Search

Copyright of Rare Metals is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This study addresses the longstanding absence of a comprehensive phylogenetic backbone for the apple tribe Maleae, a deficiency attributed to limited taxon and marker sampling. We conducted an extensive taxon sampling, incorporating 563 plastomes from a diverse range of 370 species encompassing 26 presently recognized genera. Employing a range of phylogenetic inference methods, including RAxML and IQ-TREE2 for Maximum Likelihood (ML) analyses, we established a robust phylogenetic framework for the Maleae tribe. Our phylogenomic investigations provided compelling support for three major clades within Maleae. By integrating nuclear phylogenetic data with morphological and chromosomal evidence, we propose an updated infra-tribal taxonomic system, comprising subtribe Malinae Reveal, subtribe Lindleyinae Reveal, and subtribe Vauqueliniinae B.B.Liu ( subtr. nov. ). Plastid phylogenetic analysis also confirmed the monophyly of most genera, except for Amelanchier , Malus , Sorbus sensu lato, and Stranvaesia . In addition, we present a comprehensive taxonomic synopsis of Photinia and its morphological allies in the Old World, recognizing 27 species and ten varieties within Photinia , three species and two varieties within Stranvaesia , and two species and three varieties within Weniomeles . Furthermore, we also lectotypified 12 names and made two new combinations, Photiniamicrophylla (J.E.Vidal) B.B.Liu and Weniomelesatropurpurea (P.L.Chiu ex Z.H.Chen & X.F.Jin) B.B.Liu., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Hui Wang, Xiao-Ya Li, Yan Jiang, Ze-Tao Jin, Dai-Kun Ma, Bing Liu, Chao Xu, Bin-Jie Ge, Ting Wang, Qiang Fan, Shui-Hu Jin, Guang-Ning Liu, Bin-Bin Liu.)