scholarly journals Phylogenetic position of Neotropical Bursera-specialist mistletoes: the evolution of deciduousness and succulent leaves in Psittacanthus (Loranthaceae)

2018 ◽  
Vol 96 (3) ◽  
pp. 443 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrés Ernesto Ortiz-Rodriguez ◽  
Eydi Yanina Guerrero ◽  
Juan Francisco Ornelas
Keyword(s):  
Phylogenetic Relationships ◽  
Evolutionary History ◽  
Morphological Evolution ◽  
Divergence Time ◽  
Molecular Dating ◽  
Phylogenetic Position ◽  
Long Time ◽  
History Of ◽  
Nuclear Its ◽  
Divergence Timing

<p><strong>Background:</strong> The phylogenetic relationships of the <em>Bursera</em>-host specialist <em>Psittacanthus nudus</em>, <em>P. palmeri </em>and <em>P. sonorae</em> (Loranthaceae) remain uncertain. These mistletoe species exhibit morphological and phenological innovations probably related to their dry habitats, so that determining their phylogenetic position is key to the understanding of factors associated with the morphological evolution within <em>Psittacanthus</em>.</p><p><strong>Questions:</strong> (1) Is the evolution of some morphological innovations in the <em>Bursera</em>-host specialists associated with the ecological conditions linked to host diversification? (2) Does time of diversification in both lineages coincide?<strong></strong></p><p><strong>Study species:</strong> Fourteen species of <em>Psittacanthus</em>.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Sequences of nuclear (ITS) and plastid (<em>trnL-trnF</em>) markers are analyzed with Bayesian inference, maximum likelihood and maximum parsimony methods, and molecular dating under a Bayesian approach estimated to elucidate the phylogenetic position and divergence timing of the<em> Bursera</em>-host specialists.</p><p><strong>Results:</strong> The <em>Bursera</em>-host specialists form a strongly supported clade, named here the ‘<em>Bursera</em> group’. The divergence time for the <em>Bursera</em>-host specialists was estimated at 7.89 Ma. Interestingly, phylogenetic relationships between <em>P. nudus</em> and <em>P. palmeri</em>, as currently circumscribed, were not fully resolved, making <em>P. palmeri</em> paraphyletic.</p><p><strong>Conclusions</strong>: Based on these results, the plants collected by type locality of <em>P. nudus</em> in Honduras should be named <em>P. palmeri</em>. The seasonal deciduousness of <em>P. palmeri </em>(including <em>P. nudus</em>) and morphology of <em>P. sonorae</em> (small size, fleshy leaves) are clearly adaptations to dry ecosystems where these species have lived for a long time. In parallel, the evolutionary history of these mistletoes seems to be correlated with the evolutionary history and diversification patterns of <em>Bursera</em>.</p>

scholarly journals Transcriptomics provides a robust framework for the relationships of the major clades of cladobranch sea slugs (Mollusca, Gastropoda, Heterobranchia), but fails to resolve the position of the enigmatic genus Embletonia

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dario Karmeinski ◽  
Karen Meusemann ◽  
Jessica A. Goodheart ◽  
Michael Schroedl ◽  
Alexander Martynov ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Phylogenetic Relationships ◽  
Evolutionary History ◽  
Phylogenetic Signal ◽  
Set Covering ◽  
Phylogenetic Position ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Transcriptome Data ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Sea Slugs ◽  
History Of

Abstract Background The soft-bodied cladobranch sea slugs represent roughly half of the biodiversity of marine nudibranch molluscs on the planet. Despite their global distribution from shallow waters to the deep sea, from tropical into polar seas, and their important role in marine ecosystems and for humans (as targets for drug discovery), the evolutionary history of cladobranch sea slugs is not yet fully understood. Results To enlarge the current knowledge on the phylogenetic relationships, we generated new transcriptome data for 19 species of cladobranch sea slugs and two additional outgroup taxa (Berthella plumula and Polycera quadrilineata). We complemented our taxon sampling with previously published transcriptome data, resulting in a final data set covering 56 species from all but one accepted cladobranch superfamilies. We assembled all transcriptomes using six different assemblers, selecting those assemblies that provided the largest amount of potentially phylogenetically informative sites. Quality-driven compilation of data sets resulted in four different supermatrices: two with full coverage of genes per species (446 and 335 single-copy protein-coding genes, respectively) and two with a less stringent coverage (667 genes with 98.9% partition coverage and 1767 genes with 86% partition coverage, respectively). We used these supermatrices to infer statistically robust maximum-likelihood trees. All analyses, irrespective of the data set, indicate maximal statistical support for all major splits and phylogenetic relationships at the family level. Besides the questionable position of Noumeaella rubrofasciata, rendering the Facelinidae as polyphyletic, the only notable discordance between the inferred trees is the position of Embletonia pulchra. Extensive testing using Four-cluster Likelihood Mapping, Approximately Unbiased tests, and Quartet Scores revealed that its position is not due to any informative phylogenetic signal, but caused by confounding signal. Conclusions Our data matrices and the inferred trees can serve as a solid foundation for future work on the taxonomy and evolutionary history of Cladobranchia. The placement of E. pulchra, however, proves challenging, even with large data sets and various optimization strategies. Moreover, quartet mapping results show that confounding signal present in the data is sufficient to explain the inferred position of E. pulchra, again leaving its phylogenetic position as an enigma.

scholarly journals Evolution of a key enzyme of aerobic metabolism reveals Proterozoic functional subunit duplication events and an ancient origin of animals

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruno Santos Bezerra ◽  
Flavia Ariany Belato ◽  
Beatriz Mello ◽  
Federico Brown ◽  
Christopher J. Coates ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Evolutionary History ◽  
Krebs Cycle ◽  
Divergence Time ◽  
Life Forms ◽  
Molecular Dating ◽  
Regulatory Subunits ◽  
Key Enzyme ◽  
Duplication Events ◽  
History Of ◽  
Oxidative State

AbstractThe biological toolkits for aerobic respiration were critical for the rise and diversification of early animals. Aerobic life forms generate ATP through the oxidation of organic molecules in a process known as Krebs’ Cycle, where the enzyme isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) regulates the cycle's turnover rate. Evolutionary reconstructions and molecular dating of proteins related to oxidative metabolism, such as IDH, can therefore provide an estimate of when the diversification of major taxa occurred, and their coevolution with the oxidative state of oceans and atmosphere. To establish the evolutionary history and divergence time of NAD-dependent IDH, we examined transcriptomic data from 195 eukaryotes (mostly animals). We demonstrate that two duplication events occurred in the evolutionary history of NAD-IDH, one in the ancestor of eukaryotes approximately at 1967 Ma, and another at 1629 Ma, both in the Paleoproterozoic Era. Moreover, NAD-IDH regulatory subunits β and γ are exclusive to metazoans, arising in the Mesoproterozoic. Our results therefore support the concept of an ‘‘earlier-than-Tonian’’ diversification of eukaryotes and the pre-Cryogenian emergence of a metazoan IDH enzyme.

scholarly journals Out of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP) and rapid radiation across Eurasia for Allium section Daghestanica (Amaryllidaceae)

AoB Plants ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Min-Jie Li ◽  
Huan-Xi Yu ◽  
Xian-Lin Guo ◽  
Xing-Jin He
Keyword(s):  
Evolutionary History ◽  
Divergence Time ◽  
Time Estimation ◽  
Adjacent Region ◽  
Rapid Radiation ◽  
Divergence Time Estimation ◽  
Species Diversification ◽  
The Third ◽  
Evolutionary Line ◽  
History Of

Abstract The disjunctive distribution (Europe-Caucasus-Asia) and species diversification across Eurasia for the genus Allium sect. Daghestanica has fascinating attractions for researchers aiming to understanding the development and history of the modern Eurasia flora. However, no any studies have been carried out to address the evolutionary history of this section. Based on the nrITS and cpDNA fragments (trnL-trnF and rpl32-trnL), the evolutionary history of the third evolutionary line (EL3) of the genus Allium was reconstructed and we further elucidate the evolutionary line of sect. Daghestanica under this background. Our molecular phylogeny recovered two highly supported clades in sect. Daghestanica: the Clade I includes Caucasian-European species and Asian A. maowenense, A. xinlongense and A. carolinianum collected in Qinghai; the Clade II comprises Asian yellowish tepal species, A. chrysanthum, A. chrysocephalum, A. herderianum, A. rude and A. xichuanense. The divergence time estimation and biogeography inference indicated that Asian ancestor located in the QTP and the adjacent region could have migrated to Caucasus and Europe distributions around the Late Miocene and resulted in further divergence and speciation; Asian ancestor underwent the rapid radiation in the QTP and the adjacent region most likely due to the heterogeneous ecology of the QTP resulted from the orogeneses around 4–3 Mya. Our study provides a picture to understand the origin and species diversification across Eurasia for sect. Daghestanica.

scholarly journals Nephromyces represents a diverse and novel lineage of the Apicomplexa that has retained apicoplasts

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sergio A Muñoz-Gómez ◽  
Keira Durnin ◽  
Laura Eme ◽  
Christopher Paight ◽  
Christopher E Lane ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Style ◽  
Metabolic Pathways ◽  
Evolutionary History ◽  
Phylogenetic Analyses ◽  
Phylogenetic Position ◽  
Biosynthetic Pathways ◽  
History Of ◽  
Sea Squirts ◽  
Shed Light ◽  
Apicoplast Genome

Abstract A most interesting exception within the parasitic Apicomplexa is Nephromyces, an extracellular, probably mutualistic, endosymbiont found living inside molgulid ascidian tunicates (i.e., sea squirts). Even though Nephromyces is now known to be an apicomplexan, many other questions about its nature remain unanswered. To gain further insights into the biology and evolutionary history of this unusual apicomplexan, we aimed to (1) find the precise phylogenetic position of Nephromyces within the Apicomplexa, (2) search for the apicoplast genome of Nephromyces, and (3) infer the major metabolic pathways in the apicoplast of Nephromyces. To do this, we sequenced a metagenome and a metatranscriptome from the molgulid renal sac, the specialized habitat where Nephromyces thrives. Our phylogenetic analyses of conserved nucleus-encoded genes robustly suggest that Nephromyces is a novel lineage sister to the Hematozoa, which comprises both the Haemosporidia (e.g., Plasmodium) and the Piroplasmida (e.g., Babesia and Theileria). Furthermore, a survey of the renal sac metagenome revealed 13 small contigs that closely resemble the genomes of the non-photosynthetic reduced plastids, or apicoplasts, of other apicomplexans. We show that these apicoplast genomes correspond to a diverse set of most closely related but genetically divergent Nephromyces lineages that co-inhabit a single tunicate host. In addition, the apicoplast of Nephromyces appears to have retained all biosynthetic pathways inferred to have been ancestral to parasitic apicomplexans. Our results shed light on the evolutionary history of the only probably mutualistic apicomplexan known, Nephromyces, and provide context for a better understanding of its life style and intricate symbiosis.

Phylogenetic position and evolutionary history of the turtle and whale barnacles (Cirripedia: Balanomorpha: Coronuloidea)

2013 ◽  
Vol 67 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryota Hayashi ◽  
Benny K.K. Chan ◽  
Noa Simon-Blecher ◽  
Hiromi Watanabe ◽  
Tamar Guy-Haim ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Evolutionary History ◽  
Phylogenetic Position ◽  
History Of

A new endemic family of New Zealand passerine birds: adding heat to a biodiversity hotspot

2007 ◽  
Vol 55 (2) ◽  
pp. 73 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amy Driskell ◽  
Les Christidis ◽  
B. J. Gill ◽  
Walter E. Boles ◽  
F. Keith Barker ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Evolutionary History ◽  
Divergence Time ◽  
Biodiversity Hotspot ◽  
Passerine Birds ◽  
New Family ◽  
Close Relationship ◽  
History Of ◽  
Anthornis Melanura ◽  
Notiomystis Cincta

The results of phylogenetic analysis of two molecular datasets sampling all three endemic New Zealand ‘honeyeaters’ (Prosthemadera novaeseelandiae, Anthornis melanura and Notiomystis cincta) are reported. The undisputed relatedness of the first two species to other honeyeaters (Meliphagidae), and a close relationship between them, are demonstrated. However, our results confirm that Notiomystis is not a honeyeater, but is instead most closely related to the Callaeidae (New Zealand wattlebirds) represented by Philesturnus carunculatus in our study. An estimated divergence time for Notiomystis and Philesturnus of 33.8 mya (Oligocene) suggests a very long evolutionary history of this clade in New Zealand. As a taxonomic interpretation of these data we place Notiomystis in a new family of its own which takes the name Notiomystidae. We expect this new phylogenetic and taxonomic information to assist policy decisions for the conservation of this rare bird.

scholarly journals Three new Cenomanian conifers from El Chango (Chiapas, Mexico) offer a snapshot of the geographic mosaic of the Mesozoic conifer decline

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ixchel Gonzalez-Ramirez ◽  
Sergio RS Cevallos-Ferriz ◽  
Carl Rothfels
Keyword(s):  
Evolutionary History ◽  
Mixed Forest ◽  
Freshwater Ecosystems ◽  
Total Evidence ◽  
Morphological Data ◽  
Phylogenetic Position ◽  
Dominant Group ◽  
Geographic Mosaic ◽  
History Of ◽  
Rare Opportunity

Premise of study: El Chango is a recently discovered quarry that contains extremely well preserved fossils. The Cenomanian age of the locality corresponds to a time when the global flora was transitioning from gymnosperm- to angiosperm-dominated, yet conifers predominate in this locality. These fossils thus provide a rare opportunity to understand the replacement of conifers by angiosperms as the dominant group of plants. Methods: We collected material from El Chango in annual expeditions (2010 to 2014). We selected the three most abundant and best preserved conifer morphotypes and conducted a total-evidence (i.e., including molecular and morphological data) phylogenetic analysis of a sample of 72 extant conifer species plus the three fossils. We use these results to inform our taxonomic decisions. Results: We obtained four equally most-parsimonious trees (consistency index = 44.1%, retention index = 78.8%). Despite ambiguous relationships among some extant taxa, the three fossil conifers had the same phylogenetic position in all four most parsimonious trees; we describe these species as new: Sequoiadendron helicalancifolium sp. nov. (Cupressaceae), and Microcachrys rhomboidea sp. nov. and Dacrydium bifoliosus sp. nov (Podocarpaceae). The ecosystem is interpreted as a coastal humid mixed forest. Conclusions: Our findings contribute to the understanding of Cenomanian equatorialregions, and support the hypothesis of a geographically and ecologically structured rise of angiosperms, with conifers remaining dominant in brackish-water and angiosperms becoming dominant in freshwater-ecosystems. These fossils fill in gaps in the evolutionary history of lineages like Microcachrys, which we demonstrate occurred in the Northern hemisphere before becoming restricted to its current range (Tasmania).

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