ID: 613 / 99

Category: Symposia

Track: Pending

Proposed Symposium Title: POALES: FROM ADDRESSING GLOBAL SCALE QUESTIONS TO UNRAVELING THE EVOLUTIONARY SECRETS OF NEGLECTED FAMILIES

Abstract: Poales, one of the most species-rich orders of flowering plants, includes 12 families and over 24,000 described species. This order has a global distribution, with the grasslike (graminoid) growth form appearing to be one of the key innovations leading to the high diversity and abundance of Poales in open habitats. The earliest Poales are hypothesized to have occupied open and seasonally dry habitats during the Cretaceous and were probably herbaceous, with typical monocot features including rhizomes, C3 photosynthesis, monocarpic tillers and wind pollination. Recent research shows several other important growth form traits – such as insect pollination, epiphytism, C4 and CAM photosynthesis, presence of silica, and the ability to survive in wet and dry habitats – have evolved several times in this order. Also of note, the cyperid clade (families Cyperaceae and Juncaceae) has the highest number of species with holocentric chromosomes in flowering plants. While the largest and most well-known families (e.g., Bromeliaceae, Cyperaceae, Poaceae) have been the focus of many studies, research on the less speciose families has been relatively scarce. Species richness varies among the nine smaller families, ranging from over 1,200 in the predominantly tropical Eriocauleaceae, over 400 in Juncaceae, Restionaceae and Xyridaceae, to less than five in the Flagellariaceae, Mayacaceae, Joinvilleaceae and Ecdeiocoleacea, and with the exception of Juncaceae and Restionaceae, the smaller, poorly-understood families tend to have their centres of diversity in the tropics. The proposed symposium will serve as a forum to discuss emerging evolutionary themes that are evident at the phylogenetic scale of order and major lineages (e.g., xyrids, cyperids), and to provide a platform for those studying smaller families to present their research. By offering this symposium, we intend to promote further study and collaboration at all scales across order Poales and improve the understanding of previously neglected lineages.

Speaker 1: Name: Muthama Muasya Institutional Affiliation: Bolus Herbarium, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cape Town, Private Bag X3, Rondebosch, Cape Town 7701, South Africa Email: muthama.muasya@uct.ac.za Tentative Talk Title: Hotspots of diversity in Poales

Speaker 2: Name: Alex Vrijdaghs Institutional Affiliation: Laboratory of Plant Conservation and Population Biology, KU Leuven, Kasteelpark 31, 3001 Heverlee (Leuven), Belgium Email: alexander.vrijdaghs@kuleuven.be Tentative Talk Title: Floral ontogeny and evolution in cyperids

Speaker 3: Name: Andrea Pedrosa Harand Institutional Affiliation: Universidade Federal de Pernambuco; Centro de Biociências; Departamento de Botânica; Laboratório de Citogenética e Evolução Vegetal, Recife PE Brazil Email: andrea.harand@ufpe.br Tentative Talk Title: Evolution of holocentric chromosomes in the cyperids

Topics (Up to three): Biogeography / Phylogeography

Topic 2: Development and Structure

Topic 3: Phylogenetics and Phylogenomics

Justification: This meeting includes studies related to one of the largest orders of angiosperms, which are a key component of open habitats. We will provide a forum for both those focusing on overarching themes in Poales evolution and others studying questions related to previously neglected families. The three proposed talks cover several IBC themes, including Biogeography, Macroevolution and Development and Structure. Speakers from three different continents (Africa, Europe and South America) have confirmed they will present, representing diverse career stages and different genders. We will further consider geographic, career stage and gender diversity during the second stage of the selection process.