Phylogeny, historical biogeography and characters evolution of the drought resistant fern Pyrrosia Mirbel (Polypodiaceae) inferred from plastid and nuclear markers.

ABSTRACT: Pyrrosia s.l. comprises ca. 60 species with a disjunct Africa/Asia and Australia distribution. The infrageneric classification of Pyrrosia s.l. is controversial based on the phylogenetic analyses of chloroplast markers and morphology. Based on the expanded taxon sampling of Pyrrosia s.l. (51 species), we investigated its phylogeny, biogeography, character evolution and environmental adaptation by employing five chloroplastid markers (rbcL, matK, psbA-trnH, and rps4 + rps4-trnS) and one single (low)-copy nuclear gene, LEAFY. Pyrrosia s.l. was divided into six major clades and eight subclades. Reticulate evolution was revealed both among clades and among species in Pyrrosia s.l. Ancestral character state optimization revealed high levels of homoplastic evolution of the diagnostic characters

SUBMITTER: Wei X 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5630607 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature