People
Cowan, Robyn S.
| Job Title | Conservation Geneticist |
|---|---|
| Department | Jodrell |
| Section | Genetics |
| Science Teams |
United Kingdom Large-Scale Syntheses |
| Joined Kew | 1999 |
| Foreign Language(s) |
Qualifications & Appointments
BSc (Hons), Univ. London, 1993.
Core Group, Rock sea lavender Species Action Plan
Council, Systematics Association
Chair, Plant Working Group & Scientific Advisory Board, Consortium for the Barcode of Life.
Role
Conservation genetic studies at population and species level; plant DNA barcoding.
Main research is in the development and use of molecular techniques to study species delimitations and population dynamics. Much, although not all of this work, is carried out in collaboration with the statutory conservation agencies and the resulting data are used to inform Species and Biodiversity Action Plans, applications for protected areas, and ‘on the ground’ management of species. At present main focus is on establishing and implementing a standard plant DNA barcode for land plants in an externally funded collaborative research programme. This project was established under the auspices of the Plant Working Group of the Consortium for the Barcode of Life and involves a collaboration of 11 institutes. It includes examining multiple plastid gene regions for variability, developing ‘universal’ primers for the most variable and testing them on a range of plant clades, representing all major land plant lineages.
Projects
Conservation Genetics of UK Plants
DNA Banking of the UK Flora: a Resource for Conservation Genetics and Comparative Plant Biology
Establishing a Standard DNA Barcode for Land Plants
Ex Situ Conservation of Threatened UK Bryophytes
Selected Publications 2001-2005
Savolainen*, V., Cowan*, R.S., Vogler, A.P., Roderick, G.K. & Lane, R. (2005). Towards writing the encyclopaedia of life: an introduction to DNA barcoding. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B 360: 1805-1811.
Fay*, M.F., Cowan*, R.S. & Leitch*, I.J. (2005). The effects of nuclear DNA content (C-value) on the quality and utility of AFLP fingerprints. Annals of Botany 95: 237-246.
Smith*, S.D., Cowan*, R.S., Gregg, K.B., Chase*, M.W., Maxted, N. & Fay*, M.F. (2004). Genetic discontinuities among populations of Cleistes (Orchidaceae, Vanilloideae) in North America. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 145: 87-95.
Nielsen, L.R., Cowan*, R.S., Siegismund, H.R., Adsersen, H., Philipp, M. & Fay*, M.F. (2003). Morphometric, AFLP and plastid microsatellite variation in populations of Scalesia divisa and S. incisa (Asteraceae) from the Galápagos Islands. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 143: 243-254.
Fay*, M.F. & Cowan*, R.S. (2001). Plastid microsatellites in Cypripedium calceolus (Orchidaceae): genetic fingerprints from herbarium specimens. Lindleyana 16 (3): 151-156.
Selected Publications pre-2001
Cowan*, R., Ingrouille, M.J. and Lledó*, M.D. (1998). The Taxonomic Treatment of Agamosperms in the Genus Limonium Mill. (Plumbaginaceae). Folia Geobot. Phytotax. 33: 353–366
Fay*, M.F., Richardson*, J.E., Cowan*, R.S. & Stranc, P.A. (1999). The application of genetic fingerprinting techniques to plant conservation problems. Proc. 5th International Botanic Gardens Conservation Congress. Available at http://www.nbi.ac.za/bgci98/html%20files/fay.htm.