Use of plastid genome sequences in phylogeographic studies of tree species can be misleading without comprehensive sampling of co-occurring, related species

Abstract

We aimed to test the extent to which plastid DNA gives incongruent phylogeographic patterns to nuclear DNA in a species of eucalypt, Eucalyptus behriana, a taxonomic group where chloroplast capture is a well-established phenomenon. Furthermore, we aimed to test the degree of influence chloroplast capture has on the observed patterns by broadly sampling co-occurring, related species. A genome skimming approach was used to sequence and assemble chloroplast genomes from population-level sampling of E. behriana, as well as samples of twenty-one other Eucalyptus section Adnataria species which co-occur with it. Phylogenetic analyses were first undertaken on just E. behriana to allow direct compar..