Phylogeny and historical biogeography of the cocosoid palms (Arecaceae, Arecoideae, Cocoseae) inferred from sequences of six WRKY gene family loci

Abstract

Arecaceae tribe Cocoseae is the most economically important tribe of palms, including both coconut and African oil palm. It is mostly represented in the Neotropics, with one and two genera endemic to South Africa and Madagascar, respectively. Using primers for six single copy WRKY gene family loci, we amplified DNA from 96 samples representing all genera of the palm tribe Cocoseae as well as outgroup tribes Reinhardtieae and Roystoneae. We compared parsimony (MP), maximum likelihood (ML), and Bayesian (B) analysis of the supermatrix with three species‐tree estimation approaches. Subtribe Elaeidinae is sister to the Bactridinae in all analyses. Within subtribe Attaleinae, Lytocaryum, previously nested in Syagrus, is now positioned by MP and ML as sister to the former, with high support; B maintains Lytocaryum embedded within Syagrus. Both MP and ML resolve Cocos as sister to Syagrus; B positions Cocos as sister to Attalea. Bactridineae is composed of two sister clades, Bactris and Desmoncus in one, for which there is morphological support, and a second comprising Acrocomia, Astrocaryum, and Aiphanes. Two B and one ML gene tree‐species estimation approaches are incongruent with the supermatrix in a few critical intergeneric clades, but resolve the same infrageneric relationships. The biogeographic history of the Cocoseae is dominated by dispersal events. The tribe originated in the late Cretaceous in South America. Evaluated together, the supermatrix and species tree analyses presented in this paper provide the most accurate picture of the evolutionary history of the tribe to date, with more congruence than incongruence among the various methodologies.

Using dated molecular phylogenies to help reconstruct geological, climatic, and biological history: Examples from Colombia

“…The uplift of the Andes and the bridging of the Panamanian Isthmus are two geological events that have been suggested to have had a profound impact on patterns of Neotropical plant diversification (Antonelli, Nylander, Persson, & Sanmartin, 2009;Burnham & Graham, 1999;Gentry, 1982aGentry, , 1982bHughes & Eastwood, 2006;Hughes, Pennington, & Antonelli, 2013;Knapp & Mallet, 2003;Meerow et al, 2014;Richardson, Pennington, Pennington, & Hollingsworth, 2001;Roncal, Kahn, Millan, Couvreur, & Pintaud, 2013). The area that Colombia occupies in north-western South America is one of the most geologically interesting places on Earth, with it being the point of contact between Laurasia and Gondwanaland, as the Panama Isthmus closed and with the rise of the Andes occurring more recently there than further south.…”

Mitosis and Interphase of the Highly Polyploid Palm <b><i>Voanioala</i></b><b><i>gerardii</i></b> (2n = 606 ± 3)

“…A reconstruction of phylogenetic relationships within Attaleinae based on nuclear WRKY genes, conversely, resolved Voanioala and Jubaeopsis with strong support as sister genera and together with Beccariophoenix as distinct sister clade to the American genera [Meerow et al, 2009[Meerow et al, , 2015. This relationship of clades clearly suggests a common polyploid ancestor of Voanioala and Jubaeopsis .…”

Morphological and Molecular Perspectives on the Phylogeny, Evolution, and Classification of Weevils (Coleoptera: Curculionoidea): Proceedings from the 2016 International Weevil Meeting

“…Among almost 100 weevils known from Burmese amber to date, and many thousands of Coleoptera, no additional specimens of Curculionidae have come to light, throwing further doubt on the origin of the two members of Curculionidae described thus far from Burmese amber. [62,63]. Based on a review of the literature and extensive fieldwork, he found that the most abundant weevils visiting flowers of Syagrus coronata (Mart.)…”