Phylogeny and spatio-temporal diversification of Prunus subgenus Laurocerasus section Mesopygeum (Rosaceae) in the Malesian region

The goals of this study were to reconstruct the phylogeny of Prunus subgenus Laurocerasus section Mesopygeum and to provide a preliminary assessment of its spatio-temporal diversification in the Malesian region. We inferred the phylogeny using nuclear ITS and ETS and plastid psbA-trnH, rps16, rpl16, and trnC-petN sequences. Our analyses support the monophyly of sect. Mesopygeum. Within sect. Mesopygeum, we identified four main subclades: (1) Prunus lancilimba from continental Asia; (2) Prunus ruthii from Malay Peninsula; (3) a subclade comprising species from areas centered on the Sunda shelf and also a few species from continental Asia and Wallacea; and (4) a subclade composed of species from areas of the Sahul shelf, with a small number of taxa also from areas of the Sunda shelf, continental Asia, and the Philippines. We estimated that sect. Mesopygeum originated in continental Asia at c. 44.71 Mya (95% HPD: 31.66–46.90). Nine dispersals between major geographic areas were inferred. F...