Harvey E. Ballard Jr.
Associate Professor
Ph.D., University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1996
Plant Systematics and EvolutionPorter Hall 406
740 593 4659Other Websites
Internships for PBIO majors
Global Studies in Plant Biology
Edible Wild Plants of Southeastern Ohio
Faculty Research Focus Areas
Phylogenetic Systematics
Curriculum Vitae
Courses
PBIO 2010 (Plant Biology for Gardeners)
PBIO 2470 (Biomes of the World)
PBIO 4090/5090 (Plant Systematics and Vascular Plant Family Survey)
PBIO 4095/5095 (Field Studies in Plant Diversity)
PBIO 4750/5750 (Plant Population Genetics and Speciation)
PBIO 4850/5850 (Global Studies in Plant Biology Capstone)
Departmental Service
Global Studies in Plant Biology, Coordinator
Herbarium Director and Curator of Vascular Plants
HTC Director of Studies
Honors Program Coordinator
Recruitment and Retention Committee, Chair
Evaluation Committee
Professional Service
Ohio State University Department of Horticulture and Crop Science, Adjunct Faculty Member
Editorial Board of Acta Botanica Cracoviensia
BRAHMS Database System International Advisory Group
Violaceae Working Group, Species Plantarum Programme
US Virtual Herbarium Database Network Program
Missouri Botanical Garden, Research Associate
Carnegie Museum, Research Associate
Ohio Rare Plant Technical Advisory Committee
Ohio Flora Committee
Research Program Summary
The collective research in our lab encompasses many diverse aspects of plant organismal biology including traditional systematics, phylogenetics, molecular ecology, population genetics and conservation genetics. Some of us also delve into more interdisciplinary investigations concerning species formation, hybridization and polyploid evolution. I collaborate actively with Dr. Sarah Wyatt on the molecular genetic basis of the chasmogamous-cleistogamous mixed breeding system in Viola.
The element that unites most of our research efforts is the use of comparative molecular evidence to answer organism- or lineage-level questions. For research questions we employ plastid and nuclear gene regions such as DNA sequences, ISSRs (Inter-Simple Sequence Repeats) and microsatellites.
More recently I have been working with various collaborators on using “next gen” sequencing to isolate microsatellite loci in wild species of violets and other groups, and to develop novel ways to use this new approach in examining polyploid species formation through possible homoeologous recombination, as well as examining later-generation hybrid processes such as introgression or meiotic segregation.
Selected References
Ballard, H. E., Jr. and H. H. Iltis. 2012. Viola lilliputana sp. nov. (Viola sect. Andinium, Violaceae), one of the world’s smallest violets, from the Andes of Peru. Brittonia 64: 353-358.
Wahlert, G. A. and H. E. Ballard, Jr. 2012. A chloroplast phylogeny of Rinorea (Violaceae) with an emphasis on the African and Malagasy species. Systematic Botany 37: 964-973.
Donnell, A., P. D. Cantino, and H. E. Ballard, Jr. 2012. Callianthe (Malvaceae): A new genus of Neotropical Malveae. Systematic Botany 37: 712-722.
Keene, J., H. E. Ballard, Jr., and J. L. Clark. 2012. Two new species of Monopyle (Gesneriaceae) from northern Ecuador. Journal of the Botanical Research Institute of Texas 5: 513-520.
Marcussen, T., K. S. Jakobsen, J. Danihelka, H. E. Ballard, K. Blaxland, A. K. Brysting, and B. Oxelman. 2012 [“2011”]. Inferring species networks from gene trees in high-polyploid North American and Hawaiian violets (Viola, Violaceae). Systematic Biology 60: 1-20.
Ballard, H. E., A. C. Cortes-Palomec, M. Feng, Y. Wang, and S. Wyatt. 2011. The chasmogamous/cleistogamous mixed breeding system, a widespread and evolutionarily successful reproductive strategy in angiosperms. In: Thangadurai, D., C. A. Busso, and M. Hijri (eds.), Frontiers in biodiversity studies. Bioscience Publications, Agrobios, India. Pp. 16-41.
Havran, J. C., H. E. Ballard, and K. J. Sytsma. 2009. Evolutionary relationships, interisland biogeography, and molecular evolution in the Hawaiian violets (Viola: Violaceae). American Journal of Botany 96: 2087-2099.
Wahlert, G. A. and H. E. Ballard, Jr. 2009. A new zygomorphic-flowered Rinorea (Violaceae) from the Neotropics. Brittonia 19: 416-420.
Spooner, D. M., F. Rodriguez, Z. Polgar, H. E. Ballard, Jr., and S. H. Jansky. 2008. Genomic origins of potato polyploids: GBSSI gene sequencing data. The Plant Genome 48(suppl. 1): S27-S36.