Barbara Ambrose
Director, Laboratory for Integrative Biodiversity Research
Curator, Plant Genomics
Ph.D., University of California
Specialty
Plant genomics, morphology and development
Expertise
Plant genomics, morphology, evolution and development
Profile
There are more than 400,000 known plant species that come in a myriad of forms and occupy diverse habitats. Barbara Ambrose investigates the molecular genetic basis of plant morphological diversity. Her work includes investigations of the development of morphology using scanning electron microscopy and histological sections, comparative genomics, and investigations of gene function in development. Her current research focuses on lycophytes and ferns, collectively known as pteridophytes. Ferns and lycophytes occupy key phylogenetic positions for understanding the generation of plant diversity as well as the evolution of plant innovations including reproductive structures and leaves.
Acknowledgements
Barbara Ambrose’s research is funded by Lewis B. and Dorothy Cullman and the National Science Foundation.
Selected publications
E.S. Sorojsrisom, D.W. Stevenson, B.A. Ambrose (2026) Patterning and evolution of the land plant gametangia. International Journal of Plant Sciences 187: 1-70. https://doi.org/10.1086/737170 *featured on cover
B.A. Ambrose and D.W. Stevenson (2024) The evolution and development of sporangia – The fundamental reproductive organs of land plant sporophytes. Current Opinion in Plant Biology 81: 102563. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pbi.2024.102563
B.A. Ambrose, T.L. Smalls, and C. Zumajo-Cardona (2021) All type II classic MADS-box genes in the lycophyte Selaginella moellendorffii are broadly yet discretely expressed in vegetative and reproductive tissues. Evolution & Development 23: 215-230. https://doi.org/10.1111/ede.12375
A. Vasco and B. A. Ambrose (2020) Simple and divided leaves in ferns, exploring the genetic basis for leaf morphology differences in the genus Elaphoglossum (Dryopteridaceae). Int. J. Mol. Sci. 21: 5180. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms21155180
A. Vasco, T.L. Smalls, S.W. Graham, E.D. Cooper, G.K.-S. Wong, D.W. Stevenson, R.C. Moran, B.A. Ambrose (2016) Challenging the paradigms of leaf evolution – Class III HD-Zip expression in ferns and lycophytes. New Phytologist 212: 745-758. https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.14075
B.A. Ambrose and A. Vasco (2016) Bringing the multicellular fern meristem into focus. New Phytologist 210: 790-793. https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.13825
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