Oral Paper

         Reproductive Processes

The evolutionary history and morphological basis of Penstemon’s personate flowers

Presenting Author
Trinity Depatie
Description
Personate flowers are a novel floral type within Penstemon. These flowers are characterized by an upward bulge in the lower lip of the corolla tube that seals off the floral passageway. Personate flowers have evolved at least two times within Penstemon (sect. Penstemon and sect. Dasanthera) and exist in other species in the family Plantaginaceae (e.g., Antirrhinum and Linaria). Despite the repeated evolution of this floral trait, little is known about its morphological basis, evolutionary history, or ecological function. The eastern North American Penstemon group (sect. Penstemon) provides an opportunity to address these research areas. In this group, personate flowers result from morphological changes arising from ventral petal pleats. A phylogenomic analysis based on whole genome resequencing data suggests that personate flowers may have arisen more than once within this focal clade. To determine whether this unexpected pattern is due to historic introgression, rather than two separate origins of personate flowers, we have conducted several analyses to estimate introgression between the personate taxa. This talk will discuss the results from both morphological and phylogenomic analyses and aims to provide information regarding the mechanisms underlying the evolution of this novel floral trait in Eastern Penstemon wildflowers. I will also discuss future plans to determine the genetic basis and ecological function of personate flowers in this system.