Reconstructing Phylogenies of Alocasia spp. (Araceae) Distributed in Indonesia for Conservation Prioritization

Reconstructing phylogenies of Alocasia spp. (Araceae)

Abstract

Phylogenetic analysis is beneficial to plant conservation prioritization. Conservation
does not only deal with species but also their evolutionary potential. A phylogenetic
tree is usually reconstructed by using the alignment of DNA sequences. However,
with the availability of megatrees, subsetting with a list of species of concern is possible. Here we reconstructed a list of 53 Alocasia spp. (Araceae) from Indonesia and
adjacent regions using available megatrees and publicly available DNA sequences in
the GenBank. The result showed placed and unplaced Alocasia spp. on the terminal
nodes of reconstructed phylogenetic trees. The unplaced species show that publicly
available DNA sequences are not yet available, therefore should be prioritized for sequencing. The placed species in the phylogeny could be used for conservation prioritization of these Alocasia spp.

Keywords: Alocasia, Indonesia, Megatree, Phylogeny, Plant conservation