RECENT ADVANCES IN THE MEGADIVERSE LEGUME SUBFAMILY PAPILIONOIDEAE - PART I

ID: 613 / 161

Category: Symposia

Track: Pending

Proposed Symposium Title: RECENT ADVANCES IN THE MEGADIVERSE LEGUME SUBFAMILY PAPILIONOIDEAE - PART I

Abstract: The megadiverse legume subfamily Papilionoideae contains over 14,000 species across every major terrestrial ecosystem, with myriad lifeforms and life-histories. Its representatives are well-known for their economic and social importance (e.g., beans, peas, lentils, rosewoods and many others), and their ecological significance in nutrient cycling, habitat infrastructure and coevolution with nitrogen fixing bacteria. Although almost any evolutionary question can be asked about the papilionoids, building a comprehensive phylogeny is the first step in trying to understand the successful evolutionary history of this group. Recent molecular advances have opened new avenues and allowed systematists to include hundreds or thousands of nuclear genes, accounting for different processes and distinct gene histories. For example, it was suggested by Koenen et al. (2021) that the relationships in Papilionoideae could be better represented by a network, raising questions such as what are the causes of this reticulation?—ILS, hybridization, polyploidization or gene tree estimation error. Therefore, this symposium will focus on large-scale studies across the subfamily and key clades within it highlighting the new findings and questions that remain to be answered. This will serve as a valuable update for a wide audience as it aims to present the first comprehensive phylogeny for this subfamily generated with nuclear genes, along with talks presenting the recent advances in understanding the large Dalbergioid and Mirbelioid clades, the tribe Phaseoleae, and phylogenetic reconstruction methods. The proposed symposium will also highlight the collaborative approach of Legume Phylogeny Working Group, (LPWG), and demonstrate how collaborative networks is speeding up advances in one of the most successful angiosperm groups. The interdisciplinary approach to be presented in this symposium could serve as framework for studying other large groups of plants, making the symposium attractive to a broad audience at the IBC 2024.

Speaker 1: Rafaela Jorge Trad (Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, 20a Inverleith Row, EH3 5LR, Edinburgh, United Kingdom, rtrad@rbge.org.uk) and Gregory Kenicer (Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, 20a Inverleith Row, EH3 5LR, Edinburgh, United Kingdom, gkenicer@rbge.org.uk) and – Tentative title: Papilionoid legumes phylogeny: what do we know and what is still left to do?

Speaker 2: Ana Paula Fortuna (São Paulo State University – Botucatu, Brazil, ana.fortuna@unesp.br) and Bente Bang Klitgård (Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, Surrey TW93AE, United Kingdom, b.klitgaard@kew.org) – Tentative title: Advances in legume systematics: insights from the Dalbergiod clade (from rosewoods to fodder plants and peanuts).

Speaker 3: Ozan Sentürk (Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, 20a Inverleith Row, EH3 5LR, Edinburgh, United Kingdom, osenturk@rbge.org.uk), Gregory Kenicer (Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, 20a Inverleith Row, EH3 5LR, Edinburgh, United Kingdom, gkenicer@rbge.org.uk), and Zeki Aytaç (Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Gazi University, Ankara, Turkey, zaytac@gazi.edu.tr) – Tentative title: Revisiting Ebenus L. (Leguminosae): A Molecular Perspective.

Topics (Up to three): Systematics

Topic 2: Phylogenetics and Phylogenomics

Topic 3: Macroevolution

Justification: This symposium presents key advances in the Papilonoideae. This extremely diverse and economically important group attracts scientists across many disciplines; its members commonly function as model research systems, making it important to understand their biology and evolution. This diversity is reflected in our proposed talks and speakers, covering the entire subfamily and highlighting advances in key clades such as the Dalbergioids and Mirbelioids, and in the tribe Phaseoleae. Contacted speakers are multidisciplinary, gender-balanced and cross-generational, combining the experience of senior scientists with the potential of early-career researchers. They represent different continents, with particular strength in the global south. Topics covered: 19, 22 and 31.