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Laboratory of Quentin C.B. Cronk
Research Objectives
My research group is dedicated to understanding the evolution and biodiversity of vascular plants. An important part of this programme is the reconstruction of the history of life through comparative gene sequencing: molecular phylogenetics of plants. We also use the techniques of molecular developmental biology to understand how genomic change is related to changing plant morphology.
Special interests include:
- the molecular phylogeny of the African violet family (Gesneriaceae) and the ginger family (Zingiberaceae). A special interest is the genus Streptocarpus (Gesneriaceae), and the evolution of its three contrasting growth forms (Moeller and Cronk, 1997, 2001)
- developmental genetics of morphological innovation in Gesneriaceae and other families
- understanding flower form in the Leguminosae and the phylogenomics of legume floral developmental genes
- use of dated phylogenies to understand the origins of major biomes (Richardson et al., 2001)
- the evolution and conservation of the floras of oceanic islands, particularly St. Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean. St. Helena has a critically endangered flora largely consisting of endemic species (Cronk, 2000). In the Pacific, we are studying the radiation of the genus Cyrtandra (Gesneriaceae) from Micronesia to Hawaii and the Society Islands. Invasive plants pose a threat to island ecosystems and we study the effects of alien biota (Cronk and Fuller, 1995)
Additional Publications
Please note: publications indexed by PubMed are displayed here. Listed below are papers not indexed by PubMed.
Cronk, Q.C.B., (2001)
Plant evolution and development in a post-genomic context.
NATURE REVIEWS GENETICS
2 (8): 607-619.
Möller, M. and Q.C.B. Cronk, (1997)
Origin and relationships of Saintpaulia (Gesneriaceae) based on ribosomal DNA internal
transcribed spacer (ITS) sequences.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BOTANY
84: 956-965.
Möller M. and Q.C.B. Cronk, (2001)
Evolution of morphological novelty: A phylogenetic analysis of growth patterns
in Streptocarpus (Gesneriaceae).
EVOLUTION
55 (5): 918-929.
Richardson JE, Weitz F.M., Fay M.F., Cronk, Q.C.B., Linder,
P., Reeves, G. and Chase, M. (2001)
Rapid and recent origin of species richness in the Cape flora of South Africa.
NATURE
412 (6843): 181-183.
