Professor of Botany
Ph.D. (1991) Washington University
608-265-5385
dbaum@wisc.edu
My goal is to understand how plant form evolves as a function of changes in developmental regulatory genes and to relate this to the functioning of plants in their natural environments. To achieve this my lab conducts research on a number of plants groups using a diversity of experimental strategies including developmental genetics, transgenetics, phylogenetics, morphological development, pollination ecology, and phylogenetic analysis.
My lab is very much an interdisciplinary meeting ground fostering a diversity of ideas and outlooks. The students and post-docs have varied backgrounds. Much of the best learning and brainstorming happens during teatime or sitting out on Bascom Hill.
RESEARCH INTERESTS
The evolution of plant development
We are working on wild relatives of Arabidopsis thaliana in an effort to understand how they come to have different morphologies. A major focus has been the evolution of the rosette flowering architecture, which arose several times in Brassicaceae. This project involves studies of gene expression (immunolocalization, qPCR, and microarrays) and interspecies transformation experiments.
Transgenomics
Transgenomics involves making a genome library from a donor species and then introducing a large number of clones from this library into a recipient genome (in our case, A. thaliana). The transgenic lines are then screened to identify clones that consistently induce an abnormal phenotype in the recipients. The hope is that this forward genetic strategy can help identify genes that contributed to the phenotypic divergence among species. Transgenomics also has the potential to identify genes with potential roles in reproductive isolation and genes that are sensitive to gene dosage.
Systematics and speciation
I am especially interested in low-level phylogenetics and the nature of "species." I have been collaborating with statisticians Cécile Ané and Bret Larget to develop new methods for using multilocus data to analyze and summarize the distribution of gene trees within a set of genomes. Additionally, I am interested in the biological process that can account for the divergence of populations despite ongoing gene flow. I have supervised students in this area in the past and hope to do so again in the future.
TEACHING INTERESTS
I am passionate about teaching evolution to undergraduates and to K-12 teachers. I have focused especially on the challenge and importance of teaching students to understand phylogenetic trees. I am involved in working to develop new and better curricular materials for teaching tree thinking. For examples, see tree-thinking.org.
Recent Publications
Koopman, M and Baum, D. A. Accepted. Isolating nuclear genes and identifying lineages without monophyly: An example of closely related species from Southern Madagascar. International Journal of Plant Sciences.
Oyama, R. K., Jones, K. N., and Baum, D. A.. In press. Sympatric sister species of Californian Antirrhinum and their transiently specialized pollinators. American Midland Naturalist.
Cacho, N. I. , Berry, P. E., Olson, M. E., Steinmann, V. W., and Baum, D. A. 2010. Are spurred cyathia a key innovation? Molecular systematics and trait evolution in the Slipper-Spurges (Pedilanthus clade - Euphorbia, Euphorbiaceae). American Journal of Botany 97: 493–510.
Yue, J.-P., Sun, H., Baum, D. A., Al-Shehbaz, I. L., and Ree, R. 2009. Molecular phylogeny of Solms-laubachia (Brassicaceae) s.l., based on multiple nuclear and plastid DNA sequences, and its biogeographic implications. Journal of Systematics and Evolution 47(5): 402-415.
Smith, S. D., Ané, C., and Baum, D. A. 2009. Macroevolutionary tests of pollination syndromes: A reply to Fenster et al. Evolution 63: 2763–2767.
Smith, J. J., Baum. D. A., and Moore A. 2009. The need for molecular genetic perspectives in evolutionary education (and vice versa). Trends in Genetics 25: 427-429. [Forum]
Baum, D. A. 2009. Species as ranked taxa. Systematic Biology 58:74–86.
Smith S. D., Izquierado, P., and Baum, D. A. 2008. Comparative pollination biology of sympatric and allopatric Andean Iochroma (Solanaceae). Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden 95: 600-618.
Janka, H, von Balthazar, M., Alverson, W. S., Baum, D. A., Semir, J., and Bayer, C. 2008. Structure, development, and evolution of the androecium in Adansonieae (core Bombacoideae, Malvaceae s.l.). Plant Systematics and Evolution 275: 69-91
Koopman, M. M. and Baum, D. A. 2008. Phylogeny and biogeography of Hibisceae (Malvaceae) on Madagascar. Systematic Botany 33: 364-374.
Baum, D. A. and Offner, S. 2008. Phylogenies and tree thinking. American Biology Teacher 70: 222-229.
Bosch. J. A., Heo, K., Sliwinski, M. K., and Baum, D. A. 2008. An exploration of LEAFY expression in independent evolutionary origins of rosette flowering in Brassicaceae. American Journal of Botany 95:286-293.
Davis, C. C., P. Endress, and Baum, D. A. 2008. The evolution of floral gigantism. Current Opinions in Plant Biology 11:49-57.
Smith, S. D., Ané, C., and Baum, D. A. 2008. The role of pollinator shifts in the floral diversification of Iochroma (solanaceae). Evolution 62: 793–806.