ARPHA Preprints, doi: 10.3897/arphapreprints.e117538

Refining the phylogeny and taxonomy of the apple tribe Maleae (Rosaceae): insights from phylogenomic analyses of 563 plastomes and a taxonomic synopsis of Photinia and its allies in the Old World

Hui Wang^‡, Xiaoya Li^§, Yan Jiang^|, Yu Zhang^¶, Zetao Jin^#, Daikun Ma^§, Bing Liu^¤, Chao Xu^§, BinJie Ge^«, Ting Wang^», Qiang Fan^˄, ShuiHu Jin^‡, Guangning Liu^˅, Binbin Liu^§

‡ College of Forestry and Biotechnology, Zhejiang Agriculture and Forestry University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China§ State Key Laboratory of Plant Diversity and Specialty Crops, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China| Key Laboratory of Plant Resources Conservation and Sustainable Utilization, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China¶ College of Life Sciences & Herbarium of Northwest A&F University, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, China# College of Horticulture, State Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics & Germplasm Enhancement and Utilization, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China¤ Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China« Eastern China Conservation Center for Wild Endangered Plant Resources, Shanghai Chenshan Botanical Garden, No.3888 Chenhua Road, Songjiang District, Shanghai, China» Hangzhou Botanical Garden (Hangzhou West Lake Academy of Landscape Science), Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China˄ State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol and Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Resources, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China˅ China National Botanical Garden, Beijing, China

Corresponding author: Hui Wang ( wangh_0919@outlook.com )

Corresponding author: ShuiHu Jin ( jsh501@163.com )

Corresponding author: Guangning Liu ( g.n.liu0316@gmail.com )

Corresponding author: Binbin Liu ( liubinbin@ibcas.ac.cn )

This is an open access preprint distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Citation: Wang H, Li X, Jiang Y, Zhang Y, Jin Z, Ma D, Liu B, Xu C, Ge B, Wang T, Fan Q, Jin S, Liu G, Liu B (2023) Refining the phylogeny and taxonomy of the apple tribe Maleae (Rosaceae): insights from phylogenomic analyses of 563 plastomes and a taxonomic synopsis of Photinia and its allies in the Old World. ARPHA Preprints. https://doi.org/10.3897/arphapreprints.e117538

Abstract

This study addresses the longstanding absence of a comprehensive phylogenetic backbone for the apple tribe Maleae, a deficiency attributed to limited taxon and marker sampling. We conducted an extensive taxon sampling, incorporating 563 plastomes from a diverse range of 370 species encompassing 26 presently recognized genera. Employing a range of phylogenetic inference methods, including RAxML and IQ-TREE2 for Maximum Likelihood (ML) analyses, we established a robust phylogenetic framework for the Maleae tribe. Our phylogenomic investigations provided compelling support for three major clades within Maleae. By integrating nuclear phylogenetic data with morphological and chromosomal evidence, we propose an updated infra-tribal taxonomic system, comprising subtribe Malinae Reveal, subtribe Lindleyinae Reveal, and subtribe Vauqueliniinae B.B.Liu (subtr. nov.). Plastid phylogenetic analysis also confirmed the monophyly of most genera, except for Amelanchier, Malus, Sorbus sensu lato, and Stranvaesia. In addition, we present a comprehensive taxonomic synopsis of Photinia and its morphological allies in the Old World, recognizing 27 species and ten varieties within Photinia, three species and two varieties within Stranvaesia, and two species and three varieties within Weniomeles. Furthermore, we also lectotypified for 12 names and made two new combinations. This research fills critical gaps in the evolutionary history of the tribe Maleae and provides a refined taxonomic framework for future botanical studies.

Keywords

classification, lectotype, nomenclature, Pourthiaea, Stranvaesia, typification, Weniomeles