Comparison of glucosinolate diversity in the crucifer tribe Cardamineae and the remaining order Brassicales highlights repetitive evolutionary loss and gain of biosynthetic steps.

We review glucosinolate (GSL) diversity and analyze phylogeny in the crucifer tribe Cardamineae as well as selected species from Brassicaceae (tribe Brassiceae) and Resedaceae. Some GSLs occur widely, while there is a scattered distribution of many less common GSLs, tentatively sorted into three classes: ancient, intermediate and more recently evolved. The number of conclusively identified GSLs in the tribe (53 GSLs) constitute 60% of all GSLs known with certainty from any plant (89 GSLs) and apparently unique GSLs in the tribe constitute 10 of those GSLs conclusively identified (19%).

Molecular phylogeny of Plagiothecium and similar hypnalean mosses, with a revised sectional classification of Plagiothecium.

We investigated the systematic relationships within the pleurocarpous moss genus Plagiothecium, based on cladistic analyses of sequence data from one nuclear (ITS) and two plastid (trnK-psbA (matK) and rpl16 intron) DNA regions for 110 specimens of Plagiothecium and similar hypnalean mosses. Plastid and nuclear trees were mostly similar, but differed in the placement of several species of Plagiothecium, and in the relationships among other genera. The phylogenetic hypotheses based on plastid markers were well resolved; in contrast, nuclear data were insufficient to resolve some of the lowest-level relationships within the genus.

A comparison of 16 DNA regions for use as phylogenetic markers in the pleurocarpous moss genus Plagiothecium (Hypnales).

Premise Of The Study: Within the Hypnales-the most derived and species-rich order of pleurocarpous mosses - phylogenies at or below the family level often show poor resolution. In preparation for a phylogeny of the genus Plagiothecium, we wished to identify the DNA markers best suited for evolutionary reconstruction in this group of hypnalean pleurocarps.

Methods: For each of 25 collections of Plagiothecium and associated taxa, 16 DNA regions were sequenced: nuclear ITS and 26S, and plastid rps4, rps4-trnL, trnL-F, trnK (matK)-psbA, psbA-trnH, trnM-V, trnD-T, rbcL, atpB-rbcL, psbT-H, rpoC1 exon 2 (partial), the trnG intron, the rpl16 intron and the plastid ribosomal spacer DNA (cpITS).

Complete generic-level phylogenetic analyses of palms (Arecaceae) with comparisons of supertree and supermatrix approaches.

Supertree and supermatrix methods have great potential in the quest to build the tree of life and yet they remain controversial, with most workers opting for one approach or the other, but rarely both. Here, we employed both methods to construct phylogenetic trees of all genera of palms (Arecaceae/Palmae), an iconic angiosperm family of great economic importance. We assembled a supermatrix consisting of 16 partitions, comprising DNA sequence data, plastid restriction fragment length polymorphism data, and morphological data for all genera, from which a highly resolved and well-supported phylogenetic tree was built despite abundant missing data.

A dated phylogeny of the palm tribe Chamaedoreeae supports Eocene dispersal between Africa, North and South America.

The palm tribe Chamaedoreeae reaches its higher diversity in Central America, however, its distribution ranges from the north eastern part of Mexico to Bolivia with a disjunction to the Mascarene Islands in the Indian Ocean. The disjunct distribution of Chamaedoreeae is generally considered a result of Gondwana vicariance and extinction from Africa and/or Madagascar. However, latitudinal migrations and their role in shaping the distribution of this tribe in the Americas have been largely overlooked.

Mid-Tertiary dispersal, not Gondwanan vicariance explains distribution patterns in the wax palm subfamily (Ceroxyloideae: Arecaceae).

The Ceroxyloideae is a small but heterogeneous subfamily of palms (Arecaceae, Palmae). It includes a Caribbean lineage (tribe Cyclospathae), a southern hemisphere disjunction (tribe Ceroxyleae), and an amphi-Andean element (tribe Phytelepheae), until recently considered a distinct subfamily (Phytelephantoideae) due to its highly derived morphology. A variety of hypotheses have been proposed to account for the biogeography of the subfamily, involving Gondwanan vicariance, austral interplate dispersal from South America to Australia via Antarctica, Andean orogeny, and Pleistocene refuges.