Maximum Parsimony Analyses Research Articles

Molecular characterization of Aspergillus fumigatus isolated from raw cow milk in Argentina: Molecular typing of A. fumigatus from raw cow milk

Aspergillus fumigatus, the major etiological agent of human and animal aspergillosis, is a gliotoxinogenic species into section Fumigati commonly found in contaminated animal environments. In dairy herds, exposed areas of lactating cows, as mammalian glandule, can be easily contaminated by them. This study was aimed to identify A. fumigatus sensu lato strains (identified based on morphology) isolated from raw cow milk at species level, by morphological and molecular techniques, and to estimate their genetic variability. Forty-five A. fumigatus strains showed similar RAPD profiles (generated with PELF and URP1F primers) to each other and to A. fumigatus sensu stricto reference strains; also, they were almost identical to clinical human and feed-borne A. fumigatus strains included in the assay, since their similarity coefficient ranged from 0.7 to 1.00. Therefore, all strains were characterized as belonging to A. fumigatus sensu stricto species. This result was supported by sequencing the benA gene of selected strains and by maximum parsimony analysis. In addition, RAPD fingerprinting demonstrated intra-specific genetic variability into the A. fumigatus sensu stricto cluster. The results found in this study strengthen the fact that A. fumigatus sensu stricto is the predominant species in the Aspergillus section Fumigati found in animal environments such as dairy herd environments, while other species such as A. novofumigatus, A. fumigatiaffinis, A. udagawae and A. lentulus may be rarely isolated. Since no differences between animal and human strains were observed they can become pathogenic also for farm handlers'. Moreover, the presence of A. fumigatus sensu stricto in raw cow milk is probably a very important risk factor since milk and its by-products are generally indented for human consumption, then gliotoxin could be transferred to them.

Gaolejeunea, a new genus from China and new member of subtribe Echinolejeuneinae (Lejeuneaceae, Marchantiophyta)

A narrowly endemic species known only from the type locality in Shangsi Co., Guangxi, as well as a peculiar member of the Chinese Lejeuneaceae, Cheilolejeunea gaoi has previously been treated as a species of Cheilolejeunea. However, the presence of Allorgella-type denticulations formed by two adjacent cells on leaf and underleaf margins, small ovate leaf lobules without distinct teeth, ental hyaline papilla, and finely segmented oil bodies all suggest that it belongs somewhere else. Maximum likelihood, maximum parsimony, and Bayesian analyses of a three marker dataset (nrITS, cpDNA rbcL and trnL−F) derived from 85 accessions of Lejeuneeae and 15 outgroup species revealed that C. gaoi belongs to subtribe Echinolejeuneinae. Based on the results of phylogenetic analyses, combined with morphological data, we suggest here that C. gaoi should be established as a new genus, Gaolejeunea. We strongly recommend in situ or ex situ conservation activity for this species based on the IUCN Red List criteria.

Phylogeography of the Macaronesian Lettuce Species Lactuca watsoniana and L. palmensis (Asteraceae).

The phylogenetic relationships and phylogeography of two relatively rare Macaronesian Lactuca species, Lactuca watsoniana (Azores) and L. palmensis (Canary Islands), were, until this date, unclear. Karyological information of the Azorean species was also unknown. For this study, a chromosome count was performed and L. watsoniana showed 2n=34. A phylogenetic approach was used to clarify the relationships of the Azorean endemic L. watsoniana and the La Palma endemic L. palmensis within the subtribe Lactucinae. Maximum parsimony, Maximum likelihood and Bayesian analysis of a combined molecular dataset (ITS and four chloroplast DNA regions) and molecular clock analyses were performed with the Macaronesian Lactuca species, as well as a TCS haplotype network. The analyses revealed that L. watsoniana and L. palmensis belong to different subclades of the Lactuca clade. Lactuca watsoniana showed a strongly supported phylogenetic relationship with North American species, while L. palmensis was closely related to L. tenerrima and L. inermis, from Europe and Africa. Lactuca watsoniana showed four single-island haplotypes. A divergence time estimation of the Macaronesian lineages was used to examine island colonization pathways. Results obtained with BEAST suggest a divergence of L. palmensis and L. watsoniana clades c. 11 million years ago, L. watsoniana diverged from its North American sister species c. 3.8 million years ago and L. palmensis diverged from its sister L. tenerrima, c. 1.3 million years ago, probably originating from an African ancestral lineage which colonized the Canary Islands. Divergence analyses with *BEAST indicate a more recent divergence of the L. watsoniana crown, c. 0.9 million years ago. In the Azores colonization, in a stepping stone, east-to-west dispersal pattern, associated with geological events might explain the current distribution range of L. watsoniana.

Ceratomyxa gracillima n. sp. (Cnidaria: Myxosporea) provides evidence of panmixia and ceratomyxid radiation in the Amazon basin.

We describe a new freshwater myxosporean species Ceratomyxa gracillima n. sp. from the gall bladder of the Amazonian catfish Brachyplatystoma rousseauxii; the first myxozoan recorded in this host. The new Ceratomyxa was described on the basis of its host, myxospore morphometry, ssrDNA and internal transcribed spacer region (ITS-1) sequences. Infected fish were sampled from geographically distant localities: the Tapajós River, Pará State, the Amazon River, Amapá State and the Solimões River, Amazonas State. Immature and mature plasmodia were slender, tapered at both ends, and exhibited vermiform motility. The ribosomal sequences from parasite isolates from the three localities were identical, and distinct from all other Ceratomyxa sequences. No population-level genetic variation was observed, even in the typically more variable ITS-1 region. This absence of genetic variation in widely separated parasite samples suggests high gene flow as a result of panmixia in the parasite populations. Maximum likelihood and maximum parsimony analyses placed C. gracillima n. sp. sister to Ceratomyxa vermiformis in a subclade together with Ceratomyxa brasiliensis and Ceratomyxa amazonensis, all of which have Amazonian hosts. This subclade, together with other Ceratomyxa from freshwater hosts, formed an apparently early diverging lineage. The Amazonian freshwater Ceratomyxa species may represent a radiation that originated during marine incursions into the Amazon basin that introduced an ancestral lineage in the late Oligocene or early Miocene.

Further dismemberment of Discocyrtus with description of a new Amazonian genus and a new subfamily of Gonyleptidae (Opiliones, Laniatores)

A group of Amazonian harvestmen is recognized and described as Amazochroma gen. nov. This taxon includes Discocyrtus carvalhoi Mello-Leitão, 1941 (type species), the only species of Discocyrtus previously thought to occur in Amazonia, and Amazochroma pedroi gen. et sp. nov., described here from the Brazilian states of Acre and Rondônia. New records are added for Amazochroma carvalhoi gen. et comb. nov, expanding its distribution from the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso northwards also to Pará and Amazonas in Brazil and additionally French Guiana and Suriname. Diagnostic features of Amazochroma gen. nov. include: trichromatic pattern of legs, dry marks on the dorsal scutum and base of legs and diastema in the row of macrosetae C of the penis ventral plate. A morphological maximum parsimony analysis (1022 scorings; 16 taxa; 64 characters) is performed to test whether Amazochroma gen. nov. is a member of Discocyrtus and if the traditional allocation of Discocyrtus in Pachylinae is defendable. A clade is retrieved containing three groups: (1) Mitobatinae, (2) Discocyrtus and (3) a clade containing Amazochroma gen. nov., Discocyrtanus and Roeweria, here described as a new subfamily of Gonyleptidae – Roeweriinae subfam. nov. Discocyrtanus Roewer, 1929 and Roeweria Mello-Leitão, 1923 are accordingly here transferred from Pachylinae to Roeweriinae subfam. nov.

First Report of Anthracnose Caused by Colletotrichum nymphaeae on Loquat Fruit in China

HomePlant DiseaseVol. 102, No. 1First Report of Anthracnose Caused by Colletotrichum nymphaeae on Loquat Fruit in China PreviousNext DISEASE NOTES OPENOpen Access licenseFirst Report of Anthracnose Caused by Colletotrichum nymphaeae on Loquat Fruit in ChinaW. X. Wu, Y. Liu, X. Q. Huang, and L. ZhangW. X. WuSearch for more papers by this author, Y. Liu†Corresponding author: Y. Liu; E-mail: E-mail Address: [email protected]Search for more papers by this author, X. Q. HuangSearch for more papers by this author, and L. ZhangSearch for more papers by this authorAffiliationsAuthors and Affiliations W. X. Wu Y. Liu † X. Q. Huang L. Zhang , Institute of Plant Protection, Sichuan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Chengdu 610066, China; Key Laboratory of Integrated Pest Management in Southwest Agriculture Crops of Ministry of Agriculture, Chengdu 610066, China. Published Online:18 Oct 2017https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-06-17-0828-PDNAboutSectionsSupplemental ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack Citations ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditEmailWechat Loquat (Eriobotrya japonica [Thunb.] Lindl.) is one of most important summer fruit crops in China. From May through June 2017, losses associated with fruit anthracnose of at least 3% were observed on stored loquats (cv. Dawuxing) from several commercial orchards in the districts surrounding Chengdu, Sichuan Province. Lesions on the surface of affected fruits were round, deep brown, 1 to 3 cm in diameter, and covered with orange acervuli. Fruits completely rotted with age. Twenty-four symptomatic fruits were collected in three different orchards. Diseased fruit tissues were excised and cut into pieces (5 mm × 5 mm), surface-sterilized in 5% NaOCl for 10 min, 75% ethanol for 60 s, and rinsed three times with sterilized distilled water. The samples were plated on potato dextrose agar (PDA) and incubated at 25 ± 1°C in the dark. The fungal colonies were similar in color varying from white to gray on the upper surface and being mostly orange on the bottom surface. Conidia were hyaline, smooth-walled, aseptate, straight, cylindrical to cylindric-clavate, 13 to 19 × 4 to 5.5 μm, with one end round and one end slightly acute or both ends round. These characteristics match with that described for Colletotrichum acutatum sensu lato. Isolate CDMF-1 was selected as a representative strain for further tests. Partial sequences of the ITS-rDNA, GAPDH, CHS-1, HIS3, ACT, and TUB2 gene regions were used for strain identification (Damm et al. 2012). Sequences were deposited in GenBank (accession nos. MF187553, MF278011–15). Maximum parsimony analysis (MP) was performed on the multilocus alignment (ITS, GAPDH, CHS-1, HIS3, ACT, TUB2) to confirm the identity of the isolate, and the isolate clustered together with C. nymphaeae, as also suggested by the BLAST results. Based on morphology and molecular identification, CDMF-1 was identified as C. nymphaeae (part of the C. acutatum species complex). In order to confirm pathogenicity, freshly picked and healthy loquat fruit were wound-inoculated with a 10 µl droplet of conidia suspension (1 to 3 × 106 conidia/ml); fruits inoculated with sterile water were used as negative controls. Inoculated and control samples were incubated in the laboratory in the dark under moist conditions at 25 ± 1°C and relative humidity at 80 to 85%. Pathogenicity tests were conducted three times. After 3 days, fruit inoculated with conidial suspension presented symptoms similar to that observed in the field, and no symptoms were observed on negative control. The pathogen was reisolated from symptomatic fruit, fulfilling the Koch’s postulates. Several species of the C. acutatum species complex, namely C. acutatum and C. gloeosporioides, have been reported to cause loquat fruit rot (Cao and Zheng 2010; Naz et al. 2017). C. nymphaeae has previously been reported to cause bitter rot on apples in southern Brazil (Velho et al. 2014), but to our knowledge, this is the first report of C. nymphaeae causing loquat anthracnose worldwide.

Phylogeny of Hesionidae (Aciculata, Annelida), with four new species from deep-sea eastern Pacific methane seeps, and resolution of the affinity of Hesiolyra

Hesionidae Grube, 1850 currently comprises over 175 species in 28 genera, placed in several subfamilies. Discoveries in recent years have largely been of deep-sea taxa. Here we describe a further four new hesionid species, mainly from methane ‘cold’ seeps at around 1000–1800 m depths off the Pacific coast of Costa Rica and new record of another species. Several of these taxa also occur at methane seeps in the Guaymas Basis (Mexico) and off the USA west coast (California and Oregon). The phylogenetic relationships within Hesionidae are reassessed via maximum parsimony and maximum likelihood analyses of DNA sequences from nuclear (18S rRNA and 28SrRNA) and mitochondrial (16SrRNA and Cytochrome c oxidase I) loci for the new samples. On the basis of these results, we refer one of the new species to Gyptis Marion & Bobretzky in Marion, 1874, one to Neogyptis Pleijel, Rouse, Sundkvist & Nygren, 2012, and two to Sirsoe Pleijel, 1998. The new species Gyptis robertscrippsi n. sp., Neogyptis jeffruoccoi n. sp., Sirsoe dalailamai n. sp. and Sirsoe munki n. sp. We refer to a collection of individuals from seeps ranging from Oregon to Costa Rica as Amphiduropsis cf. axialensis (Blake & Hilbig, 1990), even though this species was described from hydrothermal vents off Oregon. Neogyptis jeffruoccoi n. sp. was generally found living inside the solemyid clam Acharax johnsoni (Dall, 1891). The position of Hesiolyra bergi Blake, 1985 is resolved on the basis of newly-collected specimens from near the type locality and, as a result, Hesiolyrinae Pleijel, 1998 is synonymized with Gyptini Pleijel, 1998 (and Gyptinae Pleijel, 1998). http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:9C0E88EE-34F8-4F25-9EC8-91797618AC86

A new species of Cymbocarpum (Apiaceae) from the Central AnatoliaRegion of Turkey and its phylogenetic position within Tordylieae

A new species, Cymbocarpum alinihatii, is described from the Central Anatolia Region of Turkey. Diagnostic and morphological characteristics that distinguish it from allied species C. anethoides, C. wiedemannii, C. amanum, C. erythraeum, and C. marginatum and an identification key for all Cymbocarpum species are provided. To assess its phylogenetic placement, a maximum parsimony analysis of nrDNA ITS sequences from representative members of tribe Tordylieae was carried out. It shows that the new species nests within a well-supported clade comprising members of Cymbocarpum with strong bootstrap value, but it is distinguished from its most closely related species, C. anethoides and C. wiedemannii. In terms of stem and leaf hairiness, leaf type, and mericarp shape, C. alinihatii differs from C. anethoides by having sparsely to densely scabrid hairy stem and leaf (not glabrous), sometimes having ternate leaves and ovate mericarp shape (not elliptic to oblong). The distribution areas of these two species are also isolated in the high mountains occupying large areas of eastern Turkey. The new species clearly differs from C. wiedemannii by having 4−8 cm (not 20−40 cm) high stem, ca. 1−1.5 cm leaf lamina (not 3 cm), 1−2 cm petiole (not 5 cm), 2−4 mm ultimate leaf segments (not 5 mm), umbel with generally 4−7 (not 10−20) rays, and hairy 2.9−3.2 mm (not 4−5 mm) long mericarps. Based on characters of morphology, and concordant with the molecular phylogenetic results, we recognize the new species as belonging to the genus Cymbocarpum.

Morphology and molecular phylogeny of the marine diatom <i>Nitzschia dentatum</i> sp. nov. and <i>N. johorensis</i> sp. nov. (Bacillariophyceae) from Malaysia

The marine diatom Nitzschia dentatum sp. nov. isolated from seawater samples of Kudat and N. johorensis sp. nov. isolated from beach sand samples of Sibu Island, Malaysia, have been described in this paper. Morphological identification, molecular phylogeny and toxin analyses were executed on the pure non-axenic algal cultures designated as KD89 and PS8, respectively. The main distinguishing feature of N. dentatum sp. nov. compared to other species is the jaggedcingulum structure which is only unique to this species. Meanwhile, N. johorensis sp. nov.is strongly characterized by the ‘hantzschioid’and ‘nitzschioid’ symmetry dimorphisms; a common diagnostic feature but rarely described in other Nitzschia species. Identification of both strains was made based on the frustule diagnostic features and verified using the partial large ribosomal subunit DNA sequences. The results have confirmed that these two speciesare independent entities and novel species that have not been documented elsewhere. A notable finding from the Maximum Likelihood (ML), Maximum Parsimony (MP) and Bayesian Index (BI) analyses have also revealed that Nitzschia species that have indentation in the middle of valves have been consistently grouped as same clade with high bootstrap values. The extracts of both species did not show detectable amount of domoicacid and have therefore, been classified as non-toxic. This discovery contributes to the documentation of Nitzschia species worldwide.Bangladesh J. Plant Taxon. 24(2): 183–196.

Phylogenetic relationships and intraspecific diversity of a North Patagonian Fescue: evidence of differentiation and interspecific introgression at peripheral populations

Peripheral sites usually offer suboptimal conditions for species with wide distributions, where expression of phenotypic variability and potential interspecific hybridization might be enhanced. The Patagonian steppe, the largest and southernmost dryland ecosystem in South America, is characterized by natural rangelands dominated by grasses. Festuca pallescens is a keystone species with a wide distribution in Patagonia over diverse environments reaching the extreme arid zones in the Somuncura plateau, a biogeographical island. Our aim is to study the phylogenetic relationships among Festuca pallescens populations as well as between this species and the sympatric F. argentina in North Patagonia. We analysed fourteen populations along a west-east transect of about 500 km in North Patagonia with three types of molecular markers: ITS, chloroplast trnL-F and eight nuclear microsatellites. Bayesian inferences, maximum parsimony and maximum likelihood analyses with trnL-F and ITS showed that F. pallescens is related to the Patagonian clade within the Festuca phylogeny. However, the easternmost populations of F. pallescens at Somuncura plateau were highly differentiated from the other populations and clustered with F. argentina (a sympatric species of the Asian-American clade). Principal coordinates analyses and Bayesian clustering performed with nuclear microsatellites as well as morphoanatomical traits, showed an intermediate position of one of these easternmost populations with respect to the two species, suggesting admixture. The high genetic variability observed in these peripheral populations highlight their relevance for conservation and might be indicating the existence of evolutionary processes triggering events of speciation in the Patagonian fescues.

Nuclear Ribosomal DNA Reveals Infraspecific Variation inCorethrogyne filaginifolia(Asteraceae)

Abstract Corethrogyne DC. (Asteraceae) is a controversial genus due to complex and confounding variability, and the subject of multiple taxonomic revisions. It was previously included within Lessingia Cham. The single species, C. filaginifolia Nutt., has high infraspecific variability. This study was conducted to better understand this infraspecific variability for C. filaginifolia var. incana (Lindl.) Canby and C. filaginifolia var. linifolia H. M. Hall. Barcoding loci from nuclear ribosomal DNA (nrDNA) and chloroplast DNA (cpDNA) were used along with morphological comparisons of voucher specimens. Based on two nrDNA loci, maximum parsimony, maximum likelihood, and Bayesian analyses, we detected five haplotypes of C. filaginifolia. The two focal varieties of this study, C. filaginifolia var. incana and C. filaginifolia var. linifolia, were indistinguishable at both, nrDNA and cpDNA loci.

Molecular phylogeny of Scutellaria (Lamiaceae; Scutellarioideae) in Iranian highlands inferred from nrITS and trnL-F sequences

Scutellaria with about 360 species is one of the largest genera of Lamiaceae. The Iranian highlands accommodate about 40 Scutellaria spp., and is considered as one of the main centers of diversity of the genus. Here, we present a phylogenetic study for 44 species of Scutellaria especially from Iranian highlands, representing major subgeneric taxa, based on nuclear ribosomal ITS and trnL intron and trnL-F intergenic spacer using Maximum Parsimony (MP) and Bayesian Inference (BI) analyses. The monophyly of Scutellaria is confirmed in our study, but Scutellaria subg. Scutellaria is shown to be paraphyletic with S. subg. Apeltanthus embedded within it. Moreover, our results reveal that S. subg. Apeltanthus is paraphyletic including one accession of S. repens of S. subg. Scutellaria nested within. In addition, the two sections of S. subg. Apeltanthus, i.e. sect. Apeltanthus and sect. Lupulinaria, are not supported as monophyletic by our plastid and nuclear topologies. Thus, the subgeneric classification of Scutellaria which is mainly based on morphological characters such as the type of inflorescence, shape of calyces, presence of a scutellum and a bladder-like appendage on the upper calyx lip is not supported by our molecular data. Additionally, our phylogenetic study corroborates Paton’s finding on primitive position of S. sect. Scutellaria, but disagrees with the intermediate position of S. sect. Salviifolia between S. subg. Scutellaria and S. subg. Apeltanthus.

Molecular Phylogeny of the Grassland Leafhopper Tribe Hecalini (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae: Deltocephalinae)

The phylogenetic status and relationships of the globally distributed grassland leafhopper tribe Hecalini were explored by analyzing a DNA sequence dataset comprising three gene regions (nuclear 28S rDNA, histone H3, 12S mtDNA) for 14 genera and 29 species plus 9 outgroups. Bayesian, maximum likelihood, and maximum parsimony analyses recovered similar trees and supported the monophyly of Hecalini and its two included subtribes, but excluded the Oriental genus Hecalusina He, Zhang & Webb, the position of which was poorly resolved among the included outgroup taxa. Within subtribe Hecalina, the analysis recovered two major lineages, one including only New World taxa and the other including a second New World clade nested within a larger lineage comprising taxa from the Afrotropical, Oriental, and Australian regions. The large, widely distributed genus Hecalus was not recovered as monophyletic. Species of this genus grouped into two separate, noncontiguous clades, one North American and the other comprising African, Australian, and Oriental species.

A new chelydroid turtle, Lutemys warreni, gen. et sp. nov., from the Upper Cretaceous (Campanian) Kaiparowits Formation of southern utah

ABSTRACTA fragmentary skeleton from the Kaiparowits Formation (Upper Campanian) of southern Utah represents a new taxon of chelydroid turtle herein named Lutemys warreni. Lutemys warreni differs from other chelydroids in the presence of a smooth shell, lack of plastral or carapacial fontanelles, and development of a thin, gracile plastron. A maximum parsimony analysis of all Late Cretaceous and early Paleogene chelydroids from Laramidia suggests that L. warreni is the most basal known stem kinosternoid. Lutemys warreni therefore represents the fourth named pan-kinosternoid from the Late Cretaceous western island landmass of Laramidia and the first named pan-kinosternoid from the Kaiparowits Formation. The description of L. warreni increases the taxonomic diversity of the Kaiparowits Formation to 16 turtle taxa, making it one of the most diverse fossil turtle assemblages.http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:C199E9AE-6F3C-442A-AA12-3960B28F4066SUPPLEMENTAL DATA—Supplemental materials are available for this article for free at www.tandfonline.com/UJVPCitation for this article: Lyson, T. R., W. G. Joyce, and J. J. W. Sertich. 2017. A new chelydroid turtle, Lutemys warreni, gen. et sp. nov., from the Upper Cretaceous (Campanian) Kaiparowits Formation of southern Utah. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. DOI: 10.1080/02724634.2017.1390672.

Morphological phylogenetic conflict in the parasitic mite family Harpirhynchidae (Acariformes: Cheyletoidea) correlates with host associations

The mite family Harpirhynchidae (Acariformes: Cheyletoidea) comprises 154 named species from 15 genera, all of which are permanent parasites of birds or snakes. We inferred the phylogeny of the family with maximum parsimony (MP) and Bayesian analyses for 67 ingroup and 3 outgroup species from the families Cheyletidae, Demodecidae, and Psorergatidae based on 177 morphological characters. The analyses revealed uncertainty of monophyly of the subfamily Harpirhynchinae. The subfamilies Harpypalpinae and Ophioptinae constitute a monophyletic group which is either sister to Demodecidae+Psorergatidae (supported by Bayesian analysis and by 59% of MP trees) or Harpirhynchinae (41% of MP trees). Harpirhynchids were shown to be highly host specific, with 69.5% being monoxenous species and 23% species are associated with several closely related hosts. Results of multinomial logistic regression showed that the microhabitat on the host and type of cysts produced by mites do not significantly influence at level of their host specificity. Ancestral host reconstruction shows that mites of the clade Harpypalpinae+Ophioptinae evolved to parasitism on Passeriformes independently from the Harpirhynchinae. Ancestor of ophioptines switched to an ancestor of colubroid snakes from passerines. In contrast, harpirhynchines colonized a common ancestor of neognathous birds. In the subfamily Harpirhynchinae, the ancestral microhabitat was probably the surface of the host's skin, with intracutaneous parasitism being a more derived lifestyle. According to reconstructed phylogenetic pattern, parasitism at the feather bases of passerine hosts arose independently in two genera (Neharpyrhynchus and Trichorhynchiella) from intracutaneous parasitism.

Phylogenetic Analyses of Quasars and Galaxies

Phylogenetic approaches have proven to be useful in astrophysics. We have recently published a Maximum Parsimony (or cladistics) analysis on two samples of 215 and 85 low-z quasars (z < 0.7) which offer a satisfactory coverage of the Eigenvector 1-derived main sequence. Cladistics is not only able to group sources radiating at higher Eddington ratios, to separate radio-quiet (RQ) and radio-loud (RL) quasars and properly distinguishes core-dominated and lobe-dominated quasars, but it suggests a black hole mass threshold for powerful radio emission as already proposed elsewhere. An interesting interpretation from this work is that the phylogeny of quasars may be represented by the ontogeny of their central black hole, i.e. the increase of the black hole mass. However these exciting results are based on a small sample of low-z quasars, so that the work must be extended. We are here faced with two difficulties. The first one is the current lack of a larger sample with similar observables. The second one is the prohibitive computation time to perform a cladistic analysis on more that about one thousand objects. We show in this paper an experimental strategy on about 1500 galaxies to get around this difficulty. Even if it not related to the quasar study, it is interesting by itself and opens new pathways to generalize the quasar findings.

Phenotypic evolution in marmoset and tamarin monkeys (Cebidae, Callitrichinae) and a revised genus-level classification

Marmosets and tamarins (Cebidae, Callitrichinae) constitute the most species-rich subfamily of New World monkeys and one of the most diverse phenotypically. Despite the profusion of molecular phylogenies of the group, the evolution of phenotypic characters under the rapidly-emerging consensual phylogeny of the subfamily has been little studied, resulting in taxonomic proposals that have limited support from other datasets. We examined the evolution of 18 phenotypic traits (5 continuous and 13 discrete), including pelage, skull, dentition, postcrania, life-history and vocalization variables in a robust molecular phylogeny of marmoset and tamarin monkeys, quantifying their phylogenetic signal and correlations among some of the traits. At the family level, our resulting topology supports owl monkeys (Aotinae) as sister group of Callitrichinae. The topology of the callitrichine tree was congruent with previous studies except for the position of the midas group of Saguinus tamarins, which placement as sister of the bicolor group did not receive significant statistical support in both Maximum Parsimony and Bayesian Inference analyses. Our results showed that the highest value of phylogenetic signal among continuous traits was displayed by the long call character and the lowest was exhibited in the home range, intermediate values were found in characters related to osteology and skull size. Among discrete traits, pelage and osteology had similar phylogenetic signal. Based on genetic, osteological, pelage and vocalization data, we present an updated genus-level taxonomy of Callitrichinae, which recognizes six genera in the subfamily: Callimico, Callithrix, Cebuella, Mico, Leontopithecus and Saguinus. To reflect their phenotypic distinctiveness and to avoid the use of the informal “species group”, we subdivided Saguinus in the subgenera Leontocebus, Saguinus and Tamarinus (revalidated here).

Cleonini (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Lixinae) are monophyletic and flightless: tribe overview, rampant adult homoplasy and illustrated global diversity.

We summarize knowledge of the weevil tribe Cleonini worldwide, including its monophyly, relationships, distribution, biology, immature stages, economic significance and paleontology. We score adult morphological characters for 79 of a total of 96 extant genus-group Cleonini taxa considered valid to date. The resulting matrix contains 121 parsimoniously informative characters scored for 145 ingroup (Cleonini) and 29 outgroup terminals. Maximum Parsimony (MP) and Bayesian Inference (BI) analyses consistently recover monophyletic Lixinae and Cleonini. Relationships within the latter remain unresolved with either 47 (BI) or 37 (MP) branches radiating from the tribe's most recent common ancestor. Most of the speciose genera of Cleonini emerge as monophyletic in both BI and MP analyses (generic names followed by the number of terminals, then by BI posterior probability / MP bootstrap): Adosomus (5, 94/77), Asproparthenis (6, 99/98), Chromonotus (6, 98/85), Cleonis (3, 64/76), Coniocleonus (10, 95/41), Conorhynchus (5, 95/51), Cyphoclenus (4, 65/76), Maximus (4, 84/68), Mecaspis (4, 95/91), Scaphomorphus (4, 90/84), Temnorhinus (8, 99/62) and Xanthochelus (6, 84/71). The genera Pseudocleonus (6, -/26) and Stephanocleonus (22, -/23) are not recovered in BI and weakly supported in MP. No genera are here added to, or removed from, Cleonini. We suggest that adult morphology of Cleonini was subject to widespread homoplasy obscuring the phylogenetic signal of morphological characters. Unlike the rest of Lixinae, all extant Cleonini are hypothesised to be flightless, even though often being macropterous. All 145 ingroup terminals are illustrated in three standard views; images of the type species of 15 of the 17 genus-group taxa that are not represented in our analysis are provided.

Phylogenetic relationships of Limonium (Plumbaginaceae) inferred from multiple chloroplast and nuclear loci

AbstractLimonium (Plumbaginaceae) is a nearly cosmopolitan halophytic genus with ca. 350 species, a large number of which occurs in the Mediterranean region. We have generated a sequence dataset of several plastid (trnK intron including the matK gene, petD intron with the petB‐petD spacer, trnL intron with the trnL‐trnF spacer) and one nuclear region (nrITS), spanning the major lineages within the genus (102 accessions representing 76 species of Limonium) and related genera. Bayesian inference, maximum likelihood and maximum parsimony analyses converge on a Limonium clade that includes the genera Afrolimon, Eremolimon and Linczevskia. Plastid and nuclear trees congruently depict a number of major clades, most of them with a characteristic vegetative morphology and growing in specific habitats. Although the position of Afrolimon is incongruently resolved as the sister of a subclade comprising Limonium vulgareand relatives in the plastid trees versus being the sister to a Limonium sogdianum–L. bellidifolium–L. aureum clade in the nrITS tree, both genomic compartments show that Afrolimon is deeply nested in Limonium. Eremolimon is resolved as a close relative of L. sogdianum and L. ferganense based on plastid and nuclear genomic compartments. Our phylogenetic analysis resulted in an improved picture of internal relationships. Apart from the monophyletic subgenera Limonium subg. Limonium and L.subg.Pteroclados , nine well‐supported clades of L. subg. Limonium are evident, several of which are predominantly constituted by species of a certain geographic range. A subclade of Irano‐Turanian species (L. iranicum, L. suffruticosum and relatives) is shown to be unrelated to a L. axillare subclade, indicating an independent origin of the woody habit in these two lineages. Limonium sect. Iranolimonsect. nov. is described for the Irano‐Turanian woody lineage. The new combination L. sect. Circinaria comb. nov., is established for taxa sometimes included in Afrolimon.

Unraveling the phylogenetic relationships of Nectouxia (Solanaceae): its position relative to Salpichroa

Fil: Carrizo Garcia, Carolina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas. Centro Cientifico Tecnologico Conicet - Cordoba. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biologia Vegetal. Universidad Nacional de Cordoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Fisicas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biologia Vegetal; Argentina