Staff Profile:Dr Alastair Culham

Name:

Dr Alastair Culham

Job Title:

Lecturer in Plant Taxonomy, and Curator, Reading University Herbarium (RNG)

Responsibilities:

Research and Teaching

Areas of Interest:

Research

My research interests lie in the intersection of traditional plant taxonomy and biosystematics with modern techniques of molecular biology, phytogeography and phylogenetics. This interest has led to broad ranging research in biodiversity and taxonomy:

1) Evolutionary studies

Climate Change and Biodiversity

The impact of anthropogenic climate change on biodiversity is a topical and contentious issue. The geological record shows that substantial changes to the climate have happened on many previous occasions in the Earth's history. Using techniques of phylogenetic reconstruction from DNA sequences combined with computer models of past climates, techniques have been developed in my lab that explore the effect of past climates on current plant distributions and on patterns of biodiversity at a global scale. These techniques have been termed 'Phyloclimatic modelling'. Some of our recent papers are available through open access publications: A phyloclimatic study of Cyclamen (BMC Evolutionary Biology) and How Global Is the Global Biodiversity Information Facility? (PLOS One)

Diversification and Classification
At the species level and above my lab has used a multidisciplinary approach to taxonomy to critically examine classifications and to construct evolutionary hypotheses for rapidly speciating plant groups; to explore these evolutionary hypotheses to study the nature and patterns of change in plant morphology and the underlying genetic mechanisms for this. Major projects in this area have been on 'Evolutionary relationships in Pelargonium with emphasis on the African-Australian divide' (a collaborative project with Dr Mary Gibby of the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh); evolutionary patterns in island genera with emphasis on Echium; phylogenetic history of Drosera and phylogenetic and taxonomic revision of Actaea and Ranunculaceae tribe Actaeeae.

2) Horticultural Taxonomy
The taxonomic revision of genera of horticultural interest have included a revision of Actaea and tribe Actaeeae (with James Compton); revision of Pelargonium (with Mary Gibby, RBGE and Freek Bakker, Wageningen University). A major phylogenetic evaluation of Plectranthus/Coleus is is near completion as a collaborative project with Alan Paton (Kew). Current projects include revision of Cyclamen (with James Compton and The Cyclamen Society) and of the genus Drosera. Annual projects on horticultural taxonomy conducted by MSc Plant Diversity students sponsored by the RHS have included work on Kalmia and Rhododendron, Erodium and recently Erica.

3) Molecular Markers

Conservation
At and below the species level, the use of molecular markers to study plant populational variation for conservation purposes, such as establishment of genetic diversity in the rare Easter Island endemic Sophora toromiro (in collaboration with Dr Mike Maunder, The National Tropical Botanical Gardens, Hawaii).

Identification and barcoding

The development of molecular markers for identification of Fusarium fungi in soil (in collaboration with Roland Fox, Reading, and Dr Prashant Mishra, University of California) to provide rapid diagnostic approaches for plant pathogens.

An ongoing project to develop molecular markers for the identification of Diospyros in Tropical Africa.

Teaching:

My teaching remit covers population and species-based conservation and all aspects of plant taxonomy with emphasis on evolutionary theory and molecular systematics. I am Course Director for the MSc Plant Diversity at the School of Biological Sciences and joint organiser of the Intensive Course in Molecular Systematics To support teaching of flowering plant diversity I co-authored a major reference work Flowering Plant Families of the World, with three colleagues from Reading, Kew and Copenhagen.

As School Learning Technology Coordinator I am responsible for development, innovation and implementation of e-learning within Biological Sciences.

Associate Editor:  Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society

 

Research groups / Centres:

Centre for Plant Diversity and Sytematics

Evolutionary biology research

Publications:

Y

Jump to: 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2001 | 2000

Number of items: 34.

2011

• Konyves, K., David, J. and Culham, A. (2011) Towards a reproducible system of identification for daffodil cultivars. In: Bradbury, M. S., Akers, W. M., Akers, J. l., Blanchard, J. W., Brickell, C. D., Duncan, B. S., Gibson, J., Hanks, G., Kington, S. and Lady Skelmersdale, (eds.) Daffodil, Snowdrop and Tulip Yearbook. The Royal Horticultural Society, London, pp. 26-29. ISBN 9781907057229
• Culham, A. and Yesson, C. (2011) Biodiversity informatics for climate change studies. In: Hodkinson, T., Jones, M., Waldren, S. and Parnell, J. (eds.) Climate change, ecology and systematics. Cambridge University Press, pp. 231-242. ISBN 9780521766098 (Chapter 10)
• Yesson, C. and Culham, A. (2011) Biogeography of cyclamen: an application of phyloclimatic modelling. In: Hodkinson, T., Jones, M., Waldren, S. and Parnell, J. (eds.) Climate change, ecology and systematics. Cambridge University Press, pp. 265-279. ISBN 9780521766098 (Chapter 12)
• Simpson, D. A., Yesson, C., Culham, A., Couch, C. A. and Muasya, A. M. (2011) Climate change and Cyperaceae. In: Hodkinson, T., Jones, M., Waldren, S. and Parnell, J. (eds.) Climate change, ecology and systematics. Cambridge University Press, pp. 439-456. ISBN 9780521766098 (Chapter 19)
• Heywood, V., Brummitt, R.K., Culham, A. and Seberg, O. (2011) Flowering plants: a concise pictorial guide. Kew Publishing, UK. ISBN 9781842464380
• Ciotir, C., Yesson, C., Culham, A. and Cristea, N. (2011) DNA barcoding of Cyclamen species: another approach to species identification. Cyclamen, 35 (1). pp. 26-29. ISSN 1757-2045
• Souza Richards, R. and Culham, A. (2011) Staying with mother: genetic and ecological studies of native Drosera hybrids in the UK. Planta Carnivora, 33 (1). pp. 16-23. ISSN 0260-440X

2010

• Heap, M. J. and Culham, A. (2010) Automated pre-processing strategies for species occurrence data used in biodiversity modelling. Lecture Notes in Computer Science: Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence, Part I (6279). pp. 517-526. ISSN 0302-9743 doi: 10.1007/978-3-642-15384-6

2009

• Yesson, C., Toomey, N. H. and Culham, A. (2009) Cyclamen: time, sea and speciation biogeography using a temporally calibrated phylogeny. Journal of Biogeography, 36 (7). pp. 1234-1252. ISSN 0305-0270 doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2699.2008.01971.x
• Heywood, V. and Culham, A. (2009) The impacts of climate change on plant species in Europe. Report T-PVS/Inf9E. In: Convention on the conservation of European wildlife and natural habitats. 29th meeting of the Standing Committee, Bern.
• Culham, A., Denney, M., Jope, M. and Moore, P. (2009) A new species of Cyclamen from Crete. Cyclamen, 33 (1). pp. 12-15.
• Culham, A. and Bota, P. (2009) The taxonomic status of Cyclamen subgenus Psilanthum Schwarz. Cyclamen, 33 (1). pp. 22-25.

2008

• Kelly, L. J. and Culham, A. (2008) Phylogenetic utility of MORE AXILLARY GROWTH4 (MAX4)-like genes: a case study in Digitalis/Isoplexis (Plantaginaceae). Plant Systematics and Evolution, 273 (3-4). pp. 133-149. ISSN 0378-2697 doi: 10.1007/s00606-008-0008-0
• Kelly, L. J. and Culham, A. (2008) Phylogenetic utility of more axillary growth (MAX4 ) - like genes: a case study in Digitalis / Isoplexis (Plantaginaceae). Plant Systematics and Evolution, 273 (3-4). pp. 133-149. ISSN 0378-2697 doi: 10.1007/s00606-008-0008-0

2007

• Heywood, V.H. , Brummit, R.K., Culham, A. and Seberg, O. (2007) Flowering plant families of the world. Kew Books (Europe) Firefly Books (North America). ISBN 9781554072064
• Yesson, C., Brewer, P. W., Sutton, T., Caithness, N., Pahwa, J. S., Burgess, M., Gray, W. A., White, R. J., Jones, A. C., Bisby, F. A. and Culham, A. (2007) How global is the global biodiversity information facility? Plos One, 2 (11). p. 1124. ISSN 1932-6203 doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0001124

2006

• Pahwa, J. S., White, R. J., Jones, A. C. , Burgess, M. , Gray, W. A. , Fiddian, N. J., Sutton, T. , Brewer, P. , Yesson, C. , Caithness, N. , Culham, A. , Bisby, F.A., Scoble, M. , Williams, P. and Bhagwat, S. (2006) Accessing biodiversity resources in computational environments from workflow applications. In: In "Workshop on Workflows in Support of Large-Scale Science" (in conjunction with the 15th IEEE International Symposium on High Performance Distributed Computing, Paris, France.
• Yesson, C. and Culham, A. (2006) Phyloclimatic modeling: Combining phylogenetics and bioclimatic modeling. Systematic Biology, 55 (5). pp. 785-802. ISSN 1063-5157 doi: 10.1080/1063515060081570
• Yesson, C. and Culham, A. (2006) A phyloclimatic study of Cyclamen. Bmc Evolutionary Biology, 6 (72). p. 23. ISSN 1471-2148 doi: 10.1186/1471-2148-6-72

2005

• Jones, A.C., White, R.J., Gray, W.A., Bisby, F.A., Caithness, N., Pittas, N., Xu, X., Sutton, T., Fiddian, N.J., Culham, A., Scoble, M., Williams, P., Bromley, O., Brewer, P.W., Yesson, C. and Bhagwat, S. (2005) Building a biodiversity GRID. In: Lecture Notes in Computer Science. Springer-Verlag GmbH, pp. 140-151. ISBN 9783540252085 doi: 10.1007/b106923
• Bakker, F.T., Culham, A., Marais, E.M. and Gibby, M. (2005) Nested radiation in Cape Pelargonium. In: Bakker, F.T., Chatrou, L.W., Gravendeel, B. and Pelser, P.B. (eds.) Plant Species-Level Systematics: New Perspectives on Pattern & Process. Gantner Verlag, Rugell, Liechtenstein. ISBN 9783906166391

2004

• Jones, A.C. , White, R.J. , Gray, W.A., Bisby, F.A., Caithness, N. , Pittas, N. , Xu, X. , Sutton, T. , Fiddian, N.J. , Culham, A. , Scoble, M. , Williams, P., Bromley, O. , Brewer, P. , Yesson, C. and Bhagwat, S. (2004) Building a biodiversity GRID. In: Proc. 1st Intl. Workshop on Life Science Grid (LSGRID2004), JSAI, Kanazawa, Japan.
• White, R.J. , Jones, A.C. , Pittas, N., Gray, W.A., Xu, X. , Sutton, T. , Bromley, O., Caithness, N. , Fiddian, N.J., Culham, A. , Bisby, F.A. , Bhagwat, S. , Brewer, P., Yesson, C. and Williams, P. (2004) Building a biodiversity problem-solving environment. In: Proc UK e-Science All Hands Meeting 2004, EPSRC, Nottingham.
• Grant, M.L., Toomey, N.H. and Culham, A. (2004) Is there such a thing as Kalmia x Rhododendron? Journal of the American Society for Horticultural Science, 129 (4). pp. 517-522. ISSN 0003-1062
• Compton, J.A. and Culham, A. (2004) Neotypification of Actaea pachypoda Elliott (Ranunculaceae). Taxon, 53 (1). pp. 163-165.
• Compton, J.A., Clennett, J.C.B. and Culham, A. (2004) Nomenclature in the dock. Overclassification leads to instability: a case study in the horticulturally important genus Cyclamen (Myrsinaceae). Botanical Journal of The Linnean Society, 146 (3). pp. 339-349. ISSN 0024-4074 doi: 10.1111/j.1095-8339.2004.00322.x
• Bakker, F.T., Culham, A., Hettiarachi, P. , Touloumenidou, T. and Gibby, M. (2004) Phylogeny of Pelargonium (Geraniaceae) based on DNA sequences from three genomes. Taxon, 53 (1). pp. 17-28. ISSN 0040-0262
• Compton, J.A., Grabovskaya, A.B. and Culham, A. (2004) Proposal to reject the name Dipleina umbellata with associated lectotypification of Actaea erythrocarpa (Ranunculaceae). Taxon, 53 (2). pp. 574-575. ISSN 0040-0262

2003

• Mishra, P.K., Fox, R.T.V. and Culham, A. (2003) Development of a PCR-based assay for rapid and reliable identification of pathogenic Fusaria. FEMS Microbiology Letters, 218 (2). pp. 329-332. ISSN 0378-1097 doi: 10.1111/j.1574-6968.2003.tb11537.x
• Mishra, P.K., Fox, R.T.V. and Culham, A. (2003) Inter-simple sequence repeat and aggressiveness analyses revealed high genetic diversity, recombination and long-range dispersal in Fusarium culmorum. Annals of Applied Biology, 143 (3). pp. 291-301. ISSN 0003-4746 doi: 10.1111/j.1744-7348.2003.tb00297.x
• Compton, J.A. and Culham, A. (2003) New combinations in cyclamen subgenus Psilanthum. Journal of The Cyclamen Society, 27. pp. 70-72.

2001

• Dunwell, J. M., Culham, A., Carter, C. E., Sosa-Aguirre, C. and Goodenough, P. W. (2001) Evolution of functional diversity in the cupin superfamily. Trends in Biochemical Sciences, 26 (12). pp. 740-6. ISSN 0968-0004 doi: 10.1016/S0968-0004(01)01981-8

2000

• Bakker, F. T., Culham, A., Pankhurst, C. E. and Gibby, M. (2000) Mitochondrial and chloroplast DNA-based phylogeny of Pelargonium (Geraniaceae). American Journal of Botany, 87 (5). pp. 727-734. ISSN 1537-2197
• Bakker, F. T., Culham, A., Gomez-Martinez, R., Carvalho, J., Compton, J., Dawtrey, R. and Gibby, M. (2000) Patterns of nucleotide substitution in angiosperm cpDNA trnL (UAA)-trnF (GAA) regions. Molecular Biology and Evolution, 17 (8). pp. 1146-1155. ISSN 0737-4038

This list was generated on Thu May 24 17:11:46 2012 BST.

 

Other publications

(# indicates reprints available on request)

Grant, M., Toomey, N.H. and Culham, A. Kalmia x Rhododendron Debunked. In: Maughan, S. (ed.) Rhododendrons with Camellias and Magnolias, London: Royal Horticultural Society, 2005, 25-31.

Maunder, M., Hughes, C., Hawkins, J. and Culham, A. 2004. Hybridization in ex situ Plant Collections: Conservation, Concerns, Liabilities and Opportunities. In: Guerrant, E.O., Havens, K. & Maunder, M. Ex situ Plant Conservation, Supporting Species Survival in the Wild (Island Press, Washington, Covelo, London).

Mishra, P.K. Fox R.T.V. and Culham, A. Combination and characterisation of mating type genes in asexual phyto-pathogenic fungus Fusarium culmorum. Ninth International Fusarium Workshop, 27-30 January 2003, University of Sydney, Australia, 2003.

Compton, J.A. and Culham, A. Phylogeny and circumscription of tribe Actaeeae Ranunculaceae. Systematic Botany, 27 (3) July-September, 2002, 502-511.

Henricot, B. and Culham, A. Cylindrocladium buxicola, a new species affecting Buxus spp., and its phylogenetic status. Mycologia, 94(6), 2002, 980-997.#

Mishra, P. K., Fox, R. T. V. and Culham, A. Restriction analysis of PCR amplified nrDNA regions revealed intraspecific variation within populations of Fusarium culmorum. FEMS Microbiology Letters, 215, (2) 2002, 291-296. #

Mishra, P. K., Fox, R. T. V. and Culham, A. Development of a PCR-based method for rapid and reliable identification of pathogenic Fusaria. FEMS Microbiology Letters, 10793, 2002,1-4.

Toomey, N., Cubey, J. and Culham, A. Identification and diagnosis of Erodium x variabile Leslie based on DNA sequence markers. The Plantsman (New Series), 1(3), 2002, 166-172.

Dunwell J.M., Culham, A., Carter, C.E., Sosa-Aguirre, C.R. and Goodenough, P.W. Evolution of functional diversity in the cupin superfamily. Trends In Biochemical Sciences , 26 (12), 2001, 740-746.

Maunder, M., Higgens, S. and Culham, A. The effectiveness of botanic garden collections in supporting plant conservation: a European case study. Biodiversity and Conservation, 10, 2001, 383-401.

Muasya, A.M, Simpson D.A, Chase, M.W. and Culham, A. A phylogeny of Isolepis (Cyperaceae) inferred using plastid rbcL and trnL-F sequence data, Systematic Botany, 26 (2), 2001, 342-353.

Bakker, F.T. Culham, A., Gomez-Martinez, R., Carvalho, J., Compton, J.A., Dawtrey, R., and Gibby, M. Patterns of nucleotide substitution in Angiosperm cpDNA trnL (UAA) ­ trn F (GAA) regions. Molecular Biology and Evolution. 17(8), 2000, 1146-1155.#

Bakker, F.T., Culham, A., Pankhurst, C.E., & Gibby, M. Mitochondrial and chloroplast DNA-based phylogeny of Pelargonium (Geraniaceae). American Journal of Botany. 87(5), 2000, 727-734 #

Gomez-Martinez, R. and Culham, A. Phylogeny of the Subfamily Panicoideae with emphasis on the Tribe Paniceae: evidence frm the trnL-F cpDNA region. In Grasses: systematics and evolution, Jacobs, S.W.L. & Everett, J. (eds), 2000, CSIRO Publishing, Australia.

Maunder, M., Culham, A., Alden, B., Zizka, G., Orliac, C., Lobin, W., Bordeu, A., Ramirez, J.M. and Glissmann-Gough, S. Conservation of the toromiro tree: Case study in the management of a plant extinct in the wild. Conservation Biology, 14(5), 2000, 1341-1350.

Muasya, A.M., Simpson, D.A., Chase, M.W. and Culham, A., 2000. Phylogenetic relationships within the heterogeneous Scirpus s. lat. (Cyperaceae) inferred from rbcL and trnL-F sequence data. In: Monocots: systematics and evolution, Jacobs, S.W.L. & Everett, J. (eds), 2000, CSIRO Publishing, Australia, 610-614.

 

Public Understanding of Science

Compton, J.A. and Culham, A. The name is the game. The Garden, 125(1), 2000, 48-52

Culham, A. and Grant, M.L. DNA markers for cultivar identification and classification. In: Taxonomy of Cultivated Plants, Andrews, S., Leslie, A. & Alexander, C. (eds). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, 1999 [2000], 183-198.

Maunder, M. and Culham, A. Plant Diversity - Distribution, Measurement and Conservation. In: Bowes, B.G., A Colour Atlas of Plant Propagation and Conservation. (Manson Publishing, London), 1999, 25-36.

Maunder, M., Higgens, S. and Culham, A., 1998. Neither Common nor Garden: the garden as a refuge for threatened plant species. Curtis's Botanical Magazine, 15(2), 1998, 124-132.

Grant, M. and Culham, A. DNA fingerprinting and the identification of cultivars. The New Plantsman, 4, 1997a, 85-87.

Grant, M. and Culham, A. DNA fingerprinting and the identification of ornamental cultivars: Part 2. The New Plantsman, 4, 1997b, 157-168.