Spatial phylogenetics in Hechtioideae (Bromeliaceae) reveals recent diversification and dispersal

Abstract

Background: Hechtioideae is a group of Bromeliaceae that is distributed in Megamexico III. In recent years, evolutionary relationships within this lineage have been studied, however, the biogeography of these plants have not yet been explored from a phylogenetic framework. The integration of geographic and phylogenetic information in the evolutionary study of organisms has facilitated the identification of patterns, as well as the exploration of new hypotheses that allow understanding the processes that have influenced the evolutionary history of lineages.
 Questions and/or Hypotheses: What is the biogeographic history of this lineage? How Hechtioideae has diversified over time?
 Results: The Neotropical region has the highest species richness of Hechtioideae and the Mexican Transition Zone is the area with the greatest phylogenetic diversity. This lineage presented its highest diversification rate during the late Miocene and Pleistocene (6.5-1 Ma). The ancestral area of the group corresponds to the Neotropical region and the Mexican Transition Zone. In addition, Hechtioideae spread across their current ranges through multiple dispersal events associated with climatic and geological events during the last 10 Ma.
 Conclusions: Hechtioideae is a group of recent origin whose evolutionary history has been strongly influenced by geological and climatic events over the past 10 Ma, such as the glacial and interglacial periods of the Pleistocene and the great tectonic and volcanic activity that led to the formation of the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt.

Expansions and contractions of the inverted repeat, as well as gene loss and potential pseudogenization shape plastome evolution in Hechtioideae (Bromeliaceae, Poales)

“…Here, we found H. myriantha as sister of a clade composed of clades D-E and F proposed by Ramírez-Morillo et al (2018a). These results are in line with analysis based on plastid data (Ramírez-Morillo et al, 2018b), but incongruent with hypotheses based on nuclear and combined nuclear and plastid data (Ramírez-Morillo et al, 2018a;Rivera-Martínez et al, 2022), which recovered H. myriantha embedded within clade D, the latter clade formed by species of the H. glomerata complex. Clades D-E herein show low statistical support (BS = 52; Fig.…”

“…Hechtioideae is one of the eight subfamilies currently recognized for Bromeliaceae (Givnish et al, 2007), comprising nearly 93 rupicolous and terrestrial species (Gouda et al, 2023), which are conspicuous elements of xeric shrublands and deciduous tropical forests of the Neotropics (Ramírez-Morillo et al, 2018a;Rivera-Martínez et al, 2022). Although distributed from southern United States to northern Nicaragua, Hechtioideae species diversity is centered in Mexico, where a recent phylogenetic analysis proposed that this lineage experienced high speciation rates during the last 6.5-1 million years ago (Mya; Rivera-Martínez et al, 2022).…”

“…Hechtioideae is one of the eight subfamilies currently recognized for Bromeliaceae (Givnish et al, 2007), comprising nearly 93 rupicolous and terrestrial species (Gouda et al, 2023), which are conspicuous elements of xeric shrublands and deciduous tropical forests of the Neotropics (Ramírez-Morillo et al, 2018a;Rivera-Martínez et al, 2022). Although distributed from southern United States to northern Nicaragua, Hechtioideae species diversity is centered in Mexico, where a recent phylogenetic analysis proposed that this lineage experienced high speciation rates during the last 6.5-1 million years ago (Mya; Rivera-Martínez et al, 2022). This subfamily is defined by a combination of morphological characteristics, including rosettes with succulent leaves and spiny or rarely entire margins, dioecy, central or lateral inflorescences, unisexual and fragrant flowers, capsular fruits with winged to almost naked seeds, and the absence of stellate chlorenchyma (Givnish et al, 2007;Ramírez-Morillo et al, 2018a).…”

Biogeographical History of the Yucatan Peninsula Endemic Flora (Spermatophyta) from a Phylogenetic Perspective1

“…Expansions and contractions of the distribution ranges of these plant communities resulted in the fragmentation of the TDF and increased its isolation by restricting it to the northern part of the YPBP. This could have promoted allopatric speciation processes in lineages with high niche conservatism, as has occurred in many Neotropical lineages (Becerra, 2005; De-Nova et al, 2011; Montaño-Arias et al, 2018; Pennington et al, 2000, 2009; Rivera-Martínez et al, 2022). Therefore, the origin and current distribution of these species are the result of contraction in the geographic range of the ancestral species, which inherently led to local extinction processes (Habel et al, 2010).…”

Spatial phylogenetics of the flora in the Sierra Madre del Sur, Mexico: Evolutionary puzzles in tropical mountains

“…The recent diversification of Mexican vascular flora and its main lineages has been previously pointed out to be developed during the Miocene, between 5 and 20 mya (Sosa et al, 2018). Several of their descendants are present in the SMS, including some endemic species of the subfamily Hechtioideae (Bromeliaceae; Rivera‐Martínez et al, 2022), the tribes Eupatorieae and Heliantheae (Asteraceae; Schmidt & Schilling, 2000), the genera Agave (Asparagaceae; Good‐Avila et al, 2006), Bursera (Burseraceae; De‐Nova et al, 2012), Dahlia and Hidalgoa (Asteraceae; Sánchez‐Chávez et al, 2019), Fouquieria (Fouquieriaceae; De‐Nova et al, 2018), Encyclia (Orchidaceae; Leopardi‐Verde et al, 2016), Salvia subg. Calosphace (Lamiaceae; Fragoso‐Martínez et al, 2018) and Stevia (Asteraceae; Soejima et al, 2017).…”