Phylogenomic studies in the Marlierea clade (Myrcia sect. Aulomyrcia, Myrtaceae): towards untangling the Myrcia neoobscura species complex

• Grant number: 22/02864-1
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Master's degree
• Start date: July 04, 2022
• End date: January 03, 2023
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Botany - Plant Taxonomy
• Principal Investigator: Maria do Carmo Estanislau do Amaral
• Grantee: Paulo Henrique Gaem Barbosa
• Supervisor: Eve Lucas
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biologia (IB). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, England
• Associated to the scholarship: 21/06436-1 - Delimitation of species in the Myrcia neoobscura complex (Myrtaceae): where are the differences hiding?, BP.MS

Abstract

Tribe Myrteae is responsible for the rich representation of the Angiosperm family Myrtaceae in the Neotropics. Within Myrteae, subtribe Myrciinae is composed of the single, broadly-defined genus Myrcia DC. Myrcia sect. Aulomyrcia (O.Berg) Griseb. is the most morphologically variable section, including five informal morphological groups, one of which is the 'Marlierea clade'. The 'Marlierea clade' includes the Myrcia neoobscura E.Lucas & C.E.Wilson species complex. A preliminary morphometric analysis showed that the eight currently accepted species of this complex comprise 12 morphological groups, with four potentially artificial species. Hence, a phylogenomic work is here proposed based on the target sequencing method of the Angiosperms353 probe set, a universal set for sequencing 353 nuclear genes from all flowering plants. This project aims at building an evolutionary hypothesis of the 'Marlierea clade' and testing the monophyly of the taxa involved, as well as comparing the results obtained here with the morphometric output. A total of 61 specimens will be sampled. Samples will be processed in the Jodrell Laboratory of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (RBGKew), where DNA extraction, library preparation, pooling and hybridisation, DNA sequencing, sequence assembly, and statistical analyses will be performed. All required training will be received at RBGKew, a major centre of botanical research and where the systematics of Myrtaceae and phylogenomics are institutional priorities. This research is proposed to be executed in six months. (AU)