Jenny Xiang
Bio
Our research spans a wide range of topics in plant systematics and evolution, involving undergraduate and graduate students as well as international collaborations. Our general research goal is to test systematic and evolutionary hypotheses in a phylogenetic context. We use DNA sequences to reconstruct the phylogeny of plants and use the phylogeny as a framework to understand pattern and rate of diversification, biogeographic history, and evolution of morphology, genes, and genomes. We integrate phylogeny, development, and gene expression and functional analyses to understand the developmental genetics of inflorescence evolution in the dogwood family. We built a dogwood genetic transformation system for characterizing functions of genes regulating flowering and inflorescence development. Furthermore, we integrate populations genetics, phylogeography, and landscape ecology to understand how genetic variation responds to changes in landscape and environment in the state flower Cornus florida. Our focal plants for research have been the dogwoods and their close relatives (Cornales) as well as plants displaying a discontinuous distribution in eastern Asia and eastern North America.
Check out my YouTube video about Dogwoods, North Carolina’s State Flower and It’s Relatives.
Learn more about my “International Journey to a Botany Career“
Courses Taught:
The main course I teach is PB 403/503 Systematic Botany, which was offered every fall before 2015 and now every spring from 2016 onward, for undergraduate and graduate level students. I also teach a study abroad course in the summer Study Abroad Program: Plant Resources, Ecology and Culture in China (PB 495/595 – 501, 3 credits, S/U or graded; three weeks).
Other Teaching Efforts:
- PB 493 (undergraduate research) Contact Dr. Chad Jordan for details.
- Advising graduate students’ thesis research.
Education
Ph.D. Botany-Plant Molecular Systematics Washington State University 1995
B.S. Plant Genetics Zhongshan (Sun Yat-sen) University 1982
Area(s) of Expertise
Plant systematics and evolution of flowering plants
Publications
- Metagenomic study reveals hidden relationships among fungal diversity, variation of plant disease, and genetic distance in Cornus florida (Cornaceae) , FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE (2024)
- An updated phylogeny, biogeography, and PhyloCode-based classification of Cornaceae based on three sets of genomic data , AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BOTANY (2023)
- Comparative transcriptome analysis reveals candidate genes for cold stress response and early flowering in pineapple , SCIENTIFIC REPORTS (2023)
- Foliar endophyte diversity in Eastern Asian-Eastern North American disjunct tree species - influences of host identity, environment, phylogeny, and geographic isolation , FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE (2023)
- Identification of bromelain subfamily proteases encoded in the pineapple genome , SCIENTIFIC REPORTS (2023)
- Population Genomic Analyses Suggest a Hybrid Origin, Cryptic Sexuality, and Decay of Genes Regulating Seed Development for the Putatively Strictly Asexual Kingdonia uniflora (Circaeasteraceae, Ranunculales) , INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES (2023)
- RAD-seq data provide new insights into biogeography, diversity anomaly, and species delimitation in eastern Asian-North American disjunct clade Benthamidia of Cornus (Cornaceae) , JOURNAL OF SYSTEMATICS AND EVOLUTION (2023)
- A New Pipeline for Removing Paralogs in Target Enrichment Data , SYSTEMATIC BIOLOGY (2022)
- Next Steps in Integrative Biology: Mapping Interactive Processes Across Levels of Biological Organization , INTEGRATIVE AND COMPARATIVE BIOLOGY (2022)
- Phylogenomics AND biogeography of Castanea (chestnut) and Hamamelis (witch-hazel) - Choosing between RAD-seq and Hyb-Seq approaches , MOLECULAR PHYLOGENETICS AND EVOLUTION (2022)