Darwin's abominable mystery: insights from a supertree of the angiosperms

Angiosperms are among the major terrestrial radiations of life and a model group for studying patterns and processes of diversification. As a tool for future comparative studies, we compiled a supertree of angiosperm families from published phylogenetic studies. Sequence data from the plastid rbcL g...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS 2004-02, Vol.101 (7), p.1904-1909
Main Authors: Davies, T.J, Barraclough, T.G, Chase, M.W, Soltis, P.S, Soltis, D.E, Savolainen, V
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Angiosperms
Biodiversity
Biological Sciences
Calibration
Estimated taxes
Evolution
Evolution, Molecular
Flowers & plants
Fossils
Genetics
Hardwood trees
Magnoliopsida - classification
Magnoliopsida - physiology
Parsimony
Phylogenetics
Phylogeny
Sisters
Studies
Taxa
Time Factors
Topology
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Summary:Angiosperms are among the major terrestrial radiations of life and a model group for studying patterns and processes of diversification. As a tool for future comparative studies, we compiled a supertree of angiosperm families from published phylogenetic studies. Sequence data from the plastid rbcL gene were used to estimate relative timing of branching events, calibrated by using robust fossil dates. The frequency of shifts in diversification rate is largely constant among time windows but with an apparent increase in diversification rates within the more recent time frames. Analyses of species numbers among families revealed that diversification rate is a labile attribute of lineages at all levels of the tree. An examination of the top 10 major shifts in diversification rates indicates they cannot easily be attributed to the action of a few key innovations but instead are consistent with a more complex process of diversification, reflecting the interactive effects of biological traits and the environment.
ISSN:0027-8424
1091-6490
DOI:10.1073/pnas.0308127100