BEGIN:VCALENDAR
VERSION:2.0
PRODID:-//Talks.cam//talks.cam.ac.uk//
X-WR-CALNAME:Talks.cam
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:Solving Darwin’s 'abominable mystery': the evolution and develop
 ment of nectar spurs - Ms Erin Cullen (Department of Plant Sciences\, Camb
 ridge)
DTSTART:20190228T131000Z
DTEND:20190228T140000Z
UID:TALK117133@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Domi Baretic
DESCRIPTION:Darwin famously referred to the origin of flowering plants (an
 giosperms) as an 'abominable mystery'. Flowering plants are the most diver
 se group of land plants\, and the ability to vary floral traits has been k
 ey to their success. One such floral innovation is the nectar spur (a tubu
 lar outgrowth of the petal which may contain nectar). Nectar spurs protect
  nectar from the environment and also enhance pollinator specificity\, pol
 lination efficiency and reproductive success. Despite their ecological imp
 ortance\, much is still unknown about the development and morphogenesis of
  spurs as there are no conventional model plant species which possess a ne
 ctar spur. \n\nThis project aims to probe the morphological and molecular 
 basis of nectar spur outgrowth. To understand the basis of nectar spur out
 growth\, a species which possesses a nectar spur (Linaria vulgaris) was co
 mpared to a closely related species which does not (Antirrhinum majus). A 
 comparative transcriptome (the sum of all of the genes which are expressed
  by cells at that time point) was performed in order to give a global view
  of the genes involved in spur development and produce new candidate genes
  which may be involved in spur outgrowth in Linaria. Nectar spur length ca
 n be highly variable. Control of variation in nectar spur length was also 
 investigated\, focusing on two closely related species which have extremel
 y long and short spurs respectively. A morphological characterisation was 
 undertaken (recording cell number and cell length across a range of develo
 pmental stages) to determine whether the difference in spur length between
  the species is due to cell expansion or cell division. We found that prim
 arily cell number and therefore cell division drives an increase in spur l
 ength in Linaria. This contrasts with previous studies in Aquilegia which 
 have found that variation of nectar spur length is due to directed cell ex
 pansion over a longer timeframe. These data suggest that spurs may have ev
 olved in different systems by disparate mechanisms.\n
LOCATION:The Richard King Room\, Darwin College
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR