A Comprehensive Phylogenomic Platform for Exploring the Angiosperm Tree of Life

Area of Science:

• Phylogenomics
• Evolutionary Biology
• Botany

Background:

• The evolutionary history of flowering plants (angiosperms) remains incompletely understood, despite their ecological importance.
• High-throughput sequencing technologies offer new avenues to resolve these evolutionary relationships.
• Existing data gaps hinder a comprehensive understanding of the angiosperm tree of life.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a comprehensive phylogenomic platform for the angiosperm tree of life.
• To document methods, release initial data, and present an open data portal.
• To generate and integrate nuclear phylogenomic data from diverse sources, including natural history collections.

Main Methods:

• Utilized the Angiosperms353 sequence capture probes targeting 353 nuclear genes.
• Developed a phylogenomic platform with open tools and data.
• Exploited herbarium specimens and public data for sequence generation.
• Validated 3099 samples using DNA barcoding and phylogenetic tests.

Main Results:

• The first data release is the most extensive nuclear phylogenomic dataset for angiosperms to date.
• Inferred a "first pass" angiosperm tree of life from 824,878 sequences.
• The tree supports existing taxonomy and challenges/clarifies numerous hypothesized relationships.
• The data and tree are openly accessible via the Kew Tree of Life Explorer.

Conclusions:

• This work represents a major milestone toward a complete tree of life for flowering plants.
• The platform and data facilitate an integrated future for angiosperm phylogenomics.
• The approach bridges large-scale genomics initiatives with natural history collection data.