300390 UE Basic Methods of Evolutionary and Structural Botany (2024S)

Aims:
Students become acquainted with core methods of structural and evolutionary botany (see Contents) and their, to the extent possible, intergrative application to address research questions in theses fields of botany.

Contents:
- Flower development, seed surface and structural adaptations.
- Establishing a phylogenetic framework using DNA sequence data.
- Analyses of the obtained structural data in a phylogenetic context.
- Population genomics.
- Evolution of repetitive DNA

Methods:
- Scanning electron microscopy (SEM)
- DNA-sequencing (Sanger sequencing) and phylogenetic analysis
- Ancestral character state reconstruction
- Population genomic analyses of NGS (next-generation sequencing) data with dedicated software
- Analysis (from NGS-based genome skimming data) of types and frequencies of repetitive DNA
(Note: the first three methods will be applied on a common set of samples in the context of the common research theme "Floral evolution in Primulales")