Scot A. Kelchner, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
- kelchner@isu.edu
- (208) 282-6183
- Gale Life Sciences Bldg, Rm 435
- The Kelchner Lab
- Phylogenetics, Plant Systematics, Molecular Evolution
Education
- B.Sc. 1992 Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa
- M.Sc. 1996 Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa
- Ph.D. 2003 The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
Biographical Sketch
Dr. Kelchner joined the Department of Biological Sciences in the fall of 2004. After completing an undergraduate degree in Animal Ecology at Iowa State University, he entered the field of plant systematics and worked on Andean and Brazilian alpine bamboos for his Masters degree. He later moved to Australia and completed a Ph.D. at the Australian National University on phylogenetic methods and the evolution of the emu bushes, an endemic group of Australian plants. His postdoctoral experience included the study of ribozyme evolution and a computer simulation experiment on the effectiveness of partitioned models in phylogenetics.
Dr. Kelchner specializes in applied phylogenetics; reconstructing the evolutionary history of organisms and genes is the basis of most of his research. His projects include coordinating an international effort to resolve evolutionary relationships among bamboos (NSF Grant 0515828), biogeography and evolution of Australian emu bushes (Scrophulariaceae: Myoporeae), evolution of group II introns, and horizontal gene transfer among human pathogenic bacteria. His work in theoretical phylogenetics includes the development of DNA sequence alignment protocol, improvement of phylogenetic models, and method testing via computer simulation experiments.
Teaching
- BIOL 102 Introductory Biology II, with Lab
- BIOL 412 Systematic Botany, with Lab
- BIOL 481/482 Undergraduate Research (Independent Problems)
- BIOL 491 Senior Seminar: Human Behavioral Evolution
- BIOL 499 Plant & Animal Biogeography
- BIOL 512 Systematic Botany, with Lab (Graduate level)
- BIOL 613 Biogeography (Graduate level)
- BIOL 648 Advanced Readings in Systematics (Graduate level)
- BIOL 691 Applied Phylogenetics (Graduate level)
Publications
Morgan MJ, Kelchner SA (2010) Inference of molecular homology and sequence alignment by direct optimization. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 56:305-311.
Fisher AE, Triplett J, Ho C-S, Schiller AD, Oltrogge KA, Schroeder ES, Kelchner SA, Clark LG (2009) Paraphyly in the bamboo subtribe Chusqueinae (Poaceae: Bambusoideae) and a revised infrageneric classification for Chusquea. Systematic Botany 34:673-683.
Simon DM, Kelchner SA, Zimmerly S (2009) A broad-scale phylogenetic analysis of group II intron RNAs and intron-encoded reverse transcriptases. Molecular Biology and Evolution 26:2795-2808.
Duffy AM, Kelchner SA, Wolf PG (2009) Conservation of selection on matK in ferns following an ancient loss of the trnK intron by genome inversion. Gene 438:17-25.
Kelchner SA (2009) "Phylogenetic Trees Made Easy, 3rd Edition" by Barry Hall [review]. Systematic Botany 34:243.
Kelchner SA (2009) Phylogenetic models and model selection for noncoding DNA. Plant Systematics and Evolution 282:109-126.
Watts CD, Fisher AE, Shrum CD, Newbold WL, Hansen S, Liu C, Kelchner SA (2008) The D4 Set: primers that target highly variable intron loops in plant chloroplast genomes. Molecular Ecology Resources 8:1344-1347.
Kelchner SA, Thomas MA (2007) Model use in phylogenetics: nine key questions. Trends in Ecology & Evolution 22:87-94.
Bamboo Phylogeny Group (2006) The Bamboo Phylogeny Project. Bamboo 27(6):11-14.
Tank DC, Beardsley PM, Kelchner SA, Olmstead RG (2006) Review of the systematics of Scrophulariaceae s.l. and its current disposition. L.A.S. Johnson Review No. 7, Australian Systematic Botany 19:289-307.
Trueman JWH, Pfeil BE, Kelchner SA, Yeates DK (2004) Did stick insects really regain their wings? Systematic Entomology 29:138-139.
Kelchner SA (2002) Group II introns as phylogenetic tools: structure, function, and evolutionary constraints. American Journal of Botany 89:1651-1669.
Kelchner SA (2002) "Molecular systematics and plant evolution" [review]. Systematic Biology 51:382-384.
Kelchner SA (2000) The evolution of non-coding chloroplast DNA and its application in plant systematics. Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden 87:482-498.
Bayer RJ, Puttock CF, Kelchner SA (2000) Phylogeny of South African Gnaphalieae (Asteraceae) based on two non-coding chloroplast sequences. American Journal of Botany 87:259-272.
Kelchner SA, Clark LG (1997) Molecular evolution and phylogenetic utility of the rpl16 intron in Chusquea and the Bambusoideae (Poaceae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 8:385-397.
Kelchner SA, Wendel JF (1996) Hairpins create minute inversions in non-coding regions of chloroplast DNA. Current Genetics 30:259-262.
Kelchner SA (1992) American robins' use of old nests as cues for nest-site selection in central Iowa. Iowa Bird Life 62:32-34.