Plastid genome structure and phylogenomics of the ‘Calcarea group’ of Begonia (Begoniaceae)

• Main Author: Tan, Annabelle Kim Ann
• Other Authors: -
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: Nanyang Technological University 2024
• Subjects: Other; Phylogenomics; Begonia; Calcarea
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/176395
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

One of the largest genera of angiosperms is the Begoniaceae Begonia with over 2000 accepted species in the world. Of these, over 200 species are found on Borneo alone with a frequent increase in published species. Six new species were described and grouped together as the ‘Calcarea group’ by Kiew et al. (2016). The plastid genomes of four species representing the ‘Calcarea group’ were constructed and analysed to determine the position of the ‘Calcarea group’ amongst Asian Begonia. Morphological features were then researched to support the results. The study found that the ‘Calcarea group’ was nested within the Petermannia clade and is supported by the morphological and geographical characteristics.