ANNUAL REPORT OF THE DEVELOPMENTAL AND STRUCTURAL SECTION - 2008

At the sectional business meeting held in at BOTANT 2007, Chicago, Ill. We discussed the following items:

  1. Students who received the travel awards were introduced.
  2. Cynthia Jones was elected the new Chair of the section.
  3. General discussion of symposium funding priorities.
The Developmental and Structural Section was very active at the annual meeting, BOTANY 2007. A total of 29 posters were presented in the section or in affiliated areas (20 Developmental and Structural section, 1 Biomechanics, 9 Evolutionary Developmental Biology). Thirty-eight oral presentations were delivered in the section or affiliated areas (1 in Biomechanics, 29 in the D&S section, 9 in Evo-Devo).

Seven symposia were ponsored in part by the Developmental and Structural section:

  1. The functional significance of leaf shape variation—toward a consensus from gene to community
  2. Emerging Model Species
  3. A symposium in honor of Sherwin Carlquist
  4. A historical perspective on Chicago area botany
  5. Plant fungal interactions
  6. Evolution of flower development: from phenotype to genes
  7. Ranunculales – a basal eudicot perspective of angiosperm evolution
Chalk talks I and II were resided over by Bruce Kirchoff and Frank Ewers, respectively.

At Botany 2007, the 2007 Easu Award for the most out standing paper in structure and development was presented to Mackenzie Taylor, University of Tennessee, for her paper “Fertilization timing and the pollen tube pathway in Cabombaceae (Nymphaeales).” Her co-author was Joseph H. Williams. Chair of the Esau Award selection committee was Uwe Hacke.

The 2007 Moseley award was presented to Samuel F. Brockington, University of Florida, for his paper “Differing patterns of MADS-box gene expression associated with shifts in petaloidy within Aizoaceae (Caryophyllales)” Co-authors were Mike Frohlich, Paula J. Rudall, Douglas E. Soltis and Pamela S. Soltis.

During the spring of 2008, the executive committee of the Developmental and Structural section evaluated seven applications to the D&S travel fund. Four awards were presented:

The BSA Cheadle Award winners for 2008 were selected by the Cheadle committee, on which the Chair of the Developmental and Structural committee serves as head. Four award winners were selected:

James Cohen - Cornell University, Ithaca, NY - Advisor, Dr. Jerrold Davis - Botany 2008 presentation: "The World of Walled Marriages: Comparative Floral Development in Lithospermum."

Nathan Jud - Ohio University, Athens, OH - Advisor, Dr. Gar W. Rothwell - Botany 2008 presentation: "Anatomy of an Upper Cretaceous bennettitalean stem."

Natalia Pabon Mora - New York Botanical Garden, Bronx, NY - Advisor, Dr. Amy Litt - Botany 2008 presentation: "Functional evolution of the AP1/FUL gene lineage in non-core eudicot plants."

Renate Wuersig - Purdue University, West Lafayette. IN - Advisor, Dr. Michael Zanis - Botany 2008 presentation: "The Natural History of C-class Genes: Independent Duplication Events in Diverse Angiosperm Lineages."

Respectfully submitted, Cynthia Jones, Chair, 15 July 2008