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Kathleen M. Pryer

Professor of Biology
Biology
Box 90338, Durham, NC 27708-0338
358 Bio Sci Bldg, Durham, NC

Selected Publications


A Hyb-Seq phylogeny of Boechera and related genera using a combination of Angiosperms353 and Brassicaceae-specific bait sets.

Journal Article American journal of botany · October 2023 PremiseAlthough Boechera (Boechereae, Brassicaceae) has become a plant model system for both ecological genomics and evolutionary biology, all previous phylogenetic studies have had limited success in resolving species relationships within the gen ... Full text Open Access Cite

Exploring Past and Future Distributions of the Rare Appalachian Oak Fern Using MaxEnt Modeling

Journal Article American Fern Journal · June 16, 2023 Abstract . Anthropogenic climate change is projected to have an especially negative impact on the survival of plants that are dependent on limited microclimatic refugia or that already reside at their climatic extreme. Gymnocarpium appalachianum is a narro ... Full text Open Access Cite

An in-depth investigation of cryptic taxonomic diversity in the rare endemic mustard Draba maguirei.

Journal Article American journal of botany · March 2023 PremisePreviously published evidence suggests that Draba maguirei, a mustard endemic to a few localities in the Bear River, Wellsville, and Wasatch Mountains of northern Utah, may represent a cryptic species complex rather than a single species. C ... Full text Cite

Myriopteris grusziae: A New Species from Texas and Oklahoma Segregated from the Chihuahuan Desert Taxon M. scabra (Pteridaceae)

Journal Article Systematic Botany. · September 2022 Myriopteris scabra (until recently called Cheilanthes horridula) is a xeric-adapted fern species, endemic to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. It is one of the most recognizable ferns in North America due to the unusual nature of the indu ... Full text Open Access Cite

Once more unto the breach, dear friends: Resolving the origins and relationships of the Pellaea wrightiana hybrid complex.

Journal Article American journal of botany · May 2022 PremiseThe taxonomic status of Wright's cliff brake fern, Pellaea wrightiana, has been in dispute ever since it was first described by Hooker in 1858. Previously published evidence suggested that this "taxon" may represent a polyploid complex rath ... Full text Cite

FIRST REPORT OF UTAH FRAGILE FERN (CYSTOPTERIS: CYSTOPTERIDACEAE) FROM NEW MEXICO, AND NEW NOMENCLATURAL COMBINATIONS IN CYSTOPTERIS TENNESEENSIS

Journal Article Journal of the Botanical Research Institute of Texas · January 1, 2022 Two recently analyzed collections of Cystopteris from New Mexico represent the first records of Utah fragile fern for the state. Our morphological reexamination of this taxon reveals a single character (the thickness of lateral cell walls in rhizome and pe ... Full text Cite

AN OVERVIEW OF NEW MEXICAN BOECHERA (BRASSICACEAE) INCLUDING THREE NEW SPECIES AND THIRTEEN NEW NOMENCLATURAL COMBINATIONS

Journal Article Journal of the Botanical Research Institute of Texas · January 1, 2022 To provide a nomenclatural foundation for the treatment of Boechera in the soon-to-be-published Flora of New Mexico, we here discuss the current taxonomic situation in the genus, name three new species (B. austromontana, B. pseudoconsanguinea, and B. quadr ... Full text Cite

Looking Back on 130 Years of Fern and Lycophyte Research in Glacier National Park, Montana: A Modern Taxonomic Account

Journal Article American Fern Journal. · November 2021 Glacier National Park encompasses over one million acres in the mountains of northwestern Montana, along the United States–Canada border. Our survey of online databases indicates that the earliest extant fern and lycophyte collections from this area were t ... Full text Open Access Cite

Cheilanthes ecuadorensis: A New Species of Cheilanthes s. s. (Pteridaceae) from Northern South America

Journal Article Systematic Botany. · August 2021 Ongoing research on the taxonomically complex genus Cheilanthes (Pteridaceae; Cheilanthoideae) has resulted in the identification of a new species from Loja Province in Ecuador, Cheilanthes ecuadorensis, described and illustrated herein. Originally collect ... Full text Open Access Cite

Variation in frequency of plastid RNA editing within Adiantum implies rapid evolution in fern plastomes.

Journal Article American journal of botany · May 2021 PremiseRecent studies of plant RNA editing have demonstrated that the number of editing sites can vary widely among large taxonomic groups (orders, families). Yet, very little is known about intrageneric variation in frequency of plant RNA editing ... Full text Open Access Cite

A drought-driven model for the evolution of obligate apomixis in ferns: evidence from pellaeids (Pteridaceae).

Journal Article American journal of botany · February 2021 Featured Publication PremiseXeric environments impose major constraints on the fern life cycle, yet many lineages overcome these limitations by evolving apomixis. Here, we synthesize studies of apomixis in ferns and present an evidence-based model for the evolution an ... Full text Open Access Cite

Applying machine learning to investigate long-term insect-plant interactions preserved on digitized herbarium specimens.

Journal Article Applications in plant sciences · June 2020 PremiseDespite the economic significance of insect damage to plants (i.e., herbivory), long-term data documenting changes in herbivory are limited. Millions of pressed plant specimens are now available online and can be used to collect big data on ... Full text Open Access Cite

NCP activates chloroplast transcription by controlling phytochrome-dependent dual nuclear and plastidial switches.

Journal Article Nat Commun · June 14, 2019 Phytochromes initiate chloroplast biogenesis by activating genes encoding the photosynthetic apparatus, including photosynthesis-associated plastid-encoded genes (PhAPGs). PhAPGs are transcribed by a bacterial-type RNA polymerase (PEP), but how phytochrome ... Full text Open Access Link to item Cite

A Hyb-Seq phylogeny of Boechera and related genera using a combination of Angiosperms353 and Brassicaceae-specific bait sets.

Journal Article American journal of botany · October 2023 PremiseAlthough Boechera (Boechereae, Brassicaceae) has become a plant model system for both ecological genomics and evolutionary biology, all previous phylogenetic studies have had limited success in resolving species relationships within the gen ... Full text Open Access Cite

Exploring Past and Future Distributions of the Rare Appalachian Oak Fern Using MaxEnt Modeling

Journal Article American Fern Journal · June 16, 2023 Abstract . Anthropogenic climate change is projected to have an especially negative impact on the survival of plants that are dependent on limited microclimatic refugia or that already reside at their climatic extreme. Gymnocarpium appalachianum is a narro ... Full text Open Access Cite

An in-depth investigation of cryptic taxonomic diversity in the rare endemic mustard Draba maguirei.

Journal Article American journal of botany · March 2023 PremisePreviously published evidence suggests that Draba maguirei, a mustard endemic to a few localities in the Bear River, Wellsville, and Wasatch Mountains of northern Utah, may represent a cryptic species complex rather than a single species. C ... Full text Cite

Myriopteris grusziae: A New Species from Texas and Oklahoma Segregated from the Chihuahuan Desert Taxon M. scabra (Pteridaceae)

Journal Article Systematic Botany. · September 2022 Myriopteris scabra (until recently called Cheilanthes horridula) is a xeric-adapted fern species, endemic to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. It is one of the most recognizable ferns in North America due to the unusual nature of the indu ... Full text Open Access Cite

Once more unto the breach, dear friends: Resolving the origins and relationships of the Pellaea wrightiana hybrid complex.

Journal Article American journal of botany · May 2022 PremiseThe taxonomic status of Wright's cliff brake fern, Pellaea wrightiana, has been in dispute ever since it was first described by Hooker in 1858. Previously published evidence suggested that this "taxon" may represent a polyploid complex rath ... Full text Cite

FIRST REPORT OF UTAH FRAGILE FERN (CYSTOPTERIS: CYSTOPTERIDACEAE) FROM NEW MEXICO, AND NEW NOMENCLATURAL COMBINATIONS IN CYSTOPTERIS TENNESEENSIS

Journal Article Journal of the Botanical Research Institute of Texas · January 1, 2022 Two recently analyzed collections of Cystopteris from New Mexico represent the first records of Utah fragile fern for the state. Our morphological reexamination of this taxon reveals a single character (the thickness of lateral cell walls in rhizome and pe ... Full text Cite

AN OVERVIEW OF NEW MEXICAN BOECHERA (BRASSICACEAE) INCLUDING THREE NEW SPECIES AND THIRTEEN NEW NOMENCLATURAL COMBINATIONS

Journal Article Journal of the Botanical Research Institute of Texas · January 1, 2022 To provide a nomenclatural foundation for the treatment of Boechera in the soon-to-be-published Flora of New Mexico, we here discuss the current taxonomic situation in the genus, name three new species (B. austromontana, B. pseudoconsanguinea, and B. quadr ... Full text Cite

Looking Back on 130 Years of Fern and Lycophyte Research in Glacier National Park, Montana: A Modern Taxonomic Account

Journal Article American Fern Journal. · November 2021 Glacier National Park encompasses over one million acres in the mountains of northwestern Montana, along the United States–Canada border. Our survey of online databases indicates that the earliest extant fern and lycophyte collections from this area were t ... Full text Open Access Cite

Cheilanthes ecuadorensis: A New Species of Cheilanthes s. s. (Pteridaceae) from Northern South America

Journal Article Systematic Botany. · August 2021 Ongoing research on the taxonomically complex genus Cheilanthes (Pteridaceae; Cheilanthoideae) has resulted in the identification of a new species from Loja Province in Ecuador, Cheilanthes ecuadorensis, described and illustrated herein. Originally collect ... Full text Open Access Cite

Variation in frequency of plastid RNA editing within Adiantum implies rapid evolution in fern plastomes.

Journal Article American journal of botany · May 2021 PremiseRecent studies of plant RNA editing have demonstrated that the number of editing sites can vary widely among large taxonomic groups (orders, families). Yet, very little is known about intrageneric variation in frequency of plant RNA editing ... Full text Open Access Cite

A drought-driven model for the evolution of obligate apomixis in ferns: evidence from pellaeids (Pteridaceae).

Journal Article American journal of botany · February 2021 Featured Publication PremiseXeric environments impose major constraints on the fern life cycle, yet many lineages overcome these limitations by evolving apomixis. Here, we synthesize studies of apomixis in ferns and present an evidence-based model for the evolution an ... Full text Open Access Cite

Applying machine learning to investigate long-term insect-plant interactions preserved on digitized herbarium specimens.

Journal Article Applications in plant sciences · June 2020 PremiseDespite the economic significance of insect damage to plants (i.e., herbivory), long-term data documenting changes in herbivory are limited. Millions of pressed plant specimens are now available online and can be used to collect big data on ... Full text Open Access Cite

NCP activates chloroplast transcription by controlling phytochrome-dependent dual nuclear and plastidial switches.

Journal Article Nat Commun · June 14, 2019 Phytochromes initiate chloroplast biogenesis by activating genes encoding the photosynthetic apparatus, including photosynthesis-associated plastid-encoded genes (PhAPGs). PhAPGs are transcribed by a bacterial-type RNA polymerase (PEP), but how phytochrome ... Full text Open Access Link to item Cite

A novel chloroplast gene reported for flagellate plants

Journal Article American journal of botany · 2018 Open Access Cite

Fern genomes elucidate land plant evolution and cyanobacterial symbioses

Journal Article Nature plants · 2018 Featured Publication Open Access Cite

Are there too many fern genera?

Journal Article Taxon · 2018 Open Access Cite

The origin and evolution of phototropins

Journal Article Frontiers in plant science · 2015 Open Access Cite

Origins of the endemic scaly tree ferns on the Galápagos and Cocos Islands

Journal Article International Journal of Plant Sciences · 2015 Open Access Cite

An exploration into fern genome space

Journal Article Genome Biology and Evolution · 2015 Open Access Cite

Between two fern genomes

Journal Article Gigascience · September 2014 Ferns are the only major lineage of vascular plants not represented by a sequenced nuclear genome. This lack of genome sequence information significantly impedes our ability to understand and reconstruct genome evolution not only in ferns, but across all l ... Open Access Cite

Horizontal transfer of an adaptive chimeric photoreceptor from bryophytes to ferns

Journal Article Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · 2014 Open Access Cite

Crowdfunding the Azolla fern genome project: a grassroots approach.

Journal Article GigaScience · January 2014 Much of science progresses within the tight boundaries of what is often seen as a "black box". Though familiar to funding agencies, researchers and the academic journals they publish in, it is an entity that outsiders rarely get to peek into. Crowdfunding ... Full text Open Access Cite

Between two fern genomes

Journal Article GigaScience · 2014 Open Access Cite

Identifying multiple origins of polyploid taxa: a multilocus study of the hybrid cloak fern (Astrolepis integerrima; Pteridaceae).

Journal Article American journal of botany · November 2012 Premise of the studyMolecular studies have shown that multiple origins of polyploid taxa are the rule rather than the exception. To understand the distribution and ecology of polyploid species and the evolutionary significance of polyploidy in gen ... Full text Open Access Cite

Unique expression of a sporophytic character on the gametophytes of notholaenid ferns (Pteridaceae).

Journal Article American journal of botany · June 2012 Premise of the studyNot all ferns grow in moist, shaded habitats; some lineages thrive in exposed, seasonally dry environments. Notholaenids are a clade of xeric-adapted ferns commonly characterized by the presence of a waxy exudate, called farina ... Full text Open Access Cite

Overcoming deep roots, fast rates, and short internodes to resolve the ancient rapid radiation of eupolypod II ferns.

Journal Article Systematic biology · May 2012 Backbone relationships within the large eupolypod II clade, which includes nearly a third of extant fern species, have resisted elucidation by both molecular and morphological data. Earlier studies suggest that much of the phylogenetic intractability of th ... Full text Open Access Cite

Do asexual polyploid lineages lead short evolutionary lives? A case study from the fern genus Astrolepis

Journal Article Evolution: International Journal of Organic Evolution · 2011 Open Access Cite

The evolution of chloroplast genes and genomes in ferns

Journal Article Plant molecular biology · 2011 Open Access Cite

DNA barcoding exposes a case of mistaken identity in the fern horticultural trade.

Journal Article Molecular ecology resources · November 2010 Using cheilanthoid ferns, we provide an example of how DNA barcoding approaches can be useful to the horticultural community for keeping plants in the trade accurately identified. We use plastid rbcL, atpA, and trnG-R sequence data to demonstrate that a fe ... Full text Open Access Cite

Abrupt deceleration of molecular evolution linked to the origin of arborescence in ferns.

Journal Article Evolution; international journal of organic evolution · September 2010 Molecular rate heterogeneity, whereby rates of molecular evolution vary among groups of organisms, is a well-documented phenomenon. Nonetheless, its causes are poorly understood. For animals, generation time is frequently cited because longer-lived species ... Full text Open Access Cite

A Diploids-First Approach to Species Delimitation and Interpreting Polyploid Evolution in the Fern Genus Astrolepis (Pteridaceae)

Journal Article Systematic Botany. · April 2010 Polyploidy presents a challenge to those wishing to delimit the species within a group and reconstruct the phylogenetic relationships among these taxa. A clear understanding of the tree-like relationships among the diploid species can provide a framework u ... Full text Open Access Cite

Var hör hällebräken, ekbräken och svartbräknar hemma?-Äntligen en fylogeni över Eupolypods II

Conference Systematikdagarna, Göteborg, 22-23 november, 2010 · 2010 Cite

Evidence for a Cenozoic radiation of ferns in an angiosperm-dominated canopy

Journal Article Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · 2009 Open Access Cite

Evolution of leaf form in marsileaceous ferns: evidence for heterochrony

Journal Article Evolution: International Journal of Organic Evolution · 2009 Open Access Cite

Fern phylogeny

Chapter · January 1, 2008 Introduction As a consequence of employing DNA sequence data and phylogenetic approaches, unprecedented progress has been made in recent years toward a full understanding of the fern tree of life. At the broadest level, molecular phylogenetic analyses have ... Full text Open Access Cite

Fern phylogeny

Journal Article Biology and evolution of ferns and lycophytes · 2008 Cite

A molecular phylogeny of scaly tree ferns (Cyatheaceae)

Journal Article American Journal of Botany · 2007 Open Access Cite

Phylogeny and divergence time estimates for the fern genus Azolla (Salviniaceae)

Journal Article International Journal of Plant Sciences · 2007 Open Access Cite

A classification for extant ferns

Journal Article Taxon · 2006 Open Access Cite

Phylogeny and evolution of ferns (monilophytes) with a focus on the early leptosporangiate divergences.

Journal Article American journal of botany · October 2004 The phylogenetic structure of ferns (= monilophytes) is explored here, with a special focus on the early divergences among leptosporangiate lineages. Despite considerable progress in our understanding of fern relationships, a rigorous and comprehensive ana ... Full text Open Access Cite

Ferns diversified in the shadow of angiosperms.

Journal Article Nature · April 2004 The rise of angiosperms during the Cretaceous period is often portrayed as coincident with a dramatic drop in the diversity and abundance of many seed-free vascular plant lineages, including ferns. This has led to the widespread belief that ferns, once a p ... Full text Open Access Cite

HETEROSPOROUS FERNS: PHYLOGENY, ORIGIN AND RADIATION

Conference 2004 Denver Annual Meeting · 2004 Cite

rbcL phylogeny of the fern genus Trichomanes (Hymenophyllaceae), with special reference to neotropical taxa.

Journal Article International journal of plant sciences · September 2003 In order to estimate evolutionary relationships within the filmy fern genus Trichomanes (Hymenophyllaceae), we performed a phylogenetic analysis using rbcL nucleotide data from 46 species of Trichomanes belonging to all four of C. V. Morton's subgenera: Ac ... Full text Open Access Cite

Phylogenetic relationships and evolution of extant Horsetails, Equisetum, based on chloroplast DNA sequence data (rbcL and trnL-F).

Journal Article International journal of plant sciences · September 2003 Equisetum is a small and morphologically distinct genus with a rich fossil record. Two subgenera have been recognized based principally on stomatal position and stem branching: subg. Equisetum (eight species; superficial stomates; stems branched) and subg. ... Full text Open Access Cite

Deciding among green plants for whole genome studies.

Journal Article Trends in plant science · December 2002 Recent comparative DNA-sequencing studies of chloroplast, mitochondrial and ribosomal genes have produced an evolutionary tree relating the diversity of green-plant lineages. By coupling this phylogenetic framework to the explosion of information on genome ... Full text Open Access Cite

Structure and function of spores in the aquatic heterosporous fern family Marsileaceae.

Journal Article International journal of plant sciences · July 2002 Spores of the aquatic heterosporous fern family Marsileaceae differ markedly from spores of Salviniaceae, the only other family of heterosporous ferns and sister group to Marsileaceae, and from spores of all homosporous ferns. The marsileaceous outer spore ... Full text Open Access Cite

Metaxya lanosa, a second species in the genus and fern family Metaxyaceae

Journal Article Systematic Botany · October 11, 2001 We describe and illustrate Metaxya lanosa, the second known species in the genus and the fern family Metaxyaceae (Pteridophyta). It is currently known from four different watersheds in Amazonian Peru and Venezuela. It can be distinguished readily from M. r ... Open Access Cite

rbcL data reveal two monophyletic groups of filmy ferns (Filicopsida: Hymenophyllaceae).

Journal Article American journal of botany · June 2001 The "filmy fern" family, Hymenophyllaceae, is traditionally partitioned into two principal genera, Trichomanes s.l. (sensu lato) and Hymenophyllum s.l., based upon sorus shape characters. This basic split in the family has been widely debated this past cen ... Full text Open Access Cite

Horsetails and ferns are a monophyletic group and the closest living relatives to seed plants.

Journal Article Nature · February 2001 Most of the 470-million-year history of plants on land belongs to bryophytes, pteridophytes and gymnosperms, which eventually yielded to the ecological dominance by angiosperms 90 Myr ago. Our knowledge of angiosperm phylogeny, particularly the branching o ... Full text Open Access Cite

Marsileaceae sporocarps and spores from the late cretaceous of Georgia, U.S.A.

Journal Article International Journal of Plant Sciences · January 1, 2000 A new species provisionally assigned to the extant genus Regnellidium Lindm. (Regnellidium upatoiensis sp. nov.) is established for isolated sporocarps assignable to the heterosporous water fern family Marsileaceae. Three sporocarps and hundreds of dispers ... Full text Open Access Cite

Phylogeny of Marsileaceous Ferns and Relationships of the Fossil Hydropteris pinnata Reconsidered.

Journal Article International journal of plant sciences · September 1999 Recent phylogenetic studies have provided compelling evidence that confirms the once disputed hypothesis of monophyly for heterosporous leptosporangiate ferns (Marsileaceae and Salviniaceae). Hypotheses for relationships among the three genera of Marsileac ... Full text Open Access Cite

Investigating deep phylogenetic relationships among cyanobacteria and plastids by small subunit rRNA sequence analysis.

Journal Article The Journal of eukaryotic microbiology · July 1999 Small subunit rRNA sequence data were generated for 27 strains of cyanobacteria and incorporated into a phylogenetic analysis of 1,377 aligned sequence positions from a diverse sampling of 53 cyanobacteria and 10 photosynthetic plastids. Tree inference was ... Full text Open Access Cite

Phylogenetic relationships of the enigmatic fern families Hymenophyllopsidaceae and Lophosoriaceae: Evidence from rbcL nucleotide sequences

Journal Article Plant Systematics and Evolution · January 1, 1999 Nucleotide sequences from rbcL were used to infer relationships of Lophosoriaceae and Hymenophyllopsidaceae. The phylogenetic positions of these two monotypic fern families have been debated, and neither group had been included in recent molecular systemat ... Full text Open Access Cite

Leptosporangiate ferns

Internet Publication · 1998 Cite

Fern Phylogeny Based on rbcL Nucleotide Sequences

Journal Article American Fern Journal · October 1995 Full text Open Access Cite

Isozymic and chromosomal evidence for the allotetraploid origin of Gymnocarpium dryopteris (Dryopteridaceae)

Journal Article Systematic Botany. · January 1993 A critical examination of isozyme, chromosomal, and morphological characters in subspecies formerly included in Gymnocarpium dryopteris demonstrated that three sexual taxa can be distinguished. We recognize these taxa as distinct species: the widespread, f ... Full text Open Access Cite

Les plantes vasculaires rares du Canada

Journal Article Musée canadien de la nature, Ottawa, Ont · 1990 Cite

A synopsis of the genus Sanicula (Apiaceae) in eastern Canada

Journal Article Canadian Journal of Botany · January 1, 1989 Four species and 2 varieties of these native woodland umbellifers are recognized. A key to the taxa, comparative descriptions of diagnostic characters, and notes on the taxonomy, distribution, habitat, and rare status are provided. Eastern Canadian dot map ... Full text Open Access Cite

THE STATUS AND TYPIFICATION OF PHEGOPTERIS AND GYMNOCARPIUM

Journal Article TAXON · February 1985 SummaryIt is concluded that Phegopteris Fée (Thelypteridaceae) is an apparently nomenclaturally superfluous name, because, when published, it included what is now established to be the type of Full text Open Access Cite

A numerical analysis of chromatographic profiles in North American taxa of the fern genus Gymnocarpium

Journal Article Canadian Journal of Botany · October 1, 1983 As part of a systematic investigation of the genus Gymnocarpium in North America, a survey of chromatographic profiles in species and hybrids of the genus was initiated. It was established through cluster analysis and ordination of the phenolic da ... Full text Open Access Cite

Spore studies in the genus Gymnocarpium

Journal Article Canadian Journal of Botany · February 1, 1983 Scanning electron microscopy was used to examine the variation in perispore characters within and between six currently recognized taxa of the genus Gymnocarpium Newm. in North America. Representative scanning electron micrographs are presented an ... Full text Open Access Cite

1987

Journal Article Atlas of the rare vascular plants of Ontario · 1982 Cite