Multilocus phylogeny of Arrojadoa Britton & Rose, an endemic cactus from eastern Brazil.

• Grant number: 23/06139-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: September 01, 2023
• End date: August 31, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Genetics - Plant Genetics
• Principal Investigator: Evandro Marsola de Moraes
• Grantee: João Victor Dias da Silva
• Host Institution: Centro de Ciências Humanas e Biológicas (CCHB). Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCAR). Sorocaba , SP, Brazil

Abstract

A large part of the Cactaceae diversity in northeastern Brazil belongs to the Cereinae subtribe, which is marked by uncertainties about the phylogenetic relationships between its constituent genera. Arrojadoa Britton & Rose is one of the genera in Cereinae that exhibits uncertainties about its monophyly and hybrid origin of two species (Arrojadoa albiflora and A. marylaniae), as well as a proposal for division into two subgenera (Arrojadoa and Albertbuiningia). This study aims to test these hypotheses about the genus through multilocus DNA sequencing and phylogenetic analyses. To do this, accepted taxon samples of Arrojadoa, possible related members of the internal group, and external group taxa to the genus will be used to infer the phylogenetic relationships between species using coalescence and concatenated likelihood approaches based on sequences of nuclear loci. It is expected that the results generated by this project will contribute to understanding the formation of the floristic communities in the Caatinga and Rupestrian fields of eastern Brazil, as well as to conservation plans for Cactaceae.