Cycads, Wild Black Peppers, and Amazonian roots: the role of plant specialized chemistry at three different scales

Specialized metabolites play critical roles in plant evolution and ecology, yet most of what we know about this rich and diverse organic arsenal comes from foliar tissues and local scales. As chemical ecology is being transformed by higher-resolution instrumentation and novel machine-learning approaches for data processing and analysis, scientists have ventured into larger-scale studies (geographically, environmentally, and phylogenetically). Furthermore, a more “holistic” understanding of plant chemistry has highlighted key differences in the likely mechanisms driving the evolution of chemical diversity across plant tissues. In this talk, I will present three research projects that highlight the role of plant specialized metabolites across different scales (from local to regional). This project also highlights fundamental trade-offs and constraints on phytochemical arsenals across plant tissues (leaves, roots, and seeds).

Speaker: Diego Salazar, Binghamton University