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RESEARCH INTERESTS
Plant systematics; economic botany
PUBLICATIONS
My research interests include plant systematics and
phylogeny and the evolution of domesticated plants. My
main focus is the taxonomy and evolutionary relationships
of plants in the Solanaceae (tomato family). This family
includes many species of economic importance, such as the
tomato, potato, eggplant, chili pepper, petunia, and tobacco,
as well as lesser-known species with potential uses as foods
or medicines. Some solanaceous plants have been subjected
to intensive human selection and several are known only in
cultivation, allowing their use as systems to study the
evolutionary interface between plants and people.
Presently my laboratory is concentrating on the systematic
and evolutionary relationships in Solanum, the
largest genus in the family. This group, which includes some
1000 to 1500 species, is economically important as a
source of foods, ornamentals, and medicinally useful or
poisonous alkaloids. Ongoing projects include construction
of an overall phylogeny for Solanum and related
genera using molecular and morphological characters and
more detailed studies of several subgroups within the genus,
some of which contain economically useful species.
One example of a focused study concerns the putative
domesticate Solanum betaceum, the tree tomato.
This species is widely grown throughout the tropics and
subtropics for its edible fruits. Until recently, it was
considered to be known only form cultivation and its wild
relatives and place of origin were unknown. Using a variety
of approaches, including morphology, biosystematics,
molecular techniques, and field work, we have been able to
identify the closest relatives of S. betaceum and
locate wild populations of this species in Bolivia and
Argentina. The same array of approaches can be used to
investigate the origin and evolution of plant domesticates in
the Solanaceae and in other plant families.
In addition to phylogenetic research, I am also involved in
floristic and revisionary studies. Current floristic projects
include treatments of the Solanaceae for Costa Rica,
Solanum for North America, and selected
solanaceous taxa for Mesoamerica.
Selected Publications
Bohs, L. 1994. Cyphomandra (Solanaceae). Flora
Neotropica Monograph 63, New York Botanical Garden.
Bohs, L. 1995. Transfer of Cyphomandra
(Solanaceae) and its species to Solanum. Taxon
44: 583-587.
Bohs, L., and R.G. Olmstead. 1997. Phylogenetic
relationships in Solanum (Solanaceae) based on ndh
F sequences. Systematic Botany 22: 5-17.
Bohs, L. and A. Nelson. 1997. Solanum maternum
(Solanaceae), a new Bolivian relative of the tree tomato. Novon7: 341-345.
Bohs, L. and R.G. Olmstead. 1999. Solanum
phylogeny inferred from chloroplast DNA sequence data.
Pages 97-110 in M. Nee, D. E. Symon, R. N. Lester, and J. P.
Jessop (eds.), Solanaceae IV: Advances in biology and
utilization. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, U.K.
Olmstead, R.G., J.A. Sweere, R.E. Spangler, L. Bohs and J.D.
Palmer. 1999. Phylogeny and provisional classification of
the Solanaceae based on chloroplast DNA. Pages 111-137
in M. Nee, D.E. Symon, R.N. Lester, and J.P. Jessop (eds.),
Solanaceae IV: Advances in biology and utilization. Royal
Botanic Gardens, Kew, U.K.
Bohs, L. 2000. Insights into the Witheringia
solanacea complex in Costa Rica. I. Breeding systems and
crossing studies. Biotropica 32(1): 70-79.
Bohs, L. 2000. Insights into the Witheringia
solanacea complex in Costa Rica. II. Insect visitors and
pollination biology. Biotropica 32(1): 80-89.
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