BEGIN:VCALENDAR
VERSION:2.0
PRODID:-//ZContent.net//ZapCalLib 1.0//EN
CALSCALE:GREGORIAN
METHOD:PUBLISH
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:**PhD Seminar** Legend, history, and ethnobotany as a basis for tes
 ting alternative hypotheses on the origin, dispersal, evolution, and chemi
 stry of Catha edulis (qat)
LOCATION:Yates 206
TZID:America/Denver
DTSTART:20155001T000000
UID:2026-05-24-14-02-31@natsci.colostate.edu
DTSTAMP:20260524T140231
Description:Catha edulis (Vahl) Forssk. ex Endl. (qat\, khat\, mirra) is a 
 woody plant species that is grown and consumed in East Africa and the sout
 hern Arabian Peninsula for its stimulant alkaloids. The alkaloids responsi
 ble for the stimulant properties are cathinone\, cathine\, and norephedrin
 e. These alkaloids are structurally and pharmalogically similar to ampheta
 mines. The evolution of these alkaloids across the Celastraceae family has
  not been examined\, yet ethnobotanical accounts indicate that other close
 ly related species are used as stimulants much like qat. Using methods fro
 m analytical chemistry we found that the alkaloids in qat are unique to th
 at taxon. However other Celastraceae species were found to be enriched in 
 unique compounds such as alkaloids\, sterols\, terpenes\, sesquiterpenes a
 nd triterpenes that may account for their stimulant properties. The origin
  and timing of qat cultivation has been argued in the ethnobotanical and h
 istorical literature with the mountainous areas of Ethiopia\, Kenya\, and 
 Yemen being the most often mentioned as the places of origin for cultivate
 d qat. The time period in which qat was initial cultivated has not been ro
 bustly tested with molecular data\, but rather asserted through conflictin
 g historical documentation. Despite the uncertainty in dating the initial 
 cultivation event(s) for qat\, it is known that qat is a relatively recent
  domesticate compared to other clonal crops like grape\, banana\, or apple
 . Due to the recent initial cultivation of qat\, heretofore unknown insigh
 t into the rate and type (somatic and allele-frequency changes) of evoluti
 on at the early stages of domestication can be determined—a comparison n
 ot possible among more ancient clonal crops. With over 1500 samples from a
 cross the native range of qat\, including sampling areas of commercial pro
 duction\, and 19 SSR loci\, qat cultivation was found to have two centers 
 of origin—in Ethiopia and Kenya. Using Bayesian coalescent simulations t
 he scenario in which the Ethiopian origin of cultivation predates the Keny
 an origin had the strongest support. From the initial results the rate of 
 SSR evolution was calculated between wild populations and from wild popula
 tions to cultivated and found to be higher among cultivated populations co
 mpared to wild populations. 4:00 pm
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR