Palynology, or the study of pollen/spores is a functional field that informs physical and evolutionary relationships of plants. This field helps augment historical, archeological, and environmental studies dealing with plant identification based on pollen morphology and can infer global plant diversity and evolutionary patterns in pollen and pollen/pollinator interactions. Previous work on pollen morphology in the Caricaceae family reveals genus specific morphological differences in pollen between the genera Carica, Jacaratia, and Vasconcellea. Pollen morphology is understudied in the Caricaceae (papaya) family due to limitations in obtaining seeds from wild species and underreported populations/locations. The purpose of this project is to further distinguish species specific pollen differences in a subset of Vasconcellea species using light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy to inform family diversity.
Author(s): Megan Keyser, Botany and Premedical Studies Major
Advisor(s): Richard Moore, Department of Biology
Evan Gallagher, Department of Biology
You must be logged in to post a comment.