Evidence for a Miocene pulse of diversification of the tropical American clade of the Brazil nut family (Lecythidaceae)

Abstract

ABSTRACT The tropical American species of the Brazil nut family, Lecythidaceae, are abundant in the tree flora, with some economically important species. Yet, the phylogenetic relationships and pace of diversification within this family are understudied. Here, we used shotgun sequencing data for 86 of the 228 currently accepted species in the exclusively tropical American subfamily Lecythidoideae in a phylogenomic context. For each sampled species, we built the full plastid DNA sequence, and also extracted nuclear DNA for 571 regions using the new bioinformatics pipeline REFMAKER, which we used to produce a time-calibrated phylogenetic hypothesis. Our analysis shows that phylogenetic inference from plastid and nuclear DNA alignments resulted in different topologies. The nuclear DNA topology strongly suggests that genus Lecythis should be split into at least four genera. Samples of the genus Eschweilera formed a monophyletic group, with the exception of one sampled species (Eschweilera amazoniciformis S.A.Mori). The Bertholletia clade, which contains the majority of the Lecythidoideae species, and all Lecythis and Eschweilera species, started diversifying around 27.5 Ma, with an accelerated rate of diversification starting in the middle Miocene (c. 12 Ma). The clade sister to Bertholletia (including Corythophora, Eschweilera, and Corrugata, Chartacea and Poiteaui clades) includes at least 124 species and it has diversified less than 10 Ma. This time frame of diversification coincides with major changes in tropical American landscapes and climate associated with the Andean uplift.