Organellar phylogenomics at the epidendroid orchid base, with a focus on the mycoheterotrophic Wullschlaegelia.

ABSTRACT:

Background and aims

Heterotrophic plants have long been a challenge for systematists, exemplified by the base of the orchid subfamily Epidendroideae, which contains numerous mycoheterotrophic species.

Methods

Here we address the utility of organellar genomes in resolving relationships at the epidendroid base, specifically employing models of heterotachy, or lineage-specific rate variation over time. We further conduct comparative analyses of plastid genome evolution in heterotrophs and structural variation in matK.

Key results

We present the first complete plastid genomes (plastomes) of Wullschlaegelia, the sole genus of the tribe Wullschlaegelieae, revealing a highly reduced genome of 37 kb, which retains a fraction of the genes present in related autotrophs. Plastid

SUBMITTER: Barrett CF 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11688536 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature