GENETIC AND TRAIT VARIABILITY OF GYRINICOLA REVEALS THE EXISTENCE OF AT LEAST FOUR SPECIES WITHIN THE UNITED STATES.

The tadpole-dwelling pinworm, Gyrinicola batrachiensis (Walton, 1929) Adamson, 1981 was recognized as the sole representative of the genus across Canada and the United States. However, evaluation of the morphology of these parasites across their range revealed considerable morphological variability that suggested diagnosable morphotypes. These morphotypes were associated with different species of anurans, several of which occurred in sympatry.

Incomplete lineage sorting and reticulate evolution mask species relationships in Brunelliaceae, an Andean family with rapid, recent diversification.

Premise: To date, phylogenetic relationships within the monogeneric Brunelliaceae have been based on morphological evidence, which does not provide sufficient phylogenetic resolution. Here we use target-enriched nuclear data to improve our understanding of phylogenetic relationships in the family.

Methods: We used the Angiosperms353 toolkit for targeted recovery of exonic regions and supercontigs (exons + introns) from low copy nuclear genes from 53 of 70 species in Brunellia, and several outgroup taxa.

-Complete plastid genome sequences of two species of the Neotropical genus (Brunelliaceae).

Here we present the first two complete plastid genomes for Brunelliaceae, a Neotropical family with a single genus, . We surveyed the entire plastid genome in order to find variable cpDNA regions for further phylogenetic analyses across the family. We sampled morphologically different species, and , and found that the plastid genomes are 157,685 and 157,775 bp in length and display the typical quadripartite structure found in angiosperms.

Phylogenomics in Cactaceae: A case study using the chollas sensu lato (Cylindropuntieae, Opuntioideae) reveals a common pattern out of the Chihuahuan and Sonoran deserts.

Premise: Although numerous phylogenetic studies have been conducted in Cactaceae, whole-plastome datasets have not been employed. We used the chollas to develop a plastome dataset for phylogeny reconstruction to test species relationships, biogeography, clade age, and morphological evolution.

Methods: We developed a plastome dataset for most known diploid members of the chollas (42 taxa) as well as for other members of Cylindropuntieae.

Effects of taxon sampling and tree reconstruction methods on phylodiversity metrics.

The amount and patterns of phylodiversity in a community are often used to draw inferences about the local and historical factors affecting community assembly and can be used to prioritize communities and locations for conservation. Because measures of phylodiversity are based on the topology and branch lengths of phylogenetic trees, which are affected by the number and diversity of taxa in the tree, these analyses may be sensitive to changes in taxon sampling and tree reconstruction methods.To investigate the effects of taxon sampling and tree reconstruction methods on measures of phylodiversity, we investigated the community phylogenetics of the Ordway-Swisher Biological Station (Florida), which is home to over 600 species of vascular plants.

The first complete plastid genomes of Melastomataceae are highly structurally conserved.

Background: In the past three decades, several studies have predominantly relied on a small sample of the plastome to infer deep phylogenetic relationships in the species-rich Melastomataceae. Here, we report the first full plastid sequences of this family, compare general features of the sampled plastomes to other sequenced Myrtales, and survey the plastomes for highly informative regions for phylogenetics.

Methods: Genome skimming was performed for 16 species spread across the Melastomataceae.

Seven New Complete Plastome Sequences Reveal Rampant Independent Loss of the ndh Gene Family across Orchids and Associated Instability of the Inverted Repeat/Small Single-Copy Region Boundaries.

Earlier research has revealed that the ndh loci have been pseudogenized, truncated, or deleted from most orchid plastomes sequenced to date, including in all available plastomes of the two most species-rich subfamilies, Orchidoideae and Epidendroideae. This study sought to resolve deeper-level phylogenetic relationships among major orchid groups and to refine the history of gene loss in the ndh loci across orchids. The complete plastomes of seven orchids, Oncidium sphacelatum (Epidendroideae), Masdevallia coccinea (Epidendroideae), Sobralia callosa (Epidendroideae), Sobralia aff.

Recent gene-capture on the UV sex chromosomes of the moss Ceratodon purpureus.

Sex chromosomes evolve from ordinary autosomes through the expansion and subsequent degeneration of a region of suppressed recombination that is inherited through one sex. Here we investigate the relative timing of these processes in the UV sex chromosomes of the moss Ceratodon purpureus using molecular population genetic analyses of eight newly discovered sex-linked loci. In this system, recombination is suppressed on both the female-transmitted (U) sex chromosome and the male-transmitted (V) chromosome.

Primer development for the plastid region ycf1 in Annonaceae and other magnoliids.

Premise Of The Study: Primers were developed for a portion of the ycf1 plastid gene in magnoliid taxa to investigate the utility of ycf1 in phylogenetic analyses. •

Methods And Results: Twenty-six species across six families within the magnoliid group (Canellales, Piperales, Laurales, and Magnoliales) were sampled to examine the ability to amplify ycf1. Additionally, 29 accessions of Asimina and Deeringothamnus (Annonaceae) were sequenced to assess levels of variation in ycf1 compared to matK and trnL-F.

Floral convergence in Oncidiinae (Cymbidieae; Orchidaceae): an expanded concept of Gomesa and a new genus Nohawilliamsia.

Background: Floral morphology, particularly the angle of lip attachment to the column, has historically been the fundamental character used in establishing generic limits in subtribe Oncidiinae (Orchidaceae), but it has also been long recognized that reliance on this character alone has produced a highly artificial set of genera. In essence, lip/column relationships reflect syndromes associated with pollinator preferences; most genera of Oncidiinae as previously defined have consisted of a single floral type. Here, the degree to which this has influenced generic delimitation in Brazilian members of the largest genus of Oncidiinae, Oncidium, which previous molecular (DNA) studies have demonstrated to be polyphyletic, is evaluated.

Molecular phylogenetics and the evolution of fruit and leaf morphology of Dichaea (Orchidaceae: Zygopetalinae).

Background And Aims: The orchid genus Dichaea, with over 100 species found throughout the neotropics, is easily recognized by distichous leaves on long stems without pseudobulbs and flowers with infrastigmatic ligules. The genus has previously been divided into four sections based primarily on presence of ovary bristles and a foliar abscission layer. The aim of this work is to use DNA sequence data to estimate phylogenetic relationships within Dichaea and map the distribution of major morphological characters that have been used to delimit subgenera/sections.

Molecular phylogeny of the neotropical genus Christensonella (Orchidaceae, Maxillariinae): species delimitation and insights into chromosome evolution.

Background And Aims: Species' boundaries applied within Christensonella have varied due to the continuous pattern of variation and mosaic distribution of diagnostic characters. The main goals of this study were to revise the species' delimitation and propose a more stable classification for this genus. In order to achieve these aims phylogenetic relationships were inferred using DNA sequence data and cytological diversity within Christensonella was examined based on chromosome counts and heterochromatin patterns.

Molecular phylogenetics of Maxillaria and related genera (Orchidaceae: Cymbidieae) based on combined molecular data sets.

The orchid genus Maxillaria is one of the largest and most common of neotropical orchid genera, but its current generic boundaries and relationships have long been regarded as artificial. Phylogenetic relationships within subtribe Maxillariinae sensu Dressler (1993) with emphasis on Maxillaria s.l.