Abstract Detail

Systematics

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

Capturing the flag: advancing phylogeny inference in Ephedra using targeted sequencing capture.

We leveraged a probe set of 56,989 probes for targeted enrichment sequencing of nuclear loci across flagellate plant lineages to reconstructing species-level phylogenetic relationships within Ephedra. Previously, inference of relationships has been confounded by a number of factors: 1) relatively recent evolutionary radiations, 2) extreme rate variation among clades, 3) conflicting signal within and among a single locus, and 4) polyploidy. 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, and a few nuclear genic regions, particularly the nr internal transcribed spacer region. This project explores the performance of large-scale nuclear gene datasets for resolving species-level relationships within Ephedra using 168 samples from across the genus. We characterize the performance of this probe set to generate useful phylogenetic data and to reveal complex reticulate histories, and we assess whether the amount or quality of the DNA or phylogenetic position of the taxa affect the evolutionary inferences. We also compare the usefulness of both the exon data as well as flanking intronic data to resolve relationships within Ephedra, and we compare the resulting relationships with results from previous analyses of chloroplast data. These new data provide new insights into the complex evolutionary history of Ephedra.

1 - University Of Alaska Fairbanks, Herbarium (ALA) And Dept. Of Biology And Wildlife, University Of Alaska Fairbanks, 1962 Yukon Dr., Fairbanks, AK, 99775, United States
2 - University of Florida, Biology Department, 220 Bartram Hall P.O. Box 118525 , Gainesville, FL, 32611-8525, United States

Keywords:
Ephedra
Ephedraceae
phylogeny
targeted enrichment sequencing
next-generation sequencing.

Presentation Type: Poster
Session: P, Systematics Posters
Location: Virtual/Virtual
Date: Thursday, July 30th, 2020
Time: 5:00 PM Time and date to be determined
Number: PSY022
Abstract ID:721
Candidate for Awards:None