz D. 2004. Adaptive Speciation. Cambridge Univ.
Press, Cambridge.
Ellstrand NC. 2003. Dangerous Liaisons? When Cultivated Plants Mate with the Wild
Relatives. John Hopkins Univ. Press, Baltimore.
Falk DA, Holsinder KE. 1991. Genetics and Conservation of Rare Plants. Oxford Univ. Press,
Oxford.
Freeland JR. 2005. Molecular Ecology. John Wiley & Sons, Chichester, UK.
Gavrilets S. 2004. Fitness Landscapes and the Origin of Species. Princeton.
Grant V. 1971. Plant Speciation. Columbia Univ. Press, New York.
Grant V. 1975. Genetics of Flowering Plants. Columbia Univ. Press, New York.
Hancock JF. 2012. Plant evolution and the origin of crop species. CABI Publishing,
Cambridge, MA.
Harder LD, Barrett SCH. Eds. 2006. Ecology and Evolution of Flowers (Oxford University
Press, Oxford, UK.
Howard DJ, Berlocher SH, Eds. 1998. Endless Forms: Species and Speciation. Oxford Univ.
Press, Oxford.
Iwatsuki K, Raven PH & Bock WJ, Eds. 1986. Modern Aspects of Species. Univ. Tokyo.
Judd JA et al., Eds. 2002. Plant Systematics: A Phylogenetic Approach. Sinauer Associates,
Inc. Sunderland, MA.
Lewis WH, Ed. 1980. Polyploidy: Biological Relevance. Plenum
Levin DA. 2000. The Origin, Expansion, and Demise of Plant Species. Oxford Univ. Press,
Oxford.
Levin DA. 2002. The Role of Chromosomal Change in Plant Evolution. Oxford Univ. Press,
Oxford.
Lowe A, Harris S, Ashton P. 2004. Ecological Genetics: Design, Analysis, and Application.
Blackwell Publishing, Oxford.
Lynch, M. 2007. The Origins of Genome Architecture. Sinauer Associates, Inc. Sunderland,
MA.
Niklas KJ. 1997. The Evolutionary Biology of Plants. Univ. Chicago Press, Chicago.
Soltis DE et al. 2005. Phylogeny and Evolution of of Angiosperms. Sinauer Associates, Inc.
Sunderland, MA.
Stebbins GL. 1950. Variation and Evolution in Plants. Columbia Univ. Press, New York.
Stuessy TF, Ono M. 2007. Evolution and Speciation of Island plants. Cambridge University
Press, Cambridge.
Thompson JN. 2009. The Coevolutionary Process. University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
Willis KJ, McElwain JC. 2002. The Evolution of Plants. Oxford Univ. Press, Oxford.
Young A, Boshier D, Boyle T, Eds. 2000. Forest Conservation Genetics. CSIRO Publishing,
Collingwood, Australia.