Target sequence data shed new light on the infrafamilial classification of Araceae

Abstract

Premise Recent phylogenetic studies of the Araceae have confirmed the position of the duckweeds nested within the aroids, and the monophyly of a clade containing all the unisexual flowered aroids plus the bisexual‐flowered Calla palustris. The main objective of the present study was to better resolve the deep phylogenetic relationships among the main lineages within the family, particularly the relationships between the eight currently recognized subfamilies. We also aimed to confirm the phylogenetic position of the enigmatic genus Calla in relation to the long‐debated evolutionary transition between bisexual and unisexual flowers in the family. Methods Nuclear DNA sequence data were generated for 128 species across 111 genera (78%) of Araceae using target sequence capture and the Angiosperms 353 universal probe set. Results The phylogenomic data confirmed the monophyly of the eight Araceae subfamilies, but the phylogenetic position of subfamily Lasioideae remains uncertain. The genus Calla is included in subfamily Aroideae, which has also been expanded to include Zamioculcadoideae. The tribe Aglaonemateae is newly defined to include the genera Aglaonema and Boycea. Conclusions Our results strongly suggest that new research on African genera (Callopsis, Nephthytis, and Anubias) and Calla will be important for understanding the early evolution of the Aroideae. Also of particular interest are the phylogenetic positions of the isolated genera Montrichardia, Zantedeschia, and Anchomanes, which remain only moderately supported here.

Survival Strategies of Duckweeds, the World’s Smallest Angiosperms

“…The fronds consist largely of spongy mesophyll with large air spaces that make them buoyant, and they are either rootless or bear one to several simple hairless adventitious roots on the underside. Duckweeds are thought by some groups of researchers to represent a subfamily (Lemnoideae) of the Araceae (see [5] for a new publication), and this has also been suggested by the Angiosperm Phylogeny III decision. However, our research indicates that duckweeds better constitute a family (Lemnaceae) in its own right and that this is also in agreement with basic taxonomic rules [6].…”

Integrating genomic sequencing resources: an innovative perspective on recycling with universal Angiosperms353 probe sets

“…Moreover, it diminishes the requirement for specialized bioinformatics expertise in probe design (Johnson et al 2019). Therefore, it is applied across all levels of angiosperms in phylogenomics, spanning the order level (Antonelli et al 2021;Zuntini et al 2021), family level (Hendriks et al 2021;Yardeni et al 2021;Haigh et al 2023;Joyce et al 2023;Larson et al 2023), genus level (Frost et al 2021;Howard et al 2022;Simões et al 2022), and even species and population levels (Crowl et al 2022;Masters et al 2023).…”

“…Similarly, the abundance of Angiosperms353 proves sufficient for inferring high-resolution phylogenetic relationships at the genus level. Multiple instances highlight its effectiveness in this context, such as in Apiaceae (Clarkson et al 2021), Araceae (Haigh et al 2023), Cyperaceae (Larridon et al 2020), Cactaceae (Acha and Majure 2022), Convolvulaceae (Simões et al 2022), Rubioideae (Thureborn et al 2022), and Primulaceae (Larson et al 2023). Angiosperms353 played a crucial role in establishing a new classification system for Cyperaceae.…”