Kurt Neubig | Plant Biology | SIU

Kurt Neubig

Associate Professor. Systematics, Phylogenetics, and Biodiversity

My lab investigates plant systematic questions, both floristically and taxonomically focused.  Because evolution is the central unifying process of biology, the use of phylogenetic methods can give us an evolutionary perspective for interpreting variation in morphology, biogeography, polyploidy, and pollination, among others.  My research includes the use of DNA, morphology and anatomy to address systematic questions across many different plant groups, including Annonaceae, Asteraceae, Cactaceae, Malvaceae, Orchidaceae, Poaceae, and Polygalaceae.  My current research also focuses on several different avenues of biodiversity research including 1) the floristics, DNA barcoding, and phylogenetic diversity of the floras of Florida and North America, and 2) application of metagenomic approaches using floristic DNA barcodes.

Visit my laboratory website to learn more.

Education

Ph.D. 2012, University of Florida

Selected Publications

1. Neubig KM, Whitten WM, Abbott JR, Elliott S, Soltis DE, Soltis PS. 2014. Variables affecting DNA preservation in archival DNA specimens. In: Applequist WL, Campbell LM, eds. DNA banking in the 21st Century: Proceedings of the U.S. workshop on DNA banking. St. Louis: The William L. Brown Center at the Missouri Botanical Garden.
2. Majure LC, Judd WS, Ionta GM, Skean JD, Jr., Becquer ER, Neubig KM. 2014. Miconia cineana (Melastomataceae: Miconieae), a new species from the Massif de la Hotte, Haiti, based on morphological and molecular evidence. Systematic Botany 39:906-914.
3. Germain-Aubrey C, Soltis P, Neubig KM, Thurston T, Soltis D, Gitzendanner M. 2014. Using comparative biogeography to retrace the origins of an ecosystem: the case of four plants endemic to the central Florida scrub. International Journal of Plant Sciences 175:418-431.
4. Whitten WM, Neubig KM, Williams NH. 2014. Generic and subtribal relationships in Neotropical Cymbidieae (Orchidaceae) based on matK/ycf1 plastid data. Lankesteriana 13:375-392.
5. Urbatsch LE, Pruski JF, Neubig KM. 2013. Youngia thunbergiana (Asteraceae, Cichorieae), a species overlooked in North America flora. Castanea 78:330-337.
6. McDaniel SF, Neubig KM, Payton AC, Quatrano RS, Cove DJ. 2013. Recent gene capture on the UV sex chromosomes of the moss Ceratodon purpureus. Evolution 67:2811-2822.
7. Chatrou LW, Pirie MD, Erkens RHJ, Couvreur TLP, Neubig KM, Abbott JR, Mols JB, Maas JW, Saunders RMK, Chase MW. 2012. A new subfamilial and tribal classification of the pantropical flowering plant family Annonaceae informed by molecular phylogenetics. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 169:5-40.
8. Neubig KM, Whitten WM, Williams NH, Blanco MA, Endara L, Burleigh JF, Silvera K, Cushman JC, Chase MW. 2012 Generic recircumscriptions of Oncidiinae (Orchidaceae: Cymbideae) based on maximum likelihood analysis of combined DNA datasets. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 168:117-146.
9. Neubig KM, Whitten WM, Blanco MA, Endara L, Williams NH, Koehler S. 2011. Preliminary molecular phylogenetics of Sobralia and relatives (Sobralieae; Orchidaceae). Lankesteriana 11:307-317.
10. Silvera K, Neubig KM, Whitten WM, Williams NH, Winter K, Cushman JC. 2010. Evolution along the crassulacean acid metabolism continuum. Functional Plant Biology 37:995-1010.