Hey everyone,
Populations of Mentzelia thompsonii sampled from western Colorado, northwestern New Mexico and eastern Utah. Stars represent sample locations. Colors of stars represents different DNA types (haplotypes). Stars with different fill and outline colors represent populations with two haplotypes.
So, this post has been very belated! My name is Jonathan Stites and I am currently a junior biochemistry major (ministry minor) at ACU. I conduct biogeography/phylogenetic research under Dr. Brokaw.
Basically, what this research entailed, was collecting specimens of Mentzelia thompsonii and extracting their DNA. From there, we then compared the nucleotide sequences of the specimens to find the mutations within their chloroplast DNA. The number of mutations that we found demonstrated how far apart these plants are from one another in a phylogenetic tree. Attached is the poster that Liz Lurz and I presented at the ACU undergraduate research festival.
Lurz-Stites et al. Poster
Currently, I am using arcGIS and MAXENT software to incorporate the data from above (and in the poster), climate data, and soil types to predict where these plants may be in the future. Updates to come!