Resolving Cypriniformes relationships using an anchored enrichment approach

Area of Science:

• Ichthyology
• Evolutionary Biology
• Genomics

Background:

• Cypriniformes, comprising minnows, carps, loaches, and suckers, is the world's largest freshwater fish order with ~4300 species.
• Previous studies on Cypriniformes relationships using molecular and morphological data yielded incongruent results.
• This research addresses the need for a robust phylogenetic framework for this diverse fish order.

Purpose of the Study:

• To establish a comprehensive and robust phylogeny for the order Cypriniformes.
• To resolve incongruent relationships reported in previous molecular and morphological studies.
• To provide a reliable evolutionary framework for future research on Cypriniformes.

Main Methods:

• Phylogenomic analysis using anchored hybrid enrichment.
• Inclusion of 172 taxa representing the order Cypriniformes and three out-group taxa.
• Analysis of a large dataset comprising 219 loci (315,288 bp).

Main Results:

• Concatenation and species tree analyses yielded highly congruent results, establishing a robust phylogenetic tree.
• The analysis achieved 97% of nodes with 100% bootstrap support.
• Key findings include the monophyly of Cobitoidei and specific placement of Danionidae, resolving previous ambiguities.

Conclusions:

• The study validates most major clades previously identified in molecular studies.
• It provides the first robust resolution of relationships among these major Cypriniformes clades.
• The established phylogenetic framework is ideal for future evolutionary studies, including phylogeography, diversification, and comparative genomics.