Evolutionary history, traits and weediness in Digitaria (Poaceae: Panicoideae)

Digitaria Haller is a large pantropical genus, which includes a number of economically problematic agricultural weeds. Difficulties in species identification and the circumscription of the genus have previously hindered progress in understanding its evolution and developing a stable classification. In our project, we investigate the evolutionary history of Digitaria by combining two approaches: (1) phylogenetic analyses of the currently available Sanger sequence data with previously unpublished sequences mainly from SE Asia, and (2) newly generated genomic data, including low copy nuclear genes obtained using the Angiosperms353 probe kit.