Plastid phylogenomics provides novel insights into the infrafamilial relationship of Polypodiaceae

The polygrammoids (Polypodiaceae) are the most species-rich and diversified epiphytic fern lineages, and hold an important role to understand the deep diverging events and rapid adaptation to changing environments in the plant tree of life. Despite progress in the phylogeny of this group of ferns in previous multilocus phylogenetic studies, uncertainty remains especially in backbone relationships among closely related clades, and the phylogenetic placement of recalcitrant species or lineages. Here, we investigated the deep phylogenetic relationships within Polypodiaceae by sampling all major lineages and using 81 plastid genomes (plastomes), of which 70 plastomes were newly sequenced with high-throughput sequencing technology. Based on parsimony, maximum-likelihood, Bayesian and multispecies coalescent analyses of genome skimming data, we achieved a better resolution of the backbone phylogeny of Polypodiaceae. Using simulated data matrices, we detected that potential phylogenetic artefacts, such as long-branch attraction and insufficient taxonomic sampling, may have a confounding impact on the incongruence of phylogenetic inferences. Furthermore, our phylogenetic analyses offer greater resolution than previous multilocus studies, providing a robust framework for future phylogenetic implications on the subfamilial taxonomy of Polypodiaceae. Our phylogenomic study not only demonstrates the advantage of a character-rich plastome dataset for resolving the recalcitrant lineages that have undergone rapid radiation, but also sheds new light on integrative explorations understanding the evolutionary history of large fern groups in the genomic era.

Automated summary

This study investigated the deep phylogenetic relationships within Polypodiaceae by utilizing 81 plastid genomes, improving the resolution of backbone phylogeny. The research identified potential phylogenetic artefacts affecting the incongruence of phylogenetic inferences and provided a robust framework for future subfamilial taxonomy within Polypodiaceae.