A Research Coordination Network supported by the National Science Foundation to promote a modern synthesis in plant evolutionary developmental biology

"We have seen that the members of the same class, independently of their habits of life, resemble each other in the general plan of their organization. This resemblance is often expressed by the term unity of type; or by saying that the several parts and organs in the different species of the class are homologous. The whole subject is included under the general name of Morphology. This is the most interesting department of natural history, and may be said to be its very soul." -- Charles Darwin 1859

The MORPH RCN fosters cross-disciplinary interactions between organismic and molecular plant biologists studying the evolution of morphological diversity.

The primary activities of the MORPH RCN are to support training opportunities for students, postdoctorals, and early career professors between organismic (neobotanical and paleobotanical) and molecular labs; and a series of annual meetings and symposia that focus on current topics in plant evo-devo.

The anticipated impact of this network is the invigoration of the discipline of plant evolutionary developmental biology and an enhanced focus on the discovery of the underlying developmental principles that have governed the diversification of plant form over the last 500 million years.

Principal Investigator: William (Ned) Friedman (ned@colorado.edu)

Steering committee: Pamela K. Diggle, Patricia G. Gensel, Sarah C. Hake, Larry Hufford, Vivian F. Irish, Michael D. Purugganan, Susan R. Singer

Webmaster: Rob Baker (Robert.Baker@colorado.edu)

WWW MORPH

Hosted by University of Colorado, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology