The first phase of the project focused on generating and acquiring data. The first task focused on generating a species level phylogeny of all Annonaceae, which has about 2500 species. For that we had to sample these species, and had access to two main sources. First, via a global network of collaborators, we received over 2000 samples of leaves dried in “silica gel”. This type of leaf is ideal for DNA extraction. We also performed several field trips, mainly in the mega diverse country of Ecuador, which led to the discovery of several new species. Second, the botanical engineer of the project, Carlos Rodrigues, sampled as many missing species as possible using a large but undervalued resource: herbarium specimens. These are the basis of plant biodiversity research, and represent plants collected in the field, dried and mounted on paper. Carlos sampled over 3800 specimens representing around 2110 species, some of these only from a single herbarium sheet. DNA is extracted and sequenced in Montpellier by the molecular engineer Vincent Soulé. The oldest specimen we extracted DNA from was collected in 1826! Based on this huge effort, we have now sequenced nearly 85% of all Annonaceae species, which has never been achieved for a tropical plant family. Post doc Francis Nge has been generating phylogenies at high levels of precision linked to the hundreds of genes sequenced for each species. We generated the first complete genus level phylogeny of Annonaceae that will be the basis of an updated classification.
We are also gathering climate data deep into the past for the tropics. Post doc Delphine Tardif has been modeling paleoclimates at local (100km²) and regional scales throughout the last 100 million years at discrete times. She is now exploring how these past climatic variations have impacted the distribution and evolution of Annonaceae.
In parallel, PhD student Paola Santacruz has undertaken an in-depth study of Annonaceae-herbivore interactions in the most biodiverse place in the world, the Yasuní National Park in Amazonian Ecuador. She spent over a year there collecting data on nine different species such as what insects eat their leaves and the chemical composition of their leaves. She discovered a discrete but diverse community of Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths) species feeding on its leaves, as well as several ant species specialized in living on Annonaceae via an association with aphids. We believe that this interaction played a role in the evolution of Annonaceae. To get an idea of chemical composition of all Annonaceae species, we turned once again to herbarium specimens, and using Near Infra red scanning (NIRs), we generated chemical spectra for over 1900 species of Annonaceae (we are still scanning more species). Paola, and other students, will use this data to understand how chemical composition varied throughout the entire family, and if there is a link with evolution.
We are also generating a large dataset of morphological traits for all species. To date we have about 55’000 traits coded for over 1900 species. This is the largest such dataset produced to date. Finally, to get better insights into the distribution and conservation of Annonaceae species, PhD student Serafin Streiff is generating a large distribution dataset, using herbarium specimens. We undertook a citizen science project, where anybody could enter herbarium label information. This was applied within the “herbonautes” project of the largest herbarium in the world located in the museum of Paris, France.
All data generated will be made open access, especially via a website. For that bioinformatician Archimède Patipe is compiling all data and preparing the website.
