RELATIONSHIPS OF CEREAL CROPS AND OTHER GRASSES

The grass family includes some 10,000 species, and it encompasses trem endous morphological, physiological, ecological, and genetic diversity . The phylogeny of the family is becoming increasingly well understood . There were two major radiations of grasses, an early diversification leading to the subfamilies Pooideae, Bambusoideae, and Oryzoideae, an d a later one leading to Panicoideae, Chloridoideae, Centothecoideae, and Arundinoideae. The phylogeny can be used to determine the directio n of changes in genome arrangement and genome size.