Arnebolagus, the oldest eulagomorph, and phylogenetic relationships within the Eocene Eulagomorpha new clade (Mammalia, Duplicidentata)

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Alexey V. Lopatin ◽  
Alexander O. Averianov

Abstract Arnebolagus leporinus Lopatin and Averianov, 2008, known previously from a single tooth (P3) from the early Eocene Bumban Member of Naran Bulak Formation at Tsagan-Khushu locality in Mongolia, is redescribed based on additional specimens from the type locality. Phylogenetic relationships of Eocene stem lagomorphs from Asia and North America are reconstructed for the first time based on a parsimony analysis of 54 morphological characters and 32 taxa. Two new node-based clades are proposed, stemming from the most-recent common ancestor of Lepus Linnaeus, 1758 and Dawsonolagus Li, Meng, and Wang, 2007 (Eulagomorpha new clade, ‘lagomorphs of the modern aspect’) and from the most-recent common ancestor of Lepus and Gobiolagus Burke, 1941 (Epilagomorpha new clade). Arnebolagus Lopatin and Averianov, 2008 is geologically oldest and the most plesiomorphic eulagomorph, similar to Dawsonolagus from the early Eocene Arshanto Formation of China in its weakly pronounced, unilateral hypsodonty of the upper cheek teeth and its brachyodont lower cheek teeth with separate roots. Arnebolagus is more plesiomorphic than Dawsonolagus in having two roots of P4. Arnebolagus is the oldest known eulagomorph, the only taxon known from the earliest Eocene Bumbanian Asiatic Land Mammal Age (ALMA). The other Asiatic early Eocene eulagomorphs (Dawsonolagus, Aktashmys Averianov, 1994, and Romanolagus Shevyreva, 1995) come from the Arshantan ALMA.

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-64
Author(s):  
A.R. McTaggart ◽  
C.J. Prychid ◽  
J.J. Bruhl ◽  
R.G. Shivas

The PhyloCode is used to classify taxa based on their relation to a most recent common ancestor as recovered from a phylogenetic analysis. We examined the first specimen of Cintractiella (Ustilaginomycotina) collected from Australia and determined its systematic relationship to other Fungi. Three ribosomal DNA loci were analysed both with and without constraint to a phylogenomic hypothesis of the Ustilaginomycotina. Cintractiella did not share a most recent common ancestor with other orders of smut fungi. We used the PhyloCode to define the Cintractiellales, a monogeneric order with four species of Cintractiella, including C. scirpodendri sp. nov. on Scirpodendron ghaeri. The Cintractiellales may have shared a most recent common ancestor with the Malasseziomycetes, but are otherwise unresolved at the rank of class.


2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
David H Hamilton

Our method for “Time to most recent common ancestor” TMRCA of genetic trees for the first time deals with natural selection by apriori mathematics and not as a random factor. Bioprocesses such as “kin selection” generate a few overrepresented “singular lineages” while almost all other lineages terminate. This non-uniform branching gives greatly exaggerated TMRCA with current methods. Thus we introduce an inhomogenous stochastic process which will detect singular lineages by asymmetries, whose “reduction” then gives true TMRCA. This gives a new phylogenetic method for computing mutation rates, with results similar to “pedigree” (meiosis) data. Despite these low rates, reduction implies younger TMRCA, with smaller errors. We establish accuracy by a comparison across a wide range of time, indeed this is only y-clock giving consistent results for 500-15,000 ybp. In particular we show that the dominant European Y-haplotypes R1a1a & R1b1a2, expand from c4000BC, not reaching Anatolia before c3800BC. This contradicts previous clocks dating R1b1a2 to either the Neolithic Near East or Paleo-Europe. However our dates match R1a1a & R1b1a2 found in Yamnaya cemetaries of c3300BC by Nielsen et al (2015), Pääbo et al(2015), together proving R1a1a & R1b1a2 originates in the Russian Steppes.


Zootaxa ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 4329 (1) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
YURI G. ARZANOV ◽  
VASILY V. GREBENNIKOV

We summarize knowledge of the weevil tribe Cleonini worldwide, including its monophyly, relationships, distribution, biology, immature stages, economic significance and paleontology. We score adult morphological characters for 79 of a total of 96 extant genus-group Cleonini taxa considered valid to date. The resulting matrix contains 121 parsimoniously informative characters scored for 145 ingroup (Cleonini) and 29 outgroup terminals. Maximum Parsimony (MP) and Bayesian Inference (BI) analyses consistently recover monophyletic Lixinae and Cleonini. Relationships within the latter remain unresolved with either 47 (BI) or 37 (MP) branches radiating from the tribe’s most recent common ancestor. Most of the speciose genera of Cleonini emerge as monophyletic in both BI and MP analyses (generic names followed by the number of terminals, then by BI posterior probability / MP bootstrap): Adosomus (5, 94/77), Asproparthenis (6, 99/98), Chromonotus (6, 98/85), Cleonis (3, 64/76), Coniocleonus (10, 95/41), Conorhynchus (5, 95/51), Cyphoclenus (4, 65/76), Maximus (4, 84/68), Mecaspis (4, 95/91), Scaphomorphus (4, 90/84), Temnorhinus (8, 99/62) and Xanthochelus (6, 84/71). The genera Pseudocleonus (6, -/26) and Stephanocleonus (22, -/23) are not recovered in BI and weakly supported in MP. No genera are here added to, or removed from, Cleonini. We suggest that adult morphology of Cleonini was subject to widespread homoplasy obscuring the phylogenetic signal of morphological characters. Unlike the rest of Lixinae, all extant Cleonini are hypothesised to be flightless, even though often being macropterous. All 145 ingroup terminals are illustrated in three standard views; images of the type species of 15 of the 17 genus-group taxa that are not represented in our analysis are provided. 


2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
David H Hamilton

Our method for ``Time to most recent common ancestor'' TMRCA of genetic trees for the first time deals with natural selection by apriori mathematics and not as a random factor. Bioprocesses such as ``kin selection'' generate a few overrepresented ``singular lineages'' while almost all other lineages terminate. This non-uniform branching gives greatly exaggerated TMRCA with current methods. Thus we introduce an inhomogenous stochastic process which will detect singular lineages by asymmetries, whose ``reduction'' then gives true TMRCA. Reduction implies younger TMRCA, with smaller errors. This gives a new phylogenetic method for computing mutation rates, with results similar to ``pedigree'' (meiosis) data. Despite these low rates, reduction implies younger TMRCA, with smaller errors. We establish accuracy by a comparison across a wide range of time, indeed this is only y-clock giving consistent results for 500-15,000 ybp. In particular we show that the dominant European y-haplotypes R1a1a $\& $ R1b1a2, expand from c3700BC, not reaching Anatolia before c3300BC. This contradicts current clocks dating R1b1a2 to either the Neolithic Near East or Paleo-Europe. However our dates match R1a1a $\& $ R1b1a2 found in Yamnaya cemetaries of c3300BC by Svante P\"{a}\"{a}bo et al, together proving R1a1a $\& $ R1b1a2 originates in the Russian Steppes.


PhytoKeys ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 135 ◽  
pp. 91-104 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ke Tan ◽  
Hai-Lei Zheng ◽  
Shu-Peng Dong ◽  
Ming-Xun Ren

Hiptage is an Asia-endemic genus of Malpighiaceae currently placed in the tetrapteroid clade, representing one of the seven inter-continent dispersions from New to Old World. A molecular phylogeny based on sequences of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region was recovered for the first time for the genus. Our results showed that the most recent common ancestor of Hiptage probably originated in the South Indo-China Peninsula and diversified in this region. Based on phylogenetic evidence and relevant morphological traits, we propose a new species; Hiptage incurvatum is characterised by mericarps with arcuate anterior lateral wings, two large glands on the dorsal sepals, and small glands on the remaining sepals. The new species is from Mt. Cangshan, Dali City (25°35'N, 100°02'E) in North Yunnan, Southwest China and is notable for its occurrence at high altitude, 1400 m (the highest distribution currently known for the genus). The implications of this unusual species for the dispersal and evolution of the genus are discussed.


1992 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 297-297
Author(s):  
Heyo Van Iten

Phylogenetic relationships among the cnidarian classes Anthozoa, Hydrozoa and Scyphozoa, and between Cnidaria and other metazoan phyla, continue to be subject to widely divergent interpretations. Also controversial are the affinities of numerous fossil groups, including Byronia Bischoff, Sphenothallus Hall and conulariids, that have been interpreted as extinct cnidarians. Currently favored interpretations of evolution within Cnidaria are generally consistent with one of two alternative hypotheses of phylogenetic relationships: scyphozoans and anthozoans are members of a monophylclic group that excludes hydrozoans; or scyphozoans and hydrozoans are members of a monophyletic group that excludes anthozoans. Putative anthozoan-scyphozoan synapomorphies include (1) gastric septa present; (2) cnidae present in both ectoderm and gastroderm; (3) sex cells gastrodermal; and (4) mesoglea contains amoeboid cells. Putative hydrozoan-scyphozoan synapomorphies include (1) medusa present; (2) tetraradial symmetry; (3) rhopaloid nematocysts; and (4) similarities in sperm structure.Evaluation of alternative hypotheses of relationships within Cnidaria is complicated by uncertainty surrounding relationships between this and other metazoan phyla. While some investigators have interpreted Cnidaria and Ctenophora as members of a monophyletic group that excludes other phyla, others have argued that ctenophorans are more closely related to platyhelminths than they are to cnidarians. Putative cnidarian-ctenophoran synapomorphies include (1) production of cells modified for prey capture; and (2) presence of a medusa. Putative ctenophoran-platyhelminth synapomorphies include (1) presence of gonoducts; (2) ciliated cells with several to many cilia; (3) determinate cleavage; and (4) muscle cells developed from mesoderm. Comparisons of these and other phyla indicate that the strongest hypotheses of synapomorphy are those between cnidarians and ctenophorans. Ctenophorans do not have a mesoderm, and they lack complex reproductive structures that can be homologized with platyhelminth gonoducts. Similarities between ctenophorans and platyhelminths in ciliation and cleavage type are either non-homologous or shared primitive. The most recent common ancestor of ctenophorans and cnidarians was probably a medusa-like animal with circular and meridional muscle fibers and a non-septate digestive cavity having four radial canals. This cavity probably lacked cells specialized for prey capture, but glutinant prey-capture structures may have been present on tentacles. Sperm produced by this common ancestor were most similar to sperm of extant ctenophorans, hydrozoans and scyphozoans. Anatomical features unique to ctenophorans or cnidarians, regarded by some investigators as evidence against a close relationship between these two groups, are autapomorphies. These interpretations imply that putative hydrozoan-scyphozoan synapomorphies are actually shared primitive, and that the presence of gastric septa and cnidae-bearing gastric filaments in scyphozoans and anthozoans is shared derived. This would mean that the most parsimonious hypothesis of phylogenetic relationships within Cnidaria is that anthozoans and scyphozoans are members of a monophyletic group that excludes hydrozoans.Debate over relationships among these extant taxa has heightened interest in the affinities of prominent groups of problematic fossil cnidarians. Byronia Bischoff, Sphenothallus Hall and conulariids, all characterized by an apatitic, multilamellar theca, show detailed anatomical similarities to hydrozoans and/or scyphozoans. Putative synapomorphies linking Byronia and coronatid scyphozoans include the presence of multiple whorls of thorn-like nodes projecting into the thecal cavity, with each whorl consisting of eight nodes arranged in two sets of four nodes each. Sphenothallus, characterized by a pair of tentacles and, in some species, multiple branching, is most similar to hydrozoan and scyphozoan polyps, many of which are colonial or exhibit a single pair of tentacles early in their development. Similarities in hard- and soft-part anatomy between scyphozoans and conulariids suggest that conulariids, like scyphozoans, possessed four gastric septa and produced medusae through polydisc strobilation. Although conulariids have been interpreted as ancestral to extant cnidarians, they are more likely either a sister group to Scyphozoa or members of this class.


Genetics ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 150 (3) ◽  
pp. 1187-1198 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mikkel H Schierup ◽  
Xavier Vekemans ◽  
Freddy B Christiansen

Abstract Expectations for the time scale and structure of allelic genealogies in finite populations are formed under three models of sporophytic self-incompatibility. The models differ in the dominance interactions among the alleles that determine the self-incompatibility phenotype: In the SSIcod model, alleles act codominantly in both pollen and style, in the SSIdom model, alleles form a dominance hierarchy, and in SSIdomcod, alleles are codominant in the style and show a dominance hierarchy in the pollen. Coalescence times of alleles rarely differ more than threefold from those under gametophytic self-incompatibility, and transspecific polymorphism is therefore expected to be equally common. The previously reported directional turnover process of alleles in the SSIdomcod model results in coalescence times lower and substitution rates higher than those in the other models. The SSIdom model assumes strong asymmetries in allelic action, and the most recessive extant allele is likely to be the most recent common ancestor. Despite these asymmetries, the expected shape of the allele genealogies does not deviate markedly from the shape of a neutral gene genealogy. The application of the results to sequence surveys of alleles, including interspecific comparisons, is discussed.


Author(s):  
Wenjun Cheng ◽  
Tianjiao Ji ◽  
Shuaifeng Zhou ◽  
Yong Shi ◽  
Lili Jiang ◽  
...  

AbstractEchovirus 6 (E6) is associated with various clinical diseases and is frequently detected in environmental sewage. Despite its high prevalence in humans and the environment, little is known about its molecular phylogeography in mainland China. In this study, 114 of 21,539 (0.53%) clinical specimens from hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) cases collected between 2007 and 2018 were positive for E6. The complete VP1 sequences of 87 representative E6 strains, including 24 strains from this study, were used to investigate the evolutionary genetic characteristics and geographical spread of E6 strains. Phylogenetic analysis based on VP1 nucleotide sequence divergence showed that, globally, E6 strains can be grouped into six genotypes, designated A to F. Chinese E6 strains collected between 1988 and 2018 were found to belong to genotypes C, E, and F, with genotype F being predominant from 2007 to 2018. There was no significant difference in the geographical distribution of each genotype. The evolutionary rate of E6 was estimated to be 3.631 × 10-3 substitutions site-1 year-1 (95% highest posterior density [HPD]: 3.2406 × 10-3-4.031 × 10-3 substitutions site-1 year-1) by Bayesian MCMC analysis. The most recent common ancestor of the E6 genotypes was traced back to 1863, whereas their common ancestor in China was traced back to around 1962. A small genetic shift was detected in the Chinese E6 population size in 2009 according to Bayesian skyline analysis, which indicated that there might have been an epidemic around that year.


Genetics ◽  
1999 ◽  
Vol 151 (3) ◽  
pp. 1217-1228 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carsten Wiuf ◽  
Jotun Hein

Abstract In this article we discuss the ancestry of sequences sampled from the coalescent with recombination with constant population size 2N. We have studied a number of variables based on simulations of sample histories, and some analytical results are derived. Consider the leftmost nucleotide in the sequences. We show that the number of nucleotides sharing a most recent common ancestor (MRCA) with the leftmost nucleotide is ≈log(1 + 4N Lr)/4Nr when two sequences are compared, where L denotes sequence length in nucleotides, and r the recombination rate between any two neighboring nucleotides per generation. For larger samples, the number of nucleotides sharing MRCA with the leftmost nucleotide decreases and becomes almost independent of 4N Lr. Further, we show that a segment of the sequences sharing a MRCA consists in mean of 3/8Nr nucleotides, when two sequences are compared, and that this decreases toward 1/4Nr nucleotides when the whole population is sampled. A measure of the correlation between the genealogies of two nucleotides on two sequences is introduced. We show analytically that even when the nucleotides are separated by a large genetic distance, but share MRCA, the genealogies will show only little correlation. This is surprising, because the time until the two nucleotides shared MRCA is reciprocal to the genetic distance. Using simulations, the mean time until all positions in the sample have found a MRCA increases logarithmically with increasing sequence length and is considerably lower than a theoretically predicted upper bound. On the basis of simulations, it turns out that important properties of the coalescent with recombinations of the whole population are reflected in the properties of a sample of low size.


Botany ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 91 (9) ◽  
pp. 605-613 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudia Ciotir ◽  
Chris Yesson ◽  
Joanna Freeland

Understanding the spatial distribution of genetic diversity and its evolutionary history is an essential part of developing effective biodiversity management plans. This may be particularly true when considering the value of peripheral or disjunct populations. Although conservation decisions are often made with reference to geopolitical boundaries, many policy-makers also consider global distributions, and therefore a species’ global status may temper its regional status. Many disjunct populations can be found in the Great Lakes region of North America, including those of Bartonia paniculata subsp. paniculata, a species that has been designated as threatened in Canada but globally secure. We compared chloroplast sequences between disjunct (Canada) and core (USA) populations of B. paniculata subsp. paniculata separated by 600 km, which is the minimum distance between disjunct and core populations in this subspecies. We found that although lineages within the disjunct populations shared a relatively recent common ancestor, the genetic divergence between plants from Ontario and New Jersey was substantially greater than expected for a consubspecific comparison. A coalescence-based analysis dated the most recent common ancestor of the Canadian and US populations at approximately 534 000 years ago with the lower confidence estimate at 226 000 years ago. This substantially predates the Last Glacial Maximum and suggests that disjunct and core populations have followed independent evolutionary trajectories throughout multiple glacial–interglacial cycles. Our findings provide important insight into the diverse processes that have resulted in numerous disjunct species in the Great Lakes region and highlight a need for additional work on Canadian B. paniculata subsp. paniculata taxonomy prior to a reevaluation of its conservation value.


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