J Syst Evol ›› 2019, Vol. 57 ›› Issue (4): 404-417.DOI: 10.1111/jse.12516

• Research Articles • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Phylogenomic delineation of Physcomitrium (Bryophyta: Funariaceae) based on targeted sequencing of nuclear exons and their flanking regions rejects the retention of Physcomitrella, Physcomitridium and Aphanorrhegma

Rafael Medina1,2, Matthew G. Johnson3,4, Yang Liu1,5,6, Norman J. Wickett3, A. Jonathan Shaw7, and Bernard Goffinet1*   

  1. 1Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Connecticut, 75N Eagleville Rd., Storrs, CT 06269‐3043, USA
    2Department of Biology, Augustana College, 639 38th Street, Rock Island, IL 61201, USA
    3Plant Science, Chicago Botanic Garden, 1000 Lake Cook Road, Glencoe, IL 60022, USA
    4Department of Biological Sciences, Texas Tech University, 2901 Main Street, Lubbock, TX 79409‐43131, USA
    5Key Laboratory of Southern Subtropical Plant Diversity, Shenzhen Fairy Lake Botanical Garden, Shenzhen 518004, China
    6China National GeneBank, BGI‐Shenzhen, Shenzhen 518120, China
    7Department of Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA
  • Received:2019-03-19 Accepted:2019-05-15 Online:2019-07-29 Published:2019-07-01

Abstract:

Selection on spore dispersal mechanisms in mosses is thought to shape the transformation of the sporophyte. The majority of extant mosses develop a sporangium that dehisces through the loss of an operculum, and regulates spore release through the movement of articulate teeth, the peristome, lining the capsule mouth. Such complexity was acquired by the Mesozoic Era, but was lost in some groups during subsequent diversification events, challenging the resolution of the affinities for taxa with reduced architectures. The Funariaceae are a cosmopolitan and diverse lineage of mostly annual mosses, and exhibit variable sporophyte complexities, spanning from long, exerted, operculate capsules with two rings of well‐developed teeth, to capsules immersed among maternal leaves, lacking a differentiated line of dehiscence (i.e., inoperculate) and without peristomes. The family underwent a rapid diversification, and the relationships of taxa with reduced sporophytes remain ambiguous. Here, we infer the relationships of five taxa with highly reduced sporophytes based on 648 nuclear loci (exons complemented by their flanking regions), based on inferences from concatenated data and concordance analysis of single gene trees. Physcomitrellopsis is resolved as nested within one clade of Entosthodon. Physcomitrella s. l., is resolved as a polyphyletic assemblage and, along with its putative relative Aphanorrhegma, nested within Physcomitrium. We propose a new monophyletic delineation of Physcomitrium, which accommodates species of Physcomitrella and Aphanorrhegma. The monophyly of Physcomitrium s. l. is supported by a small plurality of exons, but a majority of trees inferred from exons and their adjacent non‐coding regions.

Key words: cleistocarpy, Entosthodon, mosses, phylogenetics, targeted enrichment