Abstract Detail

Phylogenomics

Abair, Alexander [1], Nageswara-Rao, Madhugiri [1], Dugas, Diana [1], Hughes, Colin [2], Bailey, Donovan [3].

Resolving Relationships in Leucaena through Reference Guided and de novo Transcriptomics.

The genus Leucaena (Leguminosae, Caesalpinioideae, Mimosoid clade) contains 24 species, some of which have a long history of use in Mesoamerica as food, shade, and even spiritual medicine. Their native range is restricted to the Americas, but Leucaena leucocephala (and a few other species) have spread around the tropics where they are currently used in tropical agroforestry systems as fodder for cattle, soil stabilizers and fertilizers, shade, and biofuels. This genus, which contains diploid and allotetraploid species, serves as a model system for investigating the role of spontaneous backyard garden hybridization in early domestication, but the precise relationships of species remain unclear. Previous work recognized three well-supported clades of diploid Leucaena. However, the relationships among species within the largest clade (Clade 1) remain poorly resolved, confounding attempts to infer origins of the five allotetraploid species. In this study, we use a sequenced diploid genome (Leucaena trichandra) and whole seedling-derived transcriptome data from all diploid Leucaena species to infer both reference-guided and de novo phylogenetic hypotheses for Leucaena. Once a robust phylogeny is inferred from conserved orthologous genes, future work will attempt to elucidate the evolutionary history of Leucaena ssp. in a geographical context.

1 - New Mexico State University, PO Box 30001 Dept 3AF, Las Cruces, NM, 88003, United States
2 - University Of Zurich, Institute Of Systematic Botany, Zollikerstrasse 107, Zürich, 8008 Zürich, Switzerland
3 - New Mexico State University, Biology, PO Box 30001 MSC 3AF, Las Cruces, NM, 88003, United States

Keywords:
Leucaena
Leguminosae
Polyploid
phylogeny
Genomics
transcriptomics
Hybridization
orthology
paralogy.

Presentation Type: Poster
Session: P, Phylogenomics
Location: Grand Ballroom - Exhibit Hall/Mayo Civic Center
Date: Monday, July 23rd, 2018
Time: 5:30 PM This poster will be presented at 5:30 pm. The Poster Session runs from 5:30 pm to 7:00 pm. Posters with odd poster numbers are presented at 5:30 pm, and posters with even poster numbers are presented at 6:15 pm.
Number: PPH009
Abstract ID:778
Candidate for Awards:None