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Dryad

Morphological and DNA sequence data generated by Sanger sequencing and target capture methods for moss plants in the genus Fissidens from herbarium specimens

Abstract

Morphological evolution in mosses has long been hypothesized to accompany shifts in microhabitats and can be tested using comparative phylogenetics. These lines of inquiry have developed substantially, in part, by target capture sequencing allowing for phylogenomic scale data generated from herbarium specimens. In the present study, we test the relationship between taxonomically important morphological characters in the moss genus Fissidens, using both a 400-locus dataset generated using a target-capture approach as well as a three-locus phylogeny generated using sanger sequencing. Phylogenetic trees were generated using ASTRAL and Bayesian Inference and used to test the monophyly of subgenera/sections and provided the basis for ancestral character reconstruction and phylogenetic correlation analyses among five morphological characters as well as habitat moisture scored from literature. The characters axillary hyaline nodules, limbidium, costa, and peristome morphology as well as sexual system, minimum habitat moisture, average habitat moisture, maximum habitat moisture, and habitat moisture niche breadth each exhibit statistically significant phylogenetic signal. Significant correlations were found between the limbidium (phyllid/leaf border) and habitat moisture niche breadth, which could be interpreted as a more extensive limbidium enabling species to survive across a wider variety of habitats. Correlations were also found between costa anatomy and the limbidum of the gametophyte and sporophyte peristome morphology, as well as average habitat moisture and sexual system. Continued exploration of the relationships between morphological evolution, life history, and habitat will enable us to expand our understanding of functional morphology in mosses.