Vast DNA tree of life for plants revealed by global science team using 1.8 billion letters of genetic code
A new paper published today (April 24) in the journal Nature by an international team of 279 scientists led by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew presents the most up-to-date understanding of the flowering plant tree of life.
Using 1.8 billion letters of genetic code from more than 9,500 species covering almost 8,000 known flowering plant genera (ca. 60%), this incredible achievement sheds new light on the evolutionary history of flowering plants and their rise to ecological dominance on Earth.
The study's authors believe the data will aid future attempts to identify new species, refine plant classification, uncover new medicinal compounds, and conserve plants in the face of climate change and biodiversity loss.
The major milestone for plant science, led by Kew and involving 138 organizations internationally, was built on 15 times more data than any comparable studies of the flowering plant tree of life. Among the species sequenced for this study, more than 800 have never had their DNA sequenced before.
The sheer amount of data unlocked by this research, which would take a single computer 18 years to process, is a huge stride towards building a tree of life for all 330,000 known species of flowering plants—a massive undertaking by Kew's Tree of Life Initiative.
Dr. Alexandre Zuntini, Research Fellow at RBG Kew, says, "Analyzing this unprecedented amount of data to decode the information hidden in millions of DNA sequences was a huge challenge. But it also offered the unique opportunity to reevaluate and extend our knowledge of the plant tree of life, opening a new window to explore the complexity of plant evolution."
Scientists sequenced the parasitic plant Pilostyles aethiopica that lives inside of other plants and is only visible when it flowers. DNA sequencing has reclassified the group in which this plant sits. Credit: Sidonie Bellot, RBG Kew
The Angiosperm Tree of Life was built on 15 times more data than comparable studies and was involved sequencing more than 9,500 different species of flowering plants. Credit: RBG Kew
Alstonia spectabilis is a species of medicinal importance to the indigenous Tetun people and has been sequenced for the very first time. Credit: RBG Kew