News from the dePamphilis lab
Research Unplugged Talk
Claude dePamphilis participated in Research Unplugged, an informal talk/discussion series hosted by Research Penn State, in April, 2009. He presented a talk entitled, "Primordial Plants: Lessons from Earth's Oldest Flowers." You can read the recap and listen to the podcast here.
Claude dePamphilis interviewed for Science magazine
The April 3, 2009 issue of Science included an article, "On the origin of flowering plants," in which Claude dePamphilis and other participants in the Floral Genome Project and the Ancestral Angeiosperm Project were interviewed. Read a summary of the article here. The Floral Genome Project and Ancestral Angeiosperm Project are funded by the National Science Foundation.
Tour the greenhouse with Research Penn State and Claude dePamphilis
The online version of a January 2009 Research Penn State article featuring Claude's research on ancestral angiosperms (flowering plants) includes a nifty virtual tour of some of Claude's favorite plants in the Biology Department greenhouses. Check out these very cool plants with Claude and read interview by Melissa Beattie-Moss here.
Probing Question: Why are flowers beautiful?
Claude dePamphilis was interviewed by Research Penn State reporter Lisa Duchene about the relationships that have evolved between flowering plants and their pollinators. See the January 2008 article online at Penn State LIVE.
NOVA: "First Flower"
In 2007, The PSB series, NOVA, broadcast an episode that focused on the origins of flowering plants. "First Flower" probes the controversial discovery of a Chinese fossil scientists believe may be the earliest evidence of a flower yet found on Earth. Following the trail of clues to the fossil's origins, a vivid journey takes NOVA's cameras deep into the lush wilds of China, a spectacular treasury of flowers both familiar and exotic. To learn more, visit http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/flower/.
Genome Research (cover) paper on a massive polyploidy event early in the history of flowering plants featured in Science Journal
The Floral Genome Project may have found the answer to Darwin's "Abominable Mystery" about why flowering plants underwent such rapid diversification immediately after the first flowering plants appeared int he fossil record some 140 million years ago. Evidence uncovered by this research team suggests that a whole-genome duplication event occurred in the earliest flowering plants. After such a massive polyploidy event, having a full genome's worth of raw genetic material available to take on a new genetic funciton could drive rapid evolution. To learn more about this discovery, read the article in Fall 2006 issue of Penn State's Science Journal or read the original Genome Research Paper. This work was funded by the National Science Foundation.
Floral Genome Project
Our lab is proud to be taking part in The Floral Genome Project, which is which is investigating the origin, conservation, and diversification of the genetic architecture of the flower, and developing conceptual and real tools for evolutionary functional genomics in plants. Expression patterns are being evaluated for hundreds of genes in model species, and summarized in 3-D virtual reconstructions of developing flowers. This project will generate the first comparative data set of expression patterns for a large number of genes across diverse angiosperms. This multi-institutional project is being funded by the National Science Foundation. Read more about the Penn State contribution to the Floral Genome Project in Science Journal and Research Penn State.
dePamphilis lab Cuscuta work featured in Research Penn State
The January 2003 issue of Research Penn State features the work of graduate student, Joel McNeal (now at Harvard University), on Cuscuta rostrata, a parasitic plant responsible for millions of dollars of crop damage each year. This plant is a close relative of the Morning Glory, but it has developed haustoria, or sucker-like attachments that let it feed on host plants. Part of Joel's work involved comparing the chloroplast genomes of Cuscuta species and the tobacco plant, another close relative. While some sections of the chloroplast genomes of Cuscuta species were almost identical to the tobacco plant's, other sections are completely missing, probably due to the reduced need to manufacture their own food through photosynthesis. Here is a link to the article.
Barkman Water Lily Paper featured in Eberly Bulletin
The December 2000 issue of the Eberly College of Science Newsletter has a wonderful feature on the Barkman et al. 2000 paper in PNAS: "Independent and combined analyses of sequences from all three genomic compartments converge on the root of flowering plant phylogeny." You can link to the article here, or you can download the PDF file of the paper .
Rafflesia in the News
The parasitic flowering plant Rafflesia has gotten quite a bit of press in recent years. in Science News Vol. 156 (September 11, 1999), a three-page article was printed on Rafflesia past, present, and future. In it, there was mention of Dr. dePamphilis, including several quotes and a write-up on the current lab research. Then in March 2000, the youth-oriented magazine National Geographic World has a one page picture and short write-up on Rafflesia. For more information, take a look at the lab's Rafflesia page...
New Papers
For recent publication from the dePamphilis lab, check out the Papers/Publications page.