A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal
Phylogenomics of the aquatic plant genus Ottelia (Hydrocharitaceae): Implications for historical biogeography
Authors: Zhi-Zhong Li, Samuli Lehtonen, Karina Martins, Andrew W. Gichira, Shuang Wu, Wei Li, Guang-Wan Hu, Yan Liu, Chun-Yu Zou, Qing-Feng Wang, Jin-Ming Chen
Publisher: ACADEMIC PRESS INC ELSEVIER SCIENCE
Publication year: 2020
Journal: Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution
Journal name in source: MOLECULAR PHYLOGENETICS AND EVOLUTION
Journal acronym: MOL PHYLOGENET EVOL
Article number: ARTN 106939
Volume: 152
Number of pages: 9
ISSN: 1055-7903
eISSN: 1095-9513
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2020.106939
Abstract
Ottelia Pers. is the second largest genus of the family Hydrocharitaceae, including approximately 23 extant species. The genus exhibits a diversity of both bisexual and unisexual flowers, and complex reproductive system comprising cross-pollinated to cleistogamous flowers. Ottelia has been regarded as a pivotal group to study the evolution of Hydrocharitaceae, but the phylogenic relationships and evolutionary history of the genus remain unresolved. Here, we reconstructed a robust phylogenetic framework for Ottelia using 40 newly assembled complete plastomes. Our results resolved Ottelia as a monophyletic genus consisting of two major clades, which correspond to the main two centers of diversity in Asia and Africa. According to the divergence time estimation analysis, the crown group Ottelia began to diversify around 13.09 Ma during the middle Miocene. The biogeographical analysis indicated the existence of the most recent common ancestor somewhere in Africa/Australasia/Asia. Basing on further insights from the morphological evolution of Ottelia, we hypothesized that the ancestral center of origin was in Africa, from where the range expanded by transoceanic dispersal to South America and Australasia, and further from Australasia to Asia. We suggested that the climatic change and global cooling since the mid-Miocene, such as the development of East Asian monsoon climate and tectonic movement of the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau (YGP), might have played a crucial role in the evolution of Ottelia in China.
Ottelia Pers. is the second largest genus of the family Hydrocharitaceae, including approximately 23 extant species. The genus exhibits a diversity of both bisexual and unisexual flowers, and complex reproductive system comprising cross-pollinated to cleistogamous flowers. Ottelia has been regarded as a pivotal group to study the evolution of Hydrocharitaceae, but the phylogenic relationships and evolutionary history of the genus remain unresolved. Here, we reconstructed a robust phylogenetic framework for Ottelia using 40 newly assembled complete plastomes. Our results resolved Ottelia as a monophyletic genus consisting of two major clades, which correspond to the main two centers of diversity in Asia and Africa. According to the divergence time estimation analysis, the crown group Ottelia began to diversify around 13.09 Ma during the middle Miocene. The biogeographical analysis indicated the existence of the most recent common ancestor somewhere in Africa/Australasia/Asia. Basing on further insights from the morphological evolution of Ottelia, we hypothesized that the ancestral center of origin was in Africa, from where the range expanded by transoceanic dispersal to South America and Australasia, and further from Australasia to Asia. We suggested that the climatic change and global cooling since the mid-Miocene, such as the development of East Asian monsoon climate and tectonic movement of the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau (YGP), might have played a crucial role in the evolution of Ottelia in China.
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