scholarly journals Phylogenetics of extant and fossil Pinaceae: methods for increasing topological stability

Botany ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 94 (9) ◽  
pp. 863-884 ◽  
Author(s):  
David S. Gernandt ◽  
Garth Holman ◽  
Christopher Campbell ◽  
Matthew Parks ◽  
Sarah Mathews ◽  
...  

Relationships of living and fossil Pinaceae were inferred using parsimony and Bayesian inference of morphological characters and plastid and nuclear DNA sequences. When considering extant taxa only, adding molecular to morphological characters resulted in markedly increased resolution and branch support compared with analysis of morphology alone. Including 45 fossil taxa resulted in drastically decreased resolution in morphology-based consensus trees. We evaluated the effect on branch support and resolution of including DNA sequences, deleting fossils lacking information for cone scale apices and seeds, using reduced consensus methods, and using implied weighting, and found that the greatest improvements were found by including DNA sequences and using implied weighting. The tree topologies from parsimony and Bayesian inference confirm previous findings that the fossil genus Pseudoaraucaria and a few species of Pityostrobus from the Lower Cretaceous are related to abietoid genera, and that other species of Pityostrobus are pinoid and closely related to Pinus. Focusing phylogenetic analyses on the most complete fossil cones, specifically those that are anatomically preserved and include both cone scale apices and seeds, and taking into account homoplasy, resulted in the clearest hypotheses for the timing and sequence of diversification in the family.

2004 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-35 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heidi L. ANDERSEN ◽  
Stefan EKMAN

The phylogeny of the Micareaceae and the genus Micarea Fr. was studied using 39 nuclear small subunit ribosomal DNA sequences. Phylogenetic analyses were carried out using maximum parsimony, maximum likelihood, and Bayesian inference. A confidence set of trees was estimated using expected likelihood weights to investigate a series of hypotheses of monophyly. Tree topologies were very similar between methods and differed only in the placement of a few poorly supported branches. The results indicate that the Micareaceae in its current circumscription belongs in the Lecanorales, but that it is not monophyletic. Psilolechia, Micarea with a ‘non-micareoid’ photobiont, Micarea sensu stricto and Byssoloma form a paraphyletic grade in this study. Micarea sensu stricto and Byssoloma (Pilocarpaceae) form a strongly supported monophyletic group, which constitutes the sister group to the Bacidiaceae. Scoliciosporum A. Massal has sometimes been considered close to Micarea, but no support was found for that hypothesis.


2012 ◽  
Vol 279 (1737) ◽  
pp. 2396-2401 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachunliu G. Kamei ◽  
Diego San Mauro ◽  
David J. Gower ◽  
Ines Van Bocxlaer ◽  
Emma Sherratt ◽  
...  

The limbless, primarily soil-dwelling and tropical caecilian amphibians (Gymnophiona) comprise the least known order of tetrapods. On the basis of unprecedented extensive fieldwork, we report the discovery of a previously overlooked, ancient lineage and radiation of caecilians from threatened habitats in the underexplored states of northeast India. Molecular phylogenetic analyses of mitogenomic and nuclear DNA sequences, and comparative cranial anatomy indicate an unexpected sister-group relationship with the exclusively African family Herpelidae. Relaxed molecular clock analyses indicate that these lineages diverged in the Early Cretaceous, about 140 Ma. The discovery adds a major branch to the amphibian tree of life and sheds light on both the evolution and biogeography of caecilians and the biotic history of northeast India—an area generally interpreted as a gateway between biodiversity hotspots rather than a distinct biogeographic unit with its own ancient endemics. Because of its distinctive morphology, inferred age and phylogenetic relationships, we recognize the newly discovered caecilian radiation as a new family of modern amphibians.


Phytotaxa ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 427 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-42
Author(s):  
LEI SHU ◽  
RUI-LIANG ZHU

Based on molecular phylogenetic analyses and morphological characters, a new species from Bangladesh, northern Vietnam, and southwestern China, Leptolejeunea nigra, is described. It is mostly similar to L. balansae but remarkable for having brownish black ocelli in its leaf lobes. In the molecular phylogeny, the samples of L. nigra are not nested within any clade and form an independent lineage. In particular, the molecular dating suggested that the divergence of L. nigra happened in time span of the formation of the Himalayas.


The Auk ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 119 (3) ◽  
pp. 695-714 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. J. Lovette ◽  
E. Bermingham

AbstractThe wood-warblers (family Parulidae) fall within a radiation of passerine birds commonly known as the New World nine-primaried oscines. Defining familial relationships within that radiation has previously been challenging because of its extremely high diversity, a paucity of phylogenetically informative morphological characters, and an apparent high rate of cladogenesis early in the radiation's history. Here, analyses of mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequences demonstrate that the 25 extant genera traditionally placed in the Parulidae do not form a monophyletic group. Instead, all reconstructions identify a well-resolved clade of 19 genera (Vermivora, Parula, Dendroica, Catharopeza, Mniotilta, Setophaga, Protonotaria, Helmitheros, Limnothlypis, Seiurus, Oporornis, Geothlypis, Wilsonia, Cardellina, Ergaticus, Myioborus, Euthlypis, Basileuterus, and Phaeothlypis) that are all morphologically typical wood-warblers traditionally placed in the Parulidae. Six genera traditionally assigned to the Parulidae—Microligea, Teretistris, Zeledonia, Icteria, Granatellus, and Xenoligea—fall outside this highly supported clade in all mtDNA-based and nuclear DNA-based reconstructions, and each is probably more closely allied to taxa traditionally placed in other nine-primaried oscine families. The long, well-supported, and independently confirmed internode at the base of this wood-warbler clade provides the opportunity to define a monophyletic Parulidae using several complementary molecular phylogenetic criteria. Support for those relationships comes from reconstructions based on a range of nucleotide-intensive (from 894 to 3,638 nucleotides per taxon) and taxon-intensive (45 to 128 species) analyses of mtDNA sequences, as well as independent reconstructions based on nucleotide substitutions in the nuclear-encoded c-mos gene. Furthermore, the 19 typical wood-warbler genera share a synapomorphic one-codon c-mos deletion not found in other passerines. At a slightly deeper phylogenetic level, our mtDNA-based reconstructions are consistent with previous morphologic and genetic studies in suggesting that many nine-primaried oscine taxa have unanticipated affinities, that many lineages arose during an early and explosive period of cladogenesis, and that the generation of a robust nine-primaried oscine phylogeny will require robust taxonomic sampling and extensive phylogenetic information.


Phytotaxa ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 432 (2) ◽  
pp. 111-118
Author(s):  
LU CHEN ◽  
ZHENG-JUN SHI ◽  
CHUN-HUA WU ◽  
CHANG-LIN ZHAO

A new wood-inhabiting fungal species, Gloeodontia yunnanensis, is proposed based on a combination of morphological features and DNA data. The species is characterized by an annual, resupinate basidiomata with smooth hymenial surface, a monomitic hyphal system with thin-walled, clamped generative hyphae and obclavate cystidia and subglobose to globose, hyaline, thick-walled, asperulate, strongly amyloid, acyanophilous basidiospores measuring 3.3–4.3 × 2.5–3.5 µm. Sequences of ITS and 28S gene regions of the studied samples were generated and phylogenetic analyses were performed with Maximum Likelihood, Maximum Parsimony and Bayesian Inference methods. The analyses based on ITS+28S sequences showed that G. yunnanensis nested in the Gloeodontia clade and formed a monophyletic lineage with strong support (100% BS, 100% BP, 1.00 BPP).


2015 ◽  
Vol 46 (3) ◽  
pp. 269-290 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian J. Kitching ◽  
C. Lorna Culverwell ◽  
Ralph E. Harbach

Lutzia Theobald was reduced to a subgenus of Culex in 1932 and was treated as such until it was restored to its original generic status in 2003, based mainly on modifications of the larvae for predation. Previous phylogenetic studies based on morphological and molecular data have provided conflicting support for the generic status of Lutzia: analyses of morphological data support the generic status whereas analyses based on DNA sequences do not. Our previous phylogenetic analyses of Culicini (based on 169 morphological characters and 86 species representing the four genera and 26 subgenera of Culicini, most informal group taxa of subgenus Culex and five outgroup species from other tribes) seemed to indicate a conflict between adult and larval morphological data. Hence, we conducted a series of comparative and data exclusion analyses to determine whether the alternative positions of Lutzia are due to conflicting signal or to a lack of strong signal. We found that separate and combined analyses of adult and larval data support different patterns of relationships between Lutzia and other Culicini. However, the majority of conflicting clades are poorly supported and once these are removed from consideration, most of the topological disparity disappears, along with much of the resolution, suggesting that morphology alone does not have sufficiently strong signal to resolve the position of Lutzia. We critically examine the results of other phylogenetic studies of culicinine relationships and conclude that no morphological or molecular data set analysed in any study conducted to date has adequate signal to place Lutzia unequivocally with regard to other taxa in Culicini. Phylogenetic relationships observed thus far suggest that Lutzia is placed within Culex but further data and extended taxon sampling are required to confirm its position relative to Culex.


2017 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 317 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jesús A. Cruz-López ◽  
Oscar F. Francke

Systematic relationships among Laniatores have received considerable attention during the past few years. Many significant taxonomic changes have been proposed, particularly in the superfamily Gonyleptoidea. As part of this superfamily, the basalmost Stygnopsidae is the least known family. In order to propose the first total evidence phylogeny of the family, we produced four datasets: three molecular markers – partial nuclear 28S, mitochondrial ribosomal 16S, mitochondrial protein-encoding cytochrome c oxidase subunit I; and 72 morphological characters. With these data, we performed three different phylogenetic analyses: (1) Bayesian Inference with molecular data, and (2) Bayesian Inference and (3) Maximum Likelihood using combined data. Our results are congruent: a monophyletic Stygnopsidae subdivided into two major clades: Stygnopsinae and Karosinae, subfam. nov. The following genera are redefined: Stygnopsis, Hoplobunus and Serrobunus stat. rev. The following taxa are described: Iztlina venefica, gen. nov., sp. nov. and Tonalteca, gen. nov. Additionally, the following changes are proposed: Serrobunus queretarius (Šilhavý, 1974), comb. nov., Stygnopsis apoalensis (Goodnight & Goodnight, 1973), comb. nov., Stygnopsis mexicana (Roewer, 1915), comb. nov., Stygnopsis oaxacensis (Goodnight & Goodnight, 1973), comb. nov., and Tonalteca spinooculorum (Goodnight & Goodnight, 1973), comb. nov. We also discuss the status of the genera Isaeus stat. rev. and Mexotroglinus. Finally, we discuss the evolution of male genitalia and convergence of selected homoplastic diagnostic characters.


2014 ◽  
Vol 62 (8) ◽  
pp. 638 ◽  
Author(s):  
Farrokh Ghahremaninejad ◽  
Mehrshid Riahi ◽  
Melina Babaei ◽  
Faride Attar ◽  
Lütfi Behçet ◽  
...  

Verbascum is one of the main genera of Scrophulariaceae, but delimitation and phylogenetic relationships of this genus are unclear and have not yet been studied using DNA sequences. Here, using four selected molecular markers (nrDNA ITS and the plastid spacers trnS/G, psbA-trnH and trnY/T), we present a phylogeny of Verbascum and test previous infrageneric taxonomic hypotheses as well as its monophyly with respect to Scrophularia. We additionally discuss morphological variation and the utility of morphological characters as predictors of phylogenetic relationships. Our results show that while molecular data unambiguously support the circumscription of Verbascum inferred from morphology, they prove to be of limited utility in resolving infrageneric relationships, suggesting that Verbascum ‘s high species diversity is due to rapid and recent radiation. Our work provides phylogenetic estimation of the genus Verbascum using molecular data and can serve as a starting point for future investigations of Verbascum and relatives.


Phytotaxa ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 438 (4) ◽  
pp. 223-236
Author(s):  
BÁLINT DIMA ◽  
KARL SOOP

Cortinarius section Xenosmatae, originally based on solely morphological characters, was subsequently shown to contain phylogenetically distantly related species. The type species C. xenosma is a singleton, and this study aims to revise the other members of the section using combined molecular (nrDNA ITS and LSU) and morphological data. Based on phylogenetic analyses using RAxML, PhyML and Bayesian Inference and additional morphological features one new species (C. paraxenosma) and one new section (sect. Olorinati) are proposed. Furthermore sect. Carbonelli is extended and emended to include two former members of sect. Xenosmatae. A key to the species in New Zealand with xenosmatoid morphology is provided.


Zootaxa ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 2294 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-22 ◽  
Author(s):  
RAINER SONNENBERG ◽  
ECKHARD BUSCH

The phylogeny of the West African genus Archiaphyosemion was studied with mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequences. The results of the combined dataset presented here did not support a monophyletic group. After the exclusion of the type species of the genus, A. guineense, the remaining species form a well-supported monophyletic group. Based on these molecular results and supported by morphological data, we suggest a new name for this group, Nimbapanchax, new genus. Additionally, based on a recent collection in Guinea, two new Nimbapanchax species were described. The taxon Nimbapanchax leucopterygius, new species, is described for a nothobranchiid fish formerly misidentified as Archiaphyosemion maeseni (Poll, 1941). Nimbapanchax melanopterygius, new species, is described from the Mount Nimba region in southeastern Guinea. Both new Nimbapanchax species are clearly distinguished from their congeners by the coloration pattern of adult males. The results of the DNA data support the assumption based on color pattern and morphological characters that the new described species are sister taxa. The type of Aphyosemion maeseni Poll, 1941 was reexamined and transferred to the genus Epiplatys, a decision based on diagnostic morphological characters.


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