Exon-Primed Intron-Crossing (EPIC) Markers for Evolutionary Studies of <i>Ficus</i> and Other Taxa in the Fig Family (Moraceae)

Premise of the study: The genus <i>Ficus</i> (fig trees) comprises ca. 750 species of trees, vines, and stranglers found in tropical forests throughout the world. Fig trees are keystone species in many tropical forests, and their relationship with host-specific wasp pollinators has recei...

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Main Authors: Xiaohong Yao, Chenhong Li, Christopher W. Dick
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2013-10-01
Series:Applications in Plant Sciences
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.bioone.org/doi/full/10.3732/apps.1300037
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author Xiaohong Yao
Chenhong Li
Christopher W. Dick
author_facet Xiaohong Yao
Chenhong Li
Christopher W. Dick
author_sort Xiaohong Yao
collection DOAJ
description Premise of the study: The genus <i>Ficus</i> (fig trees) comprises ca. 750 species of trees, vines, and stranglers found in tropical forests throughout the world. Fig trees are keystone species in many tropical forests, and their relationship with host-specific wasp pollinators has received much attention, although many questions remain unresolved regarding the levels of host specificity, cospeciation, and the role of hybridization in fig and wasp speciation. We developed exon-primed intron-crossing (EPIC) markers to obtain phylogenetic resolution needed to address these questions. Methods and Results: Expressed sequence tags (ESTs) from F. elastica were compared to <i>Arabidopsis</i> and <i>Populus</i> genomes to locate introns and to design primers in flanking exons. Primer pairs for 80 EPIC markers were tested in samples from divergent clades within <i>Ficus</i> and the outgroup <i>Poulsenia</i> (Moraceae). Conclusions: Thirty-one EPIC markers were successfully sequenced across <i>Ficus</i>, and 29 of the markers also amplified in <i>Poulsenia</i>, indicating broad transferability within Moraceae. All of the EPIC markers were polymorphic and showed levels of polymorphism similar to that of the widely used internal transcribed spacer (ITS).
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spelling doaj.art-3baa45de043740089333f178d8a8ceee2022-12-21T22:31:37ZengWileyApplications in Plant Sciences2168-04502013-10-01110130003710.3732/apps.1300037Exon-Primed Intron-Crossing (EPIC) Markers for Evolutionary Studies of <i>Ficus</i> and Other Taxa in the Fig Family (Moraceae)Xiaohong Yao0Chenhong Li1Christopher W. Dick2Key Laboratory of Plant Germplasm Enhancement and Specialty Agriculture, Wuhan Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430074, Hubei, People's Republic of China; Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-1048 USAKey Laboratory of Exploration and Utilization of Aquatic Genetic Resources, Shanghai Ocean University, Ministry of Education, Shanghai, People's Republic of ChinaDepartment of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-1048 USA; Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, P.O. Box 0843-03092, Balboa, Ancón, Republic of PanamaPremise of the study: The genus <i>Ficus</i> (fig trees) comprises ca. 750 species of trees, vines, and stranglers found in tropical forests throughout the world. Fig trees are keystone species in many tropical forests, and their relationship with host-specific wasp pollinators has received much attention, although many questions remain unresolved regarding the levels of host specificity, cospeciation, and the role of hybridization in fig and wasp speciation. We developed exon-primed intron-crossing (EPIC) markers to obtain phylogenetic resolution needed to address these questions. Methods and Results: Expressed sequence tags (ESTs) from F. elastica were compared to <i>Arabidopsis</i> and <i>Populus</i> genomes to locate introns and to design primers in flanking exons. Primer pairs for 80 EPIC markers were tested in samples from divergent clades within <i>Ficus</i> and the outgroup <i>Poulsenia</i> (Moraceae). Conclusions: Thirty-one EPIC markers were successfully sequenced across <i>Ficus</i>, and 29 of the markers also amplified in <i>Poulsenia</i>, indicating broad transferability within Moraceae. All of the EPIC markers were polymorphic and showed levels of polymorphism similar to that of the widely used internal transcribed spacer (ITS).http://www.bioone.org/doi/full/10.3732/apps.1300037exonsFicusMoraceaenuclear DNA markersphylogenytranscriptome
spellingShingle Xiaohong Yao
Chenhong Li
Christopher W. Dick
Exon-Primed Intron-Crossing (EPIC) Markers for Evolutionary Studies of <i>Ficus</i> and Other Taxa in the Fig Family (Moraceae)
Applications in Plant Sciences
exons
Ficus
Moraceae
nuclear DNA markers
phylogeny
transcriptome
title Exon-Primed Intron-Crossing (EPIC) Markers for Evolutionary Studies of <i>Ficus</i> and Other Taxa in the Fig Family (Moraceae)
title_full Exon-Primed Intron-Crossing (EPIC) Markers for Evolutionary Studies of <i>Ficus</i> and Other Taxa in the Fig Family (Moraceae)
title_fullStr Exon-Primed Intron-Crossing (EPIC) Markers for Evolutionary Studies of <i>Ficus</i> and Other Taxa in the Fig Family (Moraceae)
title_full_unstemmed Exon-Primed Intron-Crossing (EPIC) Markers for Evolutionary Studies of <i>Ficus</i> and Other Taxa in the Fig Family (Moraceae)
title_short Exon-Primed Intron-Crossing (EPIC) Markers for Evolutionary Studies of <i>Ficus</i> and Other Taxa in the Fig Family (Moraceae)
title_sort exon primed intron crossing epic markers for evolutionary studies of i ficus i and other taxa in the fig family moraceae
topic exons
Ficus
Moraceae
nuclear DNA markers
phylogeny
transcriptome
url http://www.bioone.org/doi/full/10.3732/apps.1300037
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AT chenhongli exonprimedintroncrossingepicmarkersforevolutionarystudiesofificusiandothertaxainthefigfamilymoraceae
AT christopherwdick exonprimedintroncrossingepicmarkersforevolutionarystudiesofificusiandothertaxainthefigfamilymoraceae