Taxonomy and phylogeny of Nitella (Charophyceae, Characeae) from Brazil with emphasis on the midwest and southeast regions

Phytotaxa ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 356 (3) ◽  
pp. 181
Author(s):  
FABIO RENATO BORGES ◽  
ORLANDO NECCHI JR

The genus Nitella is the most species-rich within the Charales. Brazilian studies on the genus are relatively scarce and consist of floristic surveys, lacking modern and more precise information. This investigation applied scanning electron microscopy to analyze the oospore wall and molecular data associated with traditional morphological characters to analyze forty-two populations of Nitella from the midwest and southeast regions of Brazil. Forty-two new sequences of rbcL, twelve of ITS1 and twenty-three of ITS2 were generated for the five species recognized in this study: Nitella acuminata A. Braun ex Wallman, Nitella axillaris A. Braun, Nitella elegans B. P. Pal, Nitella flagellifera J. Groves & G. O. Allen and Nitella microcarpa A. Braun.. Phylogenetic analyses of sequences of these three markers were congruent in that they grouped our species with others from different countries to form five clades. Our results on ultrastrucure of the oospore wall were consistent with previous studies for the same species from other regions of the world. The data reinforced the conclusion that the use of ornamentation of oospore wall may be extremely useful for the construction of a natural system for Characeae at section level. Molecular evidence, reinforced by morphological data, for the Brazilian material analyzed suggests that Nitella subglomerata A. Braun and Nitella gollmeriana A. Braun could be synonymys of Nitella acuminata; and Nitella axilliformis K. Imahori appears to be the same as Nitella axillaris. However, no formal proposition was made considering that type specimens were not analyzed and these observations were based on a relatively small number of samples strictly from Brazil. We showed that even among geographically distant populations, such as from other continents, of some Nitella species, the degree of identity among DNA sequences was high.

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.


2021 ◽  
Vol 307 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Pau Carnicero ◽  
Núria Garcia-Jacas ◽  
Llorenç Sáez ◽  
Theophanis Constantinidis ◽  
Mercè Galbany-Casals

AbstractThe eastern Mediterranean basin hosts a remarkably high plant diversity. Historical connections between currently isolated areas across the Aegean region and long-distance dispersal events have been invoked to explain current distribution patterns of species. According to most recent treatments, at least two Cymbalaria species occur in this area, Cymbalaria microcalyx and C. longipes. The former comprises several intraspecific taxa, treated at different ranks by different authors based on morphological data, evidencing the need of a taxonomic revision. Additionally, some populations of C. microcalyx show exclusive morphological characters that do not match any described taxon. Here, we aim to shed light on the systematics of eastern Mediterranean Cymbalaria and to propose a classification informed by various sources of evidence. We performed molecular phylogenetic analyses using ITS, 3’ETS, ndhF and rpl32-trnL sequences and estimated the ploidy level of some taxa performing relative genome size measures. Molecular data combined with morphology support the division of traditionally delimited C. microcalyx into C. acutiloba, C. microcalyx and C. minor, corresponding to well-delimited nrDNA lineages. Furthermore, we propose to combine C. microcalyx subsp. paradoxa at the species level. A group of specimens previously thought to belong to Cymbalaria microcalyx constitute a well-defined phylogenetic and morphological entity and are described here as a new species, Cymbalaria spetae. Cymbalaria longipes is non-monophyletic, but characterized by being glabrous and diploid, unlike other eastern species. The nrDNA data suggest at least two dispersals from the mainland to the Aegean Islands, potentially facilitated by marine regressions.


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.


2015 ◽  
Vol 29 (6) ◽  
pp. 591 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marco Gebiola ◽  
Antonio P. Garonna ◽  
Umberto Bernardo ◽  
Sergey A. Belokobylskij

Doryctinae (Hymenoptera : Braconidae) is a large and diverse subfamily of parasitic wasps that has received much attention recently, with new species and genera described and phylogenies based on morphological and/or molecular data that have improved higher-level classification and species delimitation. However, the status of several genera is still unresolved, if not controversial. Here we focus on two related groups of such genera, Dendrosoter Wesmael–Caenopachys Foerster and Ecphylus Foerster–Sycosoter Picard & Lichtenstein. We integrated morphological and molecular (COI and 28S–D2 genes) evidence to highlight, by phylogenetic analyses (maximum likelihood and Bayesian) and a posteriori morphological examination, previously overlooked variation, which is here illustrated and discussed. Monophyly of Dendrosoter and Caenopachys and the presence of synapomorphic morphological characters support synonymy of Caenopachys under Dendrosoter. Low genetic differentiation and high variability for putatively diagnostic morphological characters found in both C. hartigii (Ratzeburg) and C. caenopachoides (Ruschka) supports synonymy of D. caenopachoides under D. hartigii, syn. nov. Morphological and molecular evidence together also indicate independent generic status for Sycosoter, stat. rev., which is here resurrected. This work represents a further advancement in the framework of the ongoing effort to improve systematics and classification of the subfamily Doryctinae.


Phytotaxa ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 302 (2) ◽  
pp. 101 ◽  
Author(s):  
FABIO RENATO BORGES ◽  
ORLANDO NECCHI JR

South American studies on the genus Chara are relatively scarce, most consisting of floristic surveys and using only traditional morphological characters. This study is a first approach to the systematics of the genus Chara applying modern techniques (DNA sequences and oospore SEM analyses) in addition to the alpha-taxonomy investigations that have been conducted in Brazil. Twelve populations of Chara were analyzed from the midwest and southeast regions of Brazil. Sequences of three molecular markers were applied to infer phylogenies. The ultrastructure of the oospore wall and currently used morphological characters were analyzed for Chara populations. Maximum likelihood and Bayesian analyses of sequences of rbcL, ITS2, and matK were congruent in that they grouped the species in six clades, each representing one species: Chara braunii C.C. Gmelin, C. foliolosa C.L.Willdenow, C. guairensis R.Bicudo, C. haitensis M.P.J.F. Turpin, C. hydropitys H. Reichenbach and C. rusbyana M. Howe. Morphological characters, including ultrastructure of oospore wall, provided good evidences to characterize each species. Molecular data supported the recent view that some traditional infra-generic taxa (e.g. subgenus Charopsis and subsection Willdenowia) are not supported in phylogenetic analyses, whereas some species (e.g. C. foliolosa, C. haitensis, C. hydropitys and C. rusbyana previously considered as varieties and forms of C. zeylanica) were consistently distinguished in the analyses for the three molecular markers.


PeerJ ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. e5783 ◽  
Author(s):  
María Capa ◽  
Torkild Bakken ◽  
Karin Meißner ◽  
Arne Nygren

BackgroundLong-bodied sphaerodorids (Annelida, Sphaerodoridae) is the common name for members of the three closely and morphologically homogenous currently accepted genera of benthic marine bristle worms:Ephesiella,EphesiopsisandSphaerodorum. Members of this group share the presence of two dorsal and longitudinal rows of macrotubercles with terminal papillae, and two longitudinal rows of microtubercles, features that are unique among sphaerodorids. Genera are distinguished by the chaetae morphology. Members ofEphesiellaare characterised by having compound chaetae (except, sometimes, simple chaetae in the first chaetigers),Sphaerodorumbear only simple chaetae, andEphesiopsishave both compound and simple chaetae in all parapodia.MethodsMitochondrial (partial COI and 16S rDNA) and nuclear (partial 18S rDNA and 28S rDNA) sequence data of long-bodied sphaerodorids with compound and simple chaetae, and an outgroup of additional seven sphaerodorid species were analysed separately and in combination using Bayesian inference (BA), and Maximum Likelihood (ML) methods. Long-bodied sphaerodorids from around the world (including type specimens) were examined under a range of optical equipment in order to evaluate putative generic and specific diagnostic features, in addition to intraspecific variability.ResultsPhylogenetic analyses of mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequences of specimens identified asEphesiellaandSphaerodorum,based on chaeta morphology, were performed.SphaerodorumandEphesiellawere recovered as paraphyletic and nested within each other. Revision of current nominal species diagnostic features are performed and discussed.DiscussionResults contradict current generic definitions. Recovery of paraphyletic compound and simple chaetae clades urge the synonymization of these two genera of long-bodied sphaerodorids. Morphological data also suggest the synonymization ofEphesiopsis.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robin M. D. Beck ◽  
Robert Voss ◽  
Sharon Jansa

The current literature on marsupial phylogenetics includes numerous studies based on analyses of morphological data with relatively limited sampling of Recent and fossil taxa, and many studies based on analyses of molecular data that include a dense sampling of Recent taxa, but relatively few that combine both data types. Another dichotomy in the marsupial phylogenetic literature is between studies that focus on New World taxa, others that focus on Sahulian taxa. To date, there has been no attempt to assess the phylogenetic relationships of the global marsupial fauna, based on combined analyses of morphology and molecular sequences, for a dense sampling of Recent and fossil taxa. For this report, we compiled morphological and molecular data from an unprecedented number of Recent and fossil marsupials. Our morphological data consist of 180 craniodental characters that we scored for 97 species representing every currently recognized Recent genus, 42 additional ingroup (crown-clade marsupial) taxa represented by well-preserved fossils, and 5 outgroups (non-marsupial metatherians). Our molecular data comprise 24.5 kb of DNA sequences from whole-mitochondrial genomes and six nuclear loci (APOB, BRCA1, GHR, RAG1, RBP3 and VWF) for 97 marsupial terminals (the same Recent taxa scored for craniodental morphology) and several placental and monotreme outgroups. The results of separate and combined analyses of these data using a wide range of phylogenetic methods support many currently accepted hypotheses of ingroup (marsupial) relationships, but they also underscore the difficulty of placing fossils with key missing data (e.g., †Evolestes), and the unique difficulty of placing others that exhibit mosaics of plesiomorphic and autapomorphic traits (e.g., †Yalkaparidon). Unique contributions of our study are (1) critical discussions and illustrations of marsupial craniodental morphology, including descriptions and illustrations of some features never previously coded for phylogenetic analysis; (2) critical assessments of relative support for many suprageneric clades; (3) estimates of divergence times derived from tip-and-node dating based on uniquely taxon-dense analyses; and (4) a revised, higher-order classification of marsupials accompanied by lists of supporting craniodental synapomorphies. Far from the last word on these topics, this report lays the foundation for future research that may be enabled by the discovery of new fossil taxa, better-preserved material of previously described taxa, novel morphological characters, and improved methods of phylogenetic analysis.


Phytotaxa ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 328 (2) ◽  
pp. 175
Author(s):  
YUAN YUAN ◽  
LU-LU SHEN

A new polypore, Rhodonia tianshanensis, collected from West Tianshan Nature Reserve in Xinjiang Autonomous Region (northwest China), is described and illustrated based on morphological characteristics and molecular evidence. It is characterized by having resupinate basidiomata with an oblique tube layer, fusoid cystidioles in the hymenium, and cylindrical basidiospores. Based on multiple loci DNA sequences including the internal transcribed spacer (ITS), the large subunit (nLSU), and the second subunit of RNA polymerase II (RPB2) regions, our phylogeny strongly supported R. tianshanensis as a new species belonging to the genus Rhodonia.


Phytotaxa ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 437 (2) ◽  
pp. 51-59
Author(s):  
QIAN-XIN GUAN ◽  
CHAO-MAO LIU ◽  
TANG-JIE ZHAO ◽  
CHANG-LIN ZHAO

A new wood-inhabiting fungal species, Heteroradulum yunnanensis, is proposed based on a combination of morphological features and molecular evidence. The species is characterized by an annual growth habit, resupinate basidiomata with odontoid hymenial surface (50–100 µm long), more or less pronounced yellow stains in older basidiomata, a monomitic hyphal system with thin-walled, clamped generative hyphae and two to three-celled basidia and cylindrical, hyaline, thin-walled, smooth, IKI–, CB– basidiospores measuring as 17–24 ×5–8 µm. Sequences of ITS and LSU nrRNA gene regions of the studied samples were generated, and phylogenetic analyses were performed with maximum likelihood, maximum parsimony and bayesian inference methods. The phylogenetic analyses based on molecular data of ITS+nLSU sequences showed that Heteroradulum yunnanensis formed a monophyletic lineage with a strong support (100% BS, 100% BP, 1.00 BPP) and then grouped with H. adnatum.


Phytotaxa ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 373 (3) ◽  
pp. 184 ◽  
Author(s):  
SHAN SHEN ◽  
XIANG MA ◽  
TAI-MIN XU ◽  
CHANG-LIN ZHAO

A new wood-inhabiting fungus, Phlebia ailaoshanensis, is proposed based on a combination of morphological features and molecular evidence. The species is characterized by an annual growth habit, resupinate basidiocarps with tuberculate to phlebioid hymenial surface, a monomitic hyphal system with slightly thick-walled generative hyphae bearing simple septa, IKI–, CB– and ellipsoid, hyaline, thin-walled, smooth, IKI–, CB– basidiospores measuring as 5.7–8.5 × 3–4.3 µm. Sequences of ITS and LSU nrRNA gene regions of the studied samples were generated, and phylogenetic analyses were performed with maximum likelihood, maximum parsimony and bayesian inference methods. The phylogenetic analyses based on molecular data of ITS+nLSU sequences showed that P. ailaoshanensis belonged to the Meruliaceae and nested into the phlebioid clade. Further investigation was obtained for more representative taxa in the Phlebia based on ITS+nLSU sequences, in which the result demonstrated that the species P. ailaoshanensis formed a monophyletic lineage with a strong support (100% BS, 100% BP, 1.00 BPP) and then grouped with P. acanthocystis, P. chrysocreas, P. ludoviciana, P. subcretacea and P. uda.


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