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Creators/Authors contains: "Mason-Gamer, Roberta"

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  1. ; ; ; ; ; ; ( , Annals of Botany)
    Abstract Background and Aims

    Transcriptome sequencing is a cost-effective approach that allows researchers to study a broad range of questions. However, to preserve RNA for transcriptome sequencing, tissue is often kept in special conditions, such as immediate ultracold freezing. Here, we demonstrate that RNA can be obtained from 6-month-old, field-collected samples stored in silica gel at room temperature. Using these transcriptomes, we explore the evolutionary relationships of the genus Pitcairnia (Bromeliaceae) in the Dominican Republic and infer barriers to gene flow.

     Methods

    We extracted RNA from silica-dried leaf tissue from 19 Pitcairnia individuals collected across the Dominican Republic. We used a series of macro- and micro-evolutionary approaches to examine the relationships and patterns of gene flow among individuals.

     Key Results

    We produced high-quality transcriptomes from silica-dried material and demonstrated that evolutionary relationships on the island match geography more closely than species delimitation methods. A population genetic examination indicates that a combination of ecological and geographical features presents barriers to gene flow in Pitcairnia.

     Conclusions

    Transcriptomes can be obtained from silica-preserved tissue. The genetic diversity among Pitcairnia populations does not warrant classification as separate species, but the Dominican Republic contains several barriers to gene flow, notably the Cordillera Central mountain range.

     
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  2. ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ( , Scientific Reports)
    Abstract

    In the age of next-generation sequencing, the number of loci available for phylogenetic analyses has increased by orders of magnitude. But despite this dramatic increase in the amount of data, some phylogenomic studies have revealed rampant gene-tree discordance that can be caused by many historical processes, such as rapid diversification, gene duplication, or reticulate evolution. We used a target enrichment approach to sample 400 single-copy nuclear genes and estimate the phylogenetic relationships of 13 genera in the lichen-forming family Lobariaceae to address the effect of data type (nucleotides and amino acids) and phylogenetic reconstruction method (concatenation and species tree approaches). Furthermore, we examined datasets for evidence of historical processes, such as rapid diversification and reticulate evolution. We found incongruence associated with sequence data types (nucleotide vs. amino acid sequences) and with different methods of phylogenetic reconstruction (species tree vs. concatenation). The resulting phylogenetic trees provided evidence for rapid and reticulate evolution based on extremely short branches in the backbone of the phylogenies. The observed rapid and reticulate diversifications may explain conflicts among gene trees and the challenges to resolving evolutionary relationships. Based on divergence times, the diversification at the backbone occurred near the Cretaceous-Paleogene (K-Pg) boundary (65 Mya) which is consistent with other rapid diversifications in the tree of life. Although some phylogenetic relationships within the Lobariaceae family remain with low support, even with our powerful phylogenomic dataset of up to 376 genes, our use of target-capturing data allowed for the novel exploration of the mechanisms underlying phylogenetic and systematic incongruence.

     
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  3. ; ; ( , American Journal of Botany)
    Premise of the Study

    This investigation establishes the firstDNA‐sequence‐based phylogenetic hypothesis of species relationships in the coca family (Erythroxylaceae) and presents its implications for the intrageneric taxonomy and neotropical biogeography ofErythroxylum. We also identify the closest wild relatives and evolutionary relationships of the cultivated coca taxa.

     Methods

    We focused our phylogenomic inference on the largest taxonomic section in the genusErythroxylum(ArcherythroxylumO.E.Schulz) using concatenation and gene tree reconciliation methods from hybridization‐based target capture of 427 genes.

     Key Results

    We show that neotropicalErythroxylumare monophyletic within the paleotropical lineages, yetArcherythroxylumand all of the other taxonomic sections from which we sampled multiple species lack monophyly. We mapped phytogeographic states onto the tree and found some concordance between these regions and clades. The wild speciesE. gracilipesandE. cataractarumare most closely related to the cultivatedE. cocaandE. novogranatense, but relationships within this “coca” clade remain equivocal.

     Conclusions

    Our results point to the difficulty of morphology‐based intrageneric classification in this clade and highlight the importance of integrative taxonomy in future systematic revisions. We can confidently identifyE. gracilipesandE. cataractarumas the closest wild relatives of the coca taxa, but understanding the domestication history of this crop will require more thorough phylogeographic analysis.

     
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