Datasets used for Western Mediterranean Dugesia phylotranscriptomic analyses

The Mediterranean is one of the most biodiverse areas of the Paleartic
region. Here, basing on large data sets of single copy orthologs obtained
from transcriptomic data, we investigated the evolutionary history of the
genus Dugesia in the Western Mediterranean area. The
results corroborated that the complex paleogeological history of the
region was an important driver of diversification for the genus,
speciating as microplates and islands were forming. These processes led to
the differentiation of three main biogeographic clades:
Iberia-Apennines-Alps, Corsica-Sardinia, and Iberia-Africa. The internal
relationships of these major clades were analysed with several
representative samples per species. The use of large data sets regarding
the number of loci and samples, as well as
state-of-the-art phylogenomic inference methods allowed us to answer
different unresolved questions about the evolution of particular groups,
such as the diversification path of D. subtentaculata in
the Iberian Peninsula and its colonization of Africa. Additionally, our
results support the differentiation of D. benazzii in two
lineages which could represent two species. Finally, we analysed here for
the first time a comprehensive number of samples from several asexual
Iberian populations whose assignment at the species level has been an
enigma through the years. The phylogenies obtained with different
inference methods showed a branching topology of asexual individuals at
the base of sexual clades. We hypothesize that this unexpected topology is
related to long-term asexuality. This work represents the first
phylotranscriptomic analysis of Tricladida, laying the first stone of the
genomic era in phylogenetic studies on this taxonomic group.