Morphological and DNA sequence data generated by Sanger sequencing and target capture methods for moss plants in the genus Fissidens from herbarium specimens

Morphological evolution in mosses has long been hypothesized to accompany
shifts in microhabitats and can be tested using comparative phylogenetics.
These lines of inquiry have developed substantially, in part, by target
capture sequencing allowing for phylogenomic scale data generated from
herbarium specimens. In the present study, we test the relationship
between taxonomically important morphological characters in the moss genus
Fissidens, using both a 400-locus dataset generated using a target-capture
approach as well as a three-locus phylogeny generated using sanger
sequencing. Phylogenetic trees were generated using ASTRAL and Bayesian
Inference and used to test the monophyly of subgenera/sections and
provided the basis for ancestral character reconstruction and phylogenetic
correlation analyses among five morphological characters as well as
habitat moisture scored from literature. The characters axillary hyaline
nodules, limbidium, costa, and peristome morphology as well as sexual
system, minimum habitat moisture, average habitat moisture, maximum
habitat moisture, and habitat moisture niche breadth each exhibit
statistically significant phylogenetic signal. Significant correlations
were found between the limbidium (phyllid/leaf border) and habitat
moisture niche breadth, which could be interpreted as a more extensive
limbidium enabling species to survive across a wider variety of habitats.
Correlations were also found between costa anatomy and the limbidum of the
gametophyte and sporophyte peristome morphology, as well as average
habitat moisture and sexual system. Continued exploration of the
relationships between morphological evolution, life history, and habitat
will enable us to expand our understanding of functional morphology in
mosses.