Tena Bossert
Undergraduate,
Department of Biological Sciences, University of Denver
E-mail: cbossert@du.edu
Tel. 303.871.3535
Education
B.A. - in progress, Molecular Biology, University of Denver, 2004.
Research Interests
I am currently working on my honors thesis, in which I am researching three species of Potentilla: Potentilla effusa, Potentilla rupincola, and an unknown species. The unknown species has an intermediate morphology relative to effusa and rupincola, and may possibly be of hybrid origins from these two. I have examined the viability of seeds from each of the three taxa, and currently I am examining the pollen viability of the three taxa in order to compare viability rates for each. The implications of this part of my research would indicate whether or not there is a possibility of hybrid origins for the unknown species, as hybrids tend to have decreased viability compared to their parental types. I also plan to use RFLP (Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism) analysis to determine if there are any enzymatic restriction site differences between the three types of Potentilla, which would indicate the presence of genetic differences between them.