Phylogenomic insights into Neotropical relationships.

Despite extensive research into the phylogenetic relationships of the genus , Neotropical taxa have been neglected. This is partly because their numbers have recently doubled and now account for almost half of the global richness. Therefore, by sampling one-third of all Neotropical taxa their relationships were studied using morphological, nuclear, and plastome data.

Taxonomic revision of the native (Magnoliaceae) species of Brazil.

The genus (Magnoliaceae) has a wide and disjunct geographic distribution ranging from Eastern and South Asia to Malaysia, extending across the Neartics and reaching into the Neotropics. Regarding its infrageneric classification, the genus is divided into three subgenera: , and , the latter including the section Talauma in which the native Brazilian taxa are classified. The species of Magnoliasect.

Species of (Piperaceae) from the Saña River Valley, Peru.

The Saña River Valley in Northern Peru is unusual for the western slopes of the Peruvian Andes because of its nearly year-round regime of precipitation instead of marked seasonal dry winters. This results in unexpected plant diversity. We surveyed the species of (Piperaceae), occurring in this valley from 300 to 3000 m elevation, based on the study of specimens from ten herbaria and field collections, resulting in a total of 81 accessions, of which 48 were made by the authors.

Integrating morphological and genetic limits in the taxonomic delimitation of the Cuban taxa of Magnoliasubsect.Talauma (Magnoliaceae).

An accurate taxa delimitation, based on a full understanding of evolutionary processes involved in taxa differentiation, can be gained from a combination of ecological, morphological, and molecular approaches. The taxonomy of Magnoliasubsect.Talauma in Cuba has long been debated and exclusively based on traditional morphological study of a limited number of individuals.

Comparison of Magnoliaceae Plastomes: Adding Neotropical to the Discussion.

Chloroplast genomes are considered to be highly conserved. Nevertheless, differences in their sequences are an important source of phylogenetically informative data. Chloroplast genomes are increasingly applied in evolutionary studies of angiosperms, including Magnoliaceae.

The evolutionary history of the Caribbean magnolias (Magnoliaceae): Testing species delimitations and biogeographical hypotheses using molecular data.

The Caribbean islands provide an ideal setting for studying biodiversity, given their complex geological and environmental history, and their historical and current geographical proximity to the American mainland. Magnolia, a flagship tree genus that has 15 endemic and threatened taxa (12 species and 3 subspecies) on the Caribbean islands, offers an excellent case study to empirically test Caribbean biogeographical hypotheses. We constructed phylogenetic hypotheses to: (1) reveal their evolutionary history, (2) test the current largely morphology-based classification and assess species limits, and (3) investigate major biogeographic hypotheses proposed for the region.

Molecular Phylogeny, Character Evolution, and Biogeography of Section , Hydrangeaceae.

section consists of 26 currently accepted species and a yet undefined number of new species and erroneously synonymized taxa. This clade consists of (sub)tropical lianas occurring from northern Mexico to southern Chile and Argentina, and one species from Southeast Asia. Currently, no molecular phylogenetic hypothesis is available that includes more than a few species of this section.

Discordant Phylogenomic Placement of Hydnoraceae and Lactoridaceae Within Piperales Using Data From All Three Genomes.

Phylogenetic relationships within the magnoliid order Piperales have been studied extensively, yet the relationships of the monotypic family Lactoridaceae and the holoparasitic Hydnoraceae to the remainder of the order remain a matter of debate. Since the first confident molecular phylogenetic placement of Hydnoraceae among Piperales, different studies have recovered various contradictory topologies. Most phylogenetic hypotheses were inferred using only a few loci and have had incomplete taxon sampling at the genus level.

Towards Conservation of the Remarkably High Number of Daisy Trees (Asteraceae) in Mexico.

Mexico is floristically the fourth most species-rich country in the world, and Asteraceae is the most diverse vascular plant family in this country. The species exhibits a wide range of growth forms, but the tree-like habit, appropriately named daisy trees, is heavily underestimated, even though slightly different tree definitions are handled. Very little is known about their precise species number or conservation status in Mexico, so we update here the list of known Mexican daisy tree species, summarize their very diverse uses, present a general panorama of their present and future distribution, and discuss their conservation status.

Disentangling Species Delineation and Guiding Conservation of Endangered Magnolias in Veracruz, Mexico.

The Mexican state of Veracruz has suffered very high deforestation rates in the last few decades, and despite the establishment of protected areas and conservation projects, primary forest is now mainly persisting in mostly small, scattered, fragmented remnants. New species of section in this state have been described with little to no reference to the already existing ones, potentially resulting in over-splitting, obscuring their taxonomic delineation and conservation status, and consequently conservation programs. To study the conservation units and their genetic diversity, we here employ 15 microsatellite markers on a highly representative sampling of 254 individuals of what are presumed to be five species.

On , an endangered species from Ecuador, and , very common in Costa Rica and Panama, and seven threatened Central and South American Hydrangeas, which have been confounded with these.

Hydrangea section Cornidia, currently consisting of 19 accepted taxa, occurs from Mexico to Chile and Argentina, with one species in southeast Asia. Its representatives are root-climbing lianas which may grow up to 60 m high in the tree canopy of temperate to (sub)tropical forests. Our extensive field work throughout its distribution area, study of herbarium specimens and ongoing molecular studies have resulted in the discovery of species new to science, as well as new insights into the circumscription of many taxa.

Genetic patterns in Neotropical Magnolias (Magnoliaceae) using de novo developed microsatellite markers.

Conserving tree populations safeguards forests since they represent key elements of the ecosystem. The genetic characteristics underlying the evolutionary success of the tree growth form: high genetic diversity, extensive gene flow and strong species integrity, contribute to their survival in terms of adaptability. However, different biological and landscape contexts challenge these characteristics.

The Emergence of Earliest Angiosperms may be Earlier than Fossil Evidence Indicates.

Gaps between molecular ages and fossils undermine the validity of time-calibrated molecular phylogenies. An example of the time gap surrounds the age of angiosperm's origin. We calculate molecular ages of the earliest flowering plant lineages using 22 fossil calibrations (101 genera, 40 families).

Multilocus coalescent species delimitation to evaluate traditionally defined morphotypes in Hydrangea sect. Asperae (Hydrangeaceae).

The number of species recognized in section Asperae of the flowering plant genus Hydrangea differs widely between subsequent revisions. This variation is largely centered around the H. aspera species complex, with numbers of recognized species varying from one to nearly a dozen.

Recalcitrant deep and shallow nodes in Aristolochia (Aristolochiaceae) illuminated using anchored hybrid enrichment.

Recalcitrant relationships are characterized by very short internodes that can be found among shallow and deep phylogenetic scales all over the tree of life. Adding large amounts of presumably informative sequences, while decreasing systematic error, has been suggested as a possible approach to increase phylogenetic resolution. The development of enrichment strategies, coupled with next generation sequencing, resulted in a cost-effective way to facilitate the reconstruction of recalcitrant relationships.

Evolution of Epiphytism and Fruit Traits Act Unevenly on the Diversification of the Species-Rich Genus Peperomia (Piperaceae).

The species-rich genus Peperomia (Black Pepper relatives) is the only genus among early diverging angiosperms where epiphytism evolved. The majority of fruits of Peperomia release sticky secretions or exhibit hook-shaped appendages indicative of epizoochorous dispersal, which is in contrast to other flowering plants, where epiphytes are generally characterized by fruit morphological adaptations for anemochory or endozoochory. We investigate fruit characters using Cryo-SEM.

An integrative approach to understanding the evolution and diversity of Copiapoa (Cactaceae), a threatened endemic Chilean genus from the Atacama Desert.

Premise Of The Study: Species of the endemic Chilean cactus genus Copiapoa have cylindrical or (sub)globose stems that are solitary or form (large) clusters and typically yellow flowers. Many species are threatened with extinction. Despite being icons of the Atacama Desert and well loved by cactus enthusiasts, the evolution and diversity of Copiapoa has not yet been studied using a molecular approach.

A genome-scale mining strategy for recovering novel rapidly-evolving nuclear single-copy genes for addressing shallow-scale phylogenetics in Hydrangea.

Background: Identifying orthologous molecular markers that potentially resolve relationships at and below species level has been a major challenge in molecular phylogenetics over the past decade. Non-coding regions of nuclear low- or single-copy markers are a vast and promising source of data providing information for shallow-scale phylogenetics. Taking advantage of public transcriptome data from the One Thousand Plant Project (1KP), we developed a genome-scale mining strategy for recovering potentially orthologous single-copy markers to address low-scale phylogenetics.

Bouldering: an alternative strategy to long-vertical climbing in root-climbing hortensias.

In the Neotropics, the genus Hydrangea of the popular ornamental hortensia family is represented by climbing species that strongly cling to their support surface by means of adhesive roots closely positioned along specialized anchoring stems. These root-climbing hortensia species belong to the nearly exclusive American Hydrangea section Cornidia and generally are long lianescent climbers that mostly flower and fructify high in the host tree canopy. The Mexican species Hydrangea seemannii, however, encompasses not only long lianescent climbers of large vertical rock walls and coniferous trees, but also short 'shrub-like' climbers on small rounded boulders.

Major trends in stem anatomy and growth forms in the perianth-bearing Piperales, with special focus on Aristolochia.

Background And Aims: The order Piperales has the highest diversity of growth forms among the earliest angiosperm lineages, including trees, shrubs, climbers and herbs. However, within the perianth-bearing Piperales (Asarum, Saruma, Lactoris, Hydnora, Prosopanche, Thottea and Aristolochia), climbing species only occur in the most species-rich genus Aristolochia. This study traces anatomical and morphological traits among these lineages, to detect trends in growth form evolution and developmental processes.

Single-copy nuclear genes place haustorial Hydnoraceae within piperales and reveal a cretaceous origin of multiple parasitic angiosperm lineages.

Extreme haustorial parasites have long captured the interest of naturalists and scientists with their greatly reduced and highly specialized morphology. Along with the reduction or loss of photosynthesis, the plastid genome often decays as photosynthetic genes are released from selective constraint. This makes it challenging to use traditional plastid genes for parasitic plant phylogenetics, and has driven the search for alternative phylogenetic and molecular evolutionary markers.

Application of the phylogenetic informativeness method to chloroplast markers: a test case of closely related species in tribe Hydrangeeae (Hydrangeaceae).

In evolutionary biology appropriate marker selection for the reconstruction of solid phylogenetic hypotheses is fundamental. One of the most challenging tasks addresses the appropriate choice of genomic regions in studies of closely related species. Robust phylogenetic frameworks are central to studies dealing with questions ranging from evolutionary and conservation biology, biogeography to plant breeding.

Escaping the lianoid habit: evolution of shrub-like growth forms in Aristolochia subgenus Isotrema (Aristolochiaceae).

Premise Of The Study: A large range of growth forms is a notable aspect of angiosperm diversity and arguably a key element of their success. However, few studies within a phylogenetic context have explored how anatomical, developmental, and biomechanical traits are linked with growth form evolution. Aristolochia (∼500 species) consists predominantly of climbers, but a handful of shrub-like species are known from Aristolochia subgenus Isotrema (hereafter, shortened to Isotrema).

A comparison of leaf crystal macropatterns in the two sister genera Piper and Peperomia (Piperaceae).

Premise Of The Study: This is the first large-scale study comparing leaf crystal macropatterns of the species-rich sister genera Piper and Peperomia. It focuses on identifying types of calcium oxalate crystals and their macropatterns in leaves of both genera. The Piper results are placed in a phylogenetic context to show evolutionary patterns.

Chasing the hare - evaluating the phylogenetic utility of a nuclear single copy gene region at and below species level within the species rich group Peperomia (Piperaceae).

Background: The rapidly increasing number of available plant genomes opens up almost unlimited prospects for biology in general and molecular phylogenetics in particular. A recent study took advantage of this data and identified a set of nuclear genes that occur in single copy in multiple sequenced angiosperms. The present study is the first to apply genomic sequence of one of these low copy genes, agt1, as a phylogenetic marker for species-level phylogenetics.