Not that young: combining plastid phylogenomic, plate tectonic and fossil evidence indicates a Palaeogene diversification of Cycadaceae.

ABSTRACT:

Background and aims

Previous molecular dating studies revealed historical mass extinctions and recent radiations of extant cycads, but debates still exist between palaeobotanists and evolutionary biologists regarding the origin and evolution of Cycadaceae.

Methods

Using whole plastomic data, we revisited the phylogeny of this family and found the Palawan endemic Cycas clade was strongly related to all lineages from Southeast Eurasia, coinciding with a plate drift event occurring in the Early Oligocene. By integrating fossil and biogeographical calibrations as well as molecular data from protein-coding genes, we established different calibration schemes and tested competing evolutionary timelines of Cycadaceae.

Key results

We found recent dispersal cannot explain the d

SUBMITTER: Liu J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8796677 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature