AUSTRALIA—GERMANY WORKSHOP ON BIODIVERSITY

The Shine Dome, 13-17 March 2006

Evolution within the Brassicaceae
by Prof Dr Herbert Hurka, Department of Systematic Botany and Botanical Garden, University of Osnabrueck

The Brassicaceae are an easily recognised monophyletic family of worldwide distribution but most abundant in temperate regions of the northern hemisphere. Intergeneric relationships within the Brassicaceae are to a large extent still unresolved. Several well-defined clades are obvious but their phylogenetic relationships to each other are not clear. The lack of a robust deep-family phylogeny is a major obstacle to understanding the course of evolution within the family. Another challenge is to understand the processes that underlie the variation patterns. Recent studies demonstrate that biogeographic dynamics, hybridisation and polyploidisation, and changing of the mating system are substantial driving forces in the evolution of the Brassicaceae. Information about genomic sequences and gene function gained with the model plants, Arabidopsis and Brassica, provides a new foundation of organismal biology. The study of processes of phenotypic evolution occurring in natural populations will substantially contribute to understanding evolution in the field. Wild relatives of the model plants will play an important role in the synthesis of genomics and evolution.