Phylogenetic signal variation in the genomes of Medicago (Fabaceae)

Genome-scale data offer the opportunity to clarify phylogenetic relationships that are difficult to resolve with few loci, but they can also identify genomic regions with evolutionary history distinct from that of the species history. We collected whole-genome sequence data from 29 taxa in the legume genus Medicago, then aligned these sequences to the M. truncatula reference genome to confidently identify 87,596 variable homologous sites. We used this data set to estimate phylogenetic relationships among Medicago species, to investigate the number of sites needed to provide robust phylogenetic estimates, and to identify specific genomic regions supporting topologies in conflict with the genome-wide phylogeny. Our full genomic data set resolves relationships within the genus that were previously intractable. Sub-sampling the data reveals considerable variation in phylogenetic signal and power in smaller subsets of the data. Even when sampling 5,000 sites, no random sample of the data sup...