Systematics and evolution of Chrestinae (Compositae, Vernonieae)

• Grant number: 13/18189-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Effective date (Start): May 01, 2014
• Effective date (End): April 30, 2018
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Botany - Plant Taxonomy
• Principal Investigator: José Rubens Pirani
• Grantee: Carolina Moriani Siniscalchi
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biociências (IB). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated scholarship(s): 16/12446-1 - Molecular Phylogenetic and Phylogeographic Studies of Chrestinae (Compositae, Vernonieae), BE.EP.DR

Abstract

The outstanding biodiversity found in Brazilian territory has been target for several modern studies, but its causes and processes are still scarcely understood. The current need for more evolutionary studies about organisms from these regions is noteworthy, even more with the growing appeal for proper biodiversity conservation and management. Subtribe Chrestinae of tribe Vernonieae of the Compositae (Asteraceae) seems to be an ideal group to perform a case study on plant evolution and diversification in Brazilian open formations. Chrestinae is composed by 2 genera and 15 species, ranging from herbs to shrubs, with syncephalia bearing purple or red flowers, mostly restricted to the Central-Eastern portion of Brazil, in the Cerrado and Caatinga dominia. In this context, the present project aims to improve the knowledge about Chrestinae systematics and evolution, through the following objectives: a) performing a phylogenetic study of the subtribe's species, using Next Generation Sequencing, for a better understanding of the evolutionary relationships among taxa; b) performing a phylogeographic and morphometric study of the Chresta plantaginifolia complex, focusing in enhancing taxa delimitation inside the complex; c) performing a reproductive biology study of one purple-flowered species and a red-flowered one, aiming to access the evolutionary implications involved; d) performing an ontogenetic and developmental study of thress types of syncephalia known in the subtribe, widening the current knowledge about this structure's formation; and e) presenting a taxonomic revision of the group, incorporating the new information obtained in the previous studies. (AU)

Scientific publications

(6)

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

SINISCALCHI, CAROLINA MORIANI; LOEUILLE, BENOIT; SEMIR, JOAO; PIRANI, JOSE RUBENS. Lychnophora spiciformis (Asteraceae: Vernonieae), a new species from Bahia, Brazil. PHYTOTAXA, v. 253, n. 1, p. 48-56, MAR 21 2016. (13/18189-2)

SINISCALCHI, CAROLINA M.; LOEUILLE, BENOIT; FUNK, VICKI A.; MANDEL, JENNIFER R.; PIRANI, JOSE R.. Phylogenomics Yields New Insight Into Relationships Within Vernonieae (Asteraceae). FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE, v. 10, OCT 17 2019. (16/12446-1, 13/18189-2)

SINISCALCHI, CAROLINA M.; LOEUILLE, BENOIT; DE SIQUEIRA FILHO, JOSE ALVES; PIRANI, JOSE R.. Chresta artemisiifolia (Vernonieae, Asteraceae), a new endangered species from a recently created protected area in the Brazilian Caatinga. PHYTOTAXA, v. 399, n. 2, p. 119-126, MAR 26 2019. (16/12446-1, 13/18189-2)

SINISCALCHI, CAROLINA M.; SOUZA-SOUZA, RAQUEL M. B.; LOEUILLE, BENOIT; PIRANI, JOSE RUBENS; GONCALVES-ESTEVES, VANIA. The systematic value of pollen morphology in Chresta Vell. ex DC. (Vernonieae, Asteraceae). REVIEW OF PALAEOBOTANY AND PALYNOLOGY, v. 244, p. 182-191, SEP 2017. (13/18189-2)

SINISCALCHI, CAROLINA MORIANI; PATRICE LOEUILLE, BENOIT FRANCIS; PIRANI, JOSE RUBENS. A new species of Chresta (Vernonieae, Asteraceae) endemic to the Mata Atlantica Domain, Brazil. PHYTOTAXA, v. 244, n. 1, p. 80-88, JAN 15 2016. (13/18189-2)

ANTAR, GUILHERME M.; SINISCALCHI, CAROLINA M.; GONELLA, PAULO M.; MONGE, MARCELO; LOEUILLE, BENOIT. Novelties in Lepidaploinae (Asteraceae, Vernonieae) from the easternmost campos rupestres of Minas Gerais, Brazil: two new species and a range expansion. PLANT ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION, v. 154, n. 1, p. 121-136, MAR 2021. (13/18189-2)

Academic Publications

(References retrieved automatically from State of São Paulo Research Institutions)

SINISCALCHI, Carolina Moriani. Systematics and evolution of Chresta Vell. ex. DC. (Vernonieae, Asteraceae). 2018. Doctoral Thesis - Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Instituto de Biociências (IBIOC/SB) São Paulo.