Abstract Detail

A synthesis of new paleontological and phylogenomic perspectives on gymnosperm evolution

Ickert-Bond, Stefanie [1], Burleigh, Gordon [2].

Resolving species-level phylogenetic relationships within Gnetales using targeted-sequence capture from a probe set across all flagellate plants.

To date resolving species-level phylogenetic relationships within the Gnetales (Gnetum, Ephedra, and Welwitschia) has been confounded by a number of factors: 1) relatively recent evolutionary radiations, 2) extreme rate variation among clades, and 3) conflicting signal within and among a single locus. Resolving these relationships are imperative for inferring biogeographic history as well as for understanding character evolution across the major clades. Most previous work has been based on analysis of chloroplast data - it would be interesting to get a nuclear gene perspective. This project explores the performance of large-scale nuclear gene datasets for resolving species-level relationships within Gnetales using exhaustive sampling across the order. Specifically, we used a targeted-sequence capture method based on a probe set designed to amplify 452 nuclear exons across all flagellate plants. We characterize the performance of this probe set to generate useful phylogenetic datasets across the quickly evolving Gnetales, and we assess whether the amount or quality of the DNA or phylogenetic position of the taxa affect the resulting data. We also compare the usefulness of both the exon data as well as flanking intronic data to resolve relationships within Gnetales, and we compare the resulting relationships with results from previous analyses of chloroplast data.

Related Links:
Ickert-Bond website

1 - University Of Alaska Fairbanks, Herbarium (ALA) And Dept. Of Biology And Wildlife, University Of Alaska Fairbanks, 907 Yukon Dr., Fairbanks, AK, 99775, United States
2 - University Of Florida, Department Of Biology, P.O. Box 118526, Gainesville, FL, 32611, United States

Keywords:
Gnetales
Targeted Sequence Capture
nuclear exons
species-level phylogenetic relationships
Ephedra
Gnetum
Welwitschia.

Presentation Type: Colloquium Presentations
Session: C04, A synthesis of new paleontological and phylogenomic perspectives on gymnosperm evolution
Location: 102/Mayo Civic Center
Date: Monday, July 23rd, 2018
Time: 2:00 PM
Number: C04003
Abstract ID:595
Candidate for Awards:None