Legume phylogeny and classification in the 21st century: progress, prospects and lessons for other species-rich clades

The Leguminosae, the third-largest angiosperm family, has a global distribution and high ecological and economic importance. We examine how the legume systematic research community might join forces to produce a comprehensive phylogenetic estimate for the ca. 751 genera and ca. 19,500 species of legumes and then translate it into a phylogeny-based classification. We review the current state of knowledge of legume phylogeny and highlight where problems lie, for example in taxon sampling and phylogenetic resolution. We review approaches from bioinformatics and next-generation sequencing, which can facilitate the production of better phylogenetic estimates. Finally, we examine how morphology can be incorporated into legume phylogeny to address issues in comparative biology and classification. Our goal is to stimulate the research needed to improve our knowledge of legume phylogeny and evolution; the approaches that we discuss may also be relevant to other species-rich angiosperm clades.

豆科（Leguminosae）作为被子植物第三大科，具有全球性分布格局，兼具极高的生态价值与经济价值。本研究探讨豆科系统分类研究共同体应如何协同合作，对约751属、约19500种豆科植物完成全面的系统发育估算，并将该估算结果转化为基于系统发育的分类体系。我们综述了当前豆科系统发育（phylogeny）的研究现状，并指出了现存的核心问题，例如类群取样（taxon sampling）不足与系统发育分辨率（phylogenetic resolution）有限等方面。我们梳理了可助力获得更精准系统发育估算结果的生物信息学（bioinformatics）与下一代测序（next-generation sequencing）相关技术方法。最后，我们探讨了如何将形态学（morphology）数据整合至豆科系统发育研究中，以解决比较生物学（comparative biology）与分类学中的相关问题。本研究的目标在于推动相关研究进展，以深化我们对豆科系统发育与演化的认知；文中讨论的研究方法同样可推广应用于其他物种丰富的被子植物支系（clades）。