Dated molecular phylogenies indicate a Miocene origin for Arabidopsis thaliana.

ABSTRACT: Dated molecular phylogenies are the basis for understanding species diversity and for linking changes in rates of diversification with historical events such as restructuring in developmental pathways, genome doubling, or dispersal onto a new continent. Valid fossil calibration points are essential to the accurate estimation of divergence dates, but for many groups of flowering plants fossil evidence is unavailable or limited. Arabidopsis thaliana, the primary genetic model in plant biology and the first plant to have its entire genome sequenced, belongs to one such group, the plant family Brassicaceae. Thus, the timing of A. thaliana evolution and the history of its genome have been controversial. We bring previously overlooked fossil evidence to bear on these questions and find the split

SUBMITTER: Beilstein MA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2973009 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature