简介

The use of flowers as model systems to study the evolution of reproduction began with the experimental and interpretative work of Charles Darwin in the 19th century. This discipline has grown even more important in the 21st century as it is applied to the investigation of breeding and pollination systems in rare and threatened species. It's a two step process. In the field, we record biochemical and morphological changes over the life span of flowers, identifying and sampling the animals that visit the blossoms and conducting field experiments to determine whether cross-pollination is required to set seed. The plant and animals specimens we bring back to the lab must be analyzed to help answer our questions. We remove and identify the pollen grains carried by prospective pollinators. We employ a series of fix, wash, squash preparations for recording the progress of pollen tubes inside pistils using fluorescence microscopy. All projects are investigated in association with research colleague, Dr. Retha Meier (Dept. of Education; rmeier2@slu.edu). The Bernhardt/Meier lab works with colleagues at the following institutions; the Missouri Botanical Gardens (St. Louis, USA), the Missouri Department of Conservation (St. Louis), the Anderson Prairie Reserve (Welda, Kansas), The Plant Evolution and Systematic Division of the Beijing Academy (Beijing, China), the Royal Botanic Gardens (Sydney, New South Wales), Kings Park and Botanical Gardens (Perth, Western Australia). Ongoing projects within the Bernhardt/Meier lab include... 1. Pollination and breeding systems of rare and threatened lady's-slipper orchids (Cypripedium and Paphiopedilum) in North America and/or China (in association with Prof. Luo Yi-bo, Beijing Academy). 2) Pollination and breeding systems in milkweeds (Asclepias species) native to the American midwest. 3) Floral ecology and breeding systems of the vernal, woodland flora of the American midwest. 4) Comparative reproductive success in two color morphs of the birds foot violet (Viola pedata) 5) Floral biology of Chinese, terrestrial orchid species (Yunnan) compared to their congeners in Europe and North America