9 research outputs found

    A new specific plant host for the agave snout weevil, Scyphophorus acupunctatus Gyllenhal, 1838 (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) in South Africa: A destructive pest of species of Agave L. (Agavaceae)

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    The widely distributed agave snout weevil, Scyphophorus acupunctatus Gyllenhal, is for the first time recorded from Agave salmiana Otto ex Salm-Dyck subsp. salmiana in South Africa. In its native habitat in Mexico, this new host plant species is one of the most important sources of pulque, a fermented alcoholic beverage. With efforts underway at Bothaville in the Free State Province, South Africa, to establish an agave nectar industry, commercial farmers should be made aware of the destruction that the agave weevil can cause, especially in concentrated populations and plantations of Agave L. species

    Phylogenomics and the rise of the angiosperms

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    Angiosperms are the cornerstone of most terrestrial ecosystems and human livelihoods1,2. A robust understanding of angiosperm evolution is required to explain their rise to ecological dominance. So far, the angiosperm tree of life has been determined primarily by means of analyses of the plastid genome3,4. Many studies have drawn on this foundational work, such as classification and first insights into angiosperm diversification since their Mesozoic origins5,6,7. However, the limited and biased sampling of both taxa and genomes undermines confidence in the tree and its implications. Here, we build the tree of life for almost 8,000 (about 60%) angiosperm genera using a standardized set of 353 nuclear genes8. This 15-fold increase in genus-level sampling relative to comparable nuclear studies9 provides a critical test of earlier results and brings notable change to key groups, especially in rosids, while substantiating many previously predicted relationships. Scaling this tree to time using 200 fossils, we discovered that early angiosperm evolution was characterized by high gene tree conflict and explosive diversification, giving rise to more than 80% of extant angiosperm orders. Steady diversification ensued through the remaining Mesozoic Era until rates resurged in the Cenozoic Era, concurrent with decreasing global temperatures and tightly linked with gene tree conflict. Taken together, our extensive sampling combined with advanced phylogenomic methods shows the deep history and full complexity in the evolution of a megadiverse clade
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