Phylogenomic, biogeography, and evolution of the ancient genus Isoetes with focus on the American clade

• Grant number: 21/11881-4
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Post-doctor
• Start date: May 01, 2022
• End date: April 29, 2023
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Botany - Plant Taxonomy
• Principal Investigator: Jefferson Prado
• Grantee: Jovani Bernardino de Souza Pereira
• Supervisor: Dietmar Quandt
• Host Institution: Instituto de Pesquisas Ambientais (IPA). Secretaria de Meio Ambiente, Infraestrutura e Logística (São Paulo - Estado). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Universität Bonn, Germany
• Associated to the scholarship: 19/07109-4 - Phylogenomic, biogeography, and evolution of the ancient genus Isoetes with focus on the American clade, BP.PD

Abstract

Phylogenetic inferences are being revolutionized with the emerging of next-generation sequencing, which provides enormous amounts of gene sequence data. This data allows to clarify rapid radiations that would be intractable with smaller datasets, and thus, it provides unprecedented opportunities to address fundamental evolutionary questions in intriguing plant groups such as the genus Isoetes. The genus Isoetes is globally distributed with approximately 250 species. South America (SA) is one of the centers of taxonomic diversity with 64 species. Phylogenetic studies revealed species from this region in two major clades: Gondwanan (from tropical areas) and American (from subtropical/temperate regions). American clade is the most diverse group in Isoetes. Despite being well-supported, the relationships among the species within the clade remain poorly understood. Previous studies based on a few molecular regions led to uncertainties in the deep and terminal relationships in the clade. The absence of a well-resolved phylogeny also hampered the capability of estimate the date of the divergence events and biogeography of this group. This study aims to extend the sampling of species from crucial regions from the New World in the phylogeny, explore incongruence between nuclear and organelle (chloroplast and mitochondria) phylogenies, explore the mechanisms which may be responsible for phylogenetic conflicts, and determine the extension to which reticulate evolution has influenced the diversification of American clade. The resulted phylogeny will be calibrated and the ancestral distribution ranges of the species estimated to test biogeography hypotheses. (AU)