Phylogenetic Framework of the Plant Family Acanthaceae

This study aims to estimate a phylogenetic tree based on a substantial amount of orthologous nuclear loci across Acanthaceae in order to resolve the low-support BAWN clade. My hypothesis is that using data sourced from transcriptomes and genomic skims from select Acanthaceae species will strongly corroborate the current chloroplast-based phylogeny. This hypothesis will be tested by (1) sourcing and sequencing nuclear loci from 17 species of Acanthaceae, (2) identifying thousands of orthologous loci across these taxa, (3) estimating a new phylogeny of Acanthaceae, with a highly-resolved BAWN clade, and (4) determining the strength of the relationships within the BAWN clade (and Acanthaceae) with a number of comparative and statistical methods. This research will allow for greater insight into the phylogenetic history of Acanthaceae by producing a well-resolved, nuclear phylogeny of Acanthaceae, which will provide the basis for a higher-level classification of the family and analysis of potentially synapomorphic characters. Little is known about Acanthaceae, despite having nearly 4000 species; making this data available could influence new research in and of Acanthaceae, including insight into novel biochemical pathways, and the further elucidation of its gene-based morphological features.