Plastome phylogenomics and phylogenetic diversity of endangered and threatened grassland species (Poaceae) in a North American tallgrass prairie

Author ORCID Identifier

Phyllis Pischl:https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4241-305X

Publication Title

Ecology and Evolution

E-ISSN

20457758

Document Type

Article

Abstract

Native grasslands are one of the most endangered ecosystems in North America. In this study, we examined the ecological and evolutionary roles of endangered and threatened (e/t) grasses by establishing robust evolutionary relationships with other nonthreatened native and introduced grass species of the community. We hypothesized that the phylogenomic distribution of e/t species of grasses in Illinois would be phylogenetically clustered because closely related species would be vulnerable to the same threats and have similar requirements for survival. This study presents the first time a phylogeny based on complete plastome DNA of Poaceae was analyzed by phylogenetic diversity analysis. To avoid the disturbance of e/t populations, DNA was extracted from herbarium specimens. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) techniques were used to sequence DNA of plastid genomes (plastomes). The resulting phylogenomic tree was analyzed by phylogenetic diversity metrics. The extracted DNA successfully produced complete plastomes demonstrating that herbarium material is a practical source of DNA for genomic studies. The phylogenomic tree was strongly supported and defined Dichanthelium as a separate clade from Panicum. The phylogenetic metrics revealed phylogenetic clustering of e/t species, confirming our hypothesis.

First Page

7602

Last Page

7615

Publication Date

7-1-2020

DOI

10.1002/ece3.6484

Keywords

chloroplast, endangered species, phylogenetic diversity, phylogenomics, plastid, plastomes, Poaceae

Department

Department of Biological Sciences

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