Transcriptome sequencing reveals genome-wide variation in molecular evolutionary rate among ferns

Orthogroup data file. Zipped folder containing fasta-formatted reads identified by ProteinOrtho, used for all downstream orthogroup determination and analysis, along with readme document and relevant project-specific scripts (also available online via Dryad: http://dx.doi.org/10.5061/dryad.rg22j ). (ZIP 12021 kb

Applications of deep convolutional neural networks to digitized natural history collections

Natural history collections contain data that are critical for many scientific endeavors. Recent efforts in mass digitization are generating large datasets from these collections that can provide unprecedented insight. Here, we present examples of how deep convolutional neural networks can be applied in analyses of imaged herbarium specimens. We first demonstrate that a convolutional neural network can detect mercury-stained specimens across a collection with 90% accuracy. We then show that such a network can correctly distinguish two morphologically similar plant families 96% of the time. Discarding the most challenging specimen images increases accuracy to 94% and 99%, respectively. These results highlight the importance of mass digitization and deep learning approaches and reveal how they can together deliver powerful new investigative tools

Sex and the Single Gametophyte: Revising the Homosporous Vascular Plant Life Cycle in Light of Contemporary Research

Homosporous vascular plants are typically depicted as extreme inbreeders, with bisexual gametophytes that produce strictly homozygous sporophytes. This view is promulgated in textbook life cycles despite ample evidence that natural populations of most species regularly outcross. We review research on a variety of mechanisms, including genetic load, asynchronous production of eggs and sperm, and pheromonal control of gamete production, that actively promote heterozygosity in ferns and lycophytes. Evolution of the land plants cannot be reconstructed without accurate depictions of the unique life cycle that has helped make ferns the second most diverse lineage of vascular plants on Earth. With revised illustrations and definitions, we provide scientists, educators, and students with a contemporary understanding of fern and lycophyte reproduction, revealing them as evolutionarily dynamic and exploiting a wide range of mating systems

SI_Appendix1

PAMLparser, a Python script for organizing PAML outputs (from both CODEML and BASEML) and reformated them in tab-delimited files

nucleotide_all_data

Nexus file for nucleotide-model based analyes (including a block of recoded indels)

SI_Table1

Primers used in amplification and sequencing

nucleotide_all_data

Nexus file for nucleotide-model based analyes (including a block of recoded indels)