Frank Udovicic

Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria · Research

Angiosperms are the cornerstone of most terrestrial ecosystems and human livelihoods1,2. A robust understanding of angiosperm evolution is required to explain their rise to ecological dominance. So far, the angiosperm tree of life has been determined primarily by means of analyses of the plastid genome3,4. Many studies have drawn on this foundation...

Eucalypts are a large and ecologically important group of plants on the Australian continent, and understanding their evolution is important in understanding evolution of the unique Australian flora. Previous phylogenies using plastome DNA, nuclear-ribosomal DNA, or random genome-wide SNPs, have been confounded by limited genetic sampling or by idi...

The typification of eight names of Australian taxa of Rhamnaceae published by Turczaninow is clarified. Of these, five names (Cryptandra cordata Turcz., C. microcephala Turcz., C. villosa Turcz., Trymalium oligocephalum Turcz., T. polycephalum Turcz.) are basionyms of currently accepted names, two (C. pauciflora Turcz., T. thomasioides Turcz.) are...

We present a phylogeographic study of the tree species Eucalyptus baueriana Schauer, which occurs in disjunct areas on the near coastal plains and ranges of the south-east Australian mainland. DArTseq data are used to build a phylogeny including E. baueriana and closely related taxa to test its monophyly, test the genetic distinctness of the three...

To investigate the relationships among species in the taxonomically problematic Eucalyptus odorata species complex, we generated molecular data using double-digest restriction site-associated DNA sequencing (ddRADseq) and Diversity Arrays Technology sequencing (DArTseq). These data were analysed utilising principal-component analysis (PCA), phyloge...

Acacia (Leguminosae, Caesalpinioideae, mimosoid clade) is the largest and most widespread genus of plants in the Australian flora, occupying and dominating a diverse range of environments, with an equally diverse range of forms. For a genus of its size and importance, Acacia currently has surprisingly few genomic resources. Acacia pycnantha, the go...

Family treatment for Rhamnaceae for FLORA OF AUSTRALIA (online edition). https://profiles.ala.org.au/opus/foa/profile/Rhamnaceae

Treatment of the Rhamnaceae genus Discaria for the FLORA OF AUSTRALIA (online edition). https://profiles.ala.org.au/opus/foa/profile/Discaria

Organelle genomes are typically represented as single, static, circular molecules. However, there is evidence that the chloroplast genome exists in two structural haplotypes and that the mitochondrial genome can display multiple circular, linear or branching forms. We sequenced and assembled chloroplast and mitochondrial genomes of the Golden Wattl...

We aimed to test the extent to which plastid DNA gives incongruent phylogeographic patterns to nuclear DNA in a species of eucalypt, Eucalyptus behriana, a taxonomic group where chloroplast capture is a well-established phenomenon. Furthermore, we aimed to test the degree of influence chloroplast capture has on the observed patterns by broadly samp...

Although organelle genomes are typically represented as single, static, circular molecules, there is evidence that the chloroplast genome exists in two structural haplotypes and that the mitochondrial genome can display multiple circular, linear or branching forms. We sequenced and assembled chloroplast and mitochondrial genomes of the Golden Wattl...

The tribe Colletieae (Rhamnaceae) is reviewed for Australia. It is primarily South American, but two species of Discaria Hook., D. pubescens (Brongn.) Druce and D. nitida Tortosa, occur in southeastern Australia and Tasmania. The two species are described and illustrated. A hybrid taxon sometimes occurs in areas where the two species are sympatric....

Aim To infer relationships between populations of the semi‐arid, mallee eucalypt, Eucalyptus behriana, to build hypotheses regarding evolution of major disjunctions in the species' distribution and to expand understanding of the biogeographical history of southeastern Australia. Location Southeastern Australia. Taxon Eucalyptus behriana (Myrtacea...

Leaves that develop on seedlings, young saplings or regenerative shoots of many eucalypt species are strikingly different in morphology from the typical leaves of more mature plants a developmental pattern known as heteroblasty. We measured dimorphism between juvenile and adult leaves in shape and size, leaf mass per unit area, and vein frequency i...

We present a phylogenetic analysis and comparison of structural features of chloroplast genomes for 39 species of the eucalypt group (genera Eucalyptus, Corymbia, Angophora, and outgroups Allosyncarpia and Stockwellia). We use 41 complete chloroplast genome sequences, adding 39 finished-quality chloroplast genomes to two previously published genome...

Stipoid grasses (Poaceae, tribe Stipeae) include many species that are highly invasive. In Australia, several species are problematic environmental and economic weeds, degrading pastures, injuring livestock, and invading native grasslands. An accurate means of identification is the first line of defense against importation and establishment of pote...

Recent phylogenetic studies have investiga ted the tribe Melaleuceae and, in particular, the degree of 'inclusiveness'of the genus Melaleuca, but the results remain open to interpretation. State herbaria in Australia are, for example, divided over the proposal to subsume Callistemon into Melaleuca. A proposal to sink all genera of tribe Melaleuceae...

Although temporal calibration is widely recognized as critical for obtaining accurate divergence-time estimates using molecular dating methods, few studies have evaluated the variation resulting from different calibration strategies. Depending on the information available, researchers have often used primary calibrations from the fossil record or s...

Phylogenetic relationships of sections and species within Corymbia (Myrtaceae), the bloodwood eucalypts, were evaluated by using combined analyses of nuclear rDNA (ETS + ITS) and morphological characters. Combining morphological characters with molecular data provided resolution of relationships within Corymbia. The analyses supported the monophyly...

Published phylogenies of two eucalypt clades, red bloodwoods Corymbia subgenus Corymbia and eudesmids Eucalyptus subgenus Eudesmia (Myrtaceae), were combined for an analysis of historical biogeographical area relationships within continental Australia. The method of paralogy-free subtree analysis was used to eliminate geographical paralogy; the par...

Phylogenetic relationships of sections and species within Corymbia (Myrtaceae), the bloodwood eucalypts, were evaluated by using combined analyses of nuclear rDNA (ETS + ITS) and morphological characters. Combining morphological characters with molecular data provided resolution of relationships within Corymbia. The analyses supported the monophyly...

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Phylogenetic analysis of Eucalyptus subgenus Eudesmia is presented on the basis of the following three datasets: sequences of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and the external transcribed spacer (ETS) regions from nuclear rDNA, sequences of the psbA-trnH intergenic spacer region from chloroplast DNA, and morphological characters, including sta...

Pseudogenes from the 18S−5.8S−26S cistron of nuclear ribosomal DNA are reported in the eucalypt group (Myrtaceae), which includes seven genera. Putative pseudogenes are identified by a range of sequence comparisons including: the number of CpG and CpNpG methylation sites, GC content, estimated secondary structure stability of internal transcribed s...

Phylogenetic analysis of 69 ingroup-taxa of Pomaderreae using trnL-F sequences confirm the monophyly of the tribe. The analysis was impeded by a paucity of informative characters and the presence of apparently homoplasious indel characters and base changes within the P8 region of the trnL intron: the strict consensus tree of the trnL-F analysis is...

Four species are recognised in the Cryptandra propinqua complex: C. propinqua A. Cunn. ex Fenzl, C. ciliata A.R. Bean, C. speciosa A. Cunn. ex Kellermann & Udovicic, here as new described, and C. magniflora F.Muell., here re-instated. Two subspecies are recognised and described as new: C. propinqua subsp. maranoa Kellermann & Udovicic and C. specio...

The phylogeny of three groups of arid Australian acacias ‐ the Acacia victoriae, A. murrayana and A. pyrifolia groups ‐ was constructed based on parsimony analysis of sequence data from the internal and external transcribed spacers (ITS and ETS) of the nuclear ribosomal DNA. Forty ingroup taxa were sequenced, including multiple accessions for some...

Rhododendron L. taxonomy has been tested in recent times by molecular phylogenies based on several DNA regions. Most of these studies have aimed at higher-level relationships, despite the importance of lower ranks, such as sections, to most workers on the genus. Almost one-third of the species of Rhododendron are placed in one of the lepidote (scal...

The generic classification of the eucalypts, especially recognition of the genus Corymbia, has been controversial. The phylogeny of Corymbia and related eucalypt groups was investigated using nuclear ETS sequences, and combined ETS and ITS sequences. Both the ETS and combined datasets support the monophyly of Corymbia. Three major eucalypt clades a...

Section Vireya (Blume) Copel.f. is one of the most morphologically diverse groups of the genus Rhododendron. Vireyas have a unique distribution for the genus, being predominantly found throughout the Malesian Archipelago. The alpha taxonomy of section Vireya is relatively well understood and taxa are easily distinguished from other rhododendrons by...

Aim To discover the pattern of relationships of areas of endemism for Australian genera in the plant family Rhamnaceae tribe Pomaderreae for comparison with other taxa and interpretation of biogeographical history. Location Australian mainland, Tasmania and New Zealand. Methods A molecular phylogeny and geographic distribution of species within fou...

The tribe Pomaderreae (Rhamnaceae) currently consists of approximately 180 species in seven genera, endemic to Australia and New Zealand. It is the second largest tribe of Rhamnaceae. We undertook a phylogenetic analysis using internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequence data from 69 representative species of Pomaderreae and five outgroup taxa. The m...

A phylogenetic analysis of genera within the informal suballiance Beaufortia (family Myrtaceae), largely endemic to Australia and New Caledonia, is presented based on separate and combined data sets for 5S and ITS-1 spacer regions of nuclear ribosomal DNA. The two sets were not in conflict but the 5S data set was more informative. Data were analyse...

Comment is provided on a recent paper by Crisp et al. (2004) that includes estimates of the age of divergence events for the eucalypt group. Deriving dates from sequence data has some inherent problems, and for the eucalypts these vary several fold compared with estimates based on other data.

A new sequestrate fungus, Barcheria willisiana gen. et sp. nov., is described and its affinities evaluated using nLSU rDNA sequence data. This unusual fungus has several characters that are reminiscent of species of Agaricus and Lepiota, but with a very reduced basidiome form. The nLSU rDNA of four Australian taxa, Barcheria willisiana, Agaricus xa...

Parsimony analyses of the internal transcribed spacer regions of nuclear ribosomal DNA (ITS 1 & ITS 2) for 38 taxa sampled from the Phebalium group (Rutaceae: Boronieae) and two outgroups confirm that, with the exception of Phebalium sensu stricto and Rhadinothamnus, six of the currently recognised genera within the group are monophyletic. The data...

Aim To compare the phylogeny of the eucalypt and melaleuca groups with geological events and ages of fossils to discover the time frame of clade divergences. Location Australia, New Caledonia, New Guinea, Indonesian Archipelago. Methods We compare published molecular phylogenies of the eucalypt and melaleuca groups of the plant family Myrtaceae wit...

Despite the promise of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) as a method for rapid generation of informative phylogenetic characters, it has proven difficult or impossible to amplify the commonly used internal transcribed spacer (ITS) 1+2 regions using standard approaches for several groups of Australian plants and fungi. This paper describes a two s...

To resolve the relationships of taxa within the Beaufortia suballiance (Myrtaceae), 72 ingroup taxa were analysed by parsimony methods and nrDNA sequence data from the 5S and ITS-1 ribosomal DNA spacer regions. Although basal nodes in the consensus tree (combined data set) are not supported by bootstrap or jackknife values, a number of clades are w...

Three regions of chloroplast DNA are assessed for their utility for phylogenetic analysis of Acacia subgenus Phyllodineae: psbA–trnH intergenic spacer, the trnL intron and the trnL–trnF intergenic spacer. There are large differences in the lengths of the psbA–trnH spacer (155–440 bp) and trnL–trnF intergenic spacer (101–422 bp) regions, and large m...

Brooker’s classification of the eucalypts, which combines Angophora, Corymbiaand Eucalyptus into one genus, is contrary to phylogenetic evidence based on eight different data sets including morphology, RFLPs, and sequence data for various regions of nuclear and chloroplast DNA (5S rDNA spacer region, ITS1, ITS2, trnL intron, trnL-F spacer and psbA-...

Phylogeny of the eucalypt group (sensu lato) is analysed using 6 regions of DNA: 5S rDNA repeat, ITS-1, ITS-2, psbA - trnH spacer, trnL intron, and trnL 3'exon - trnF spacer. Within the family Myrtaceae, the genus Lophostemon was used as the outgroup to root trees. The ingroup included Allosyncarpia, Arillastrum, Eucalyptopsis, an undescribed genus...

Sequences of the 5S rDNA repeat have been determined from four outgroup taxa (Arillastrum group), 2 Angophora species, and 19 Eucalyptus species (including representatives from all informal subgenera). Alignment shows that, as in other plants, the tandemly repeated 5S rRNA genes are highly conserved while the noncoding intergenic spacers are variab...

Molecular (5S rDNA spacer and chloroplast DNA RnPs) and morphological data sets are informative at different levels of the eucalypt clade. They allow separate analysis of major subclades, the results of which, when combined, give a single, phylogenetic tree for Angophora Cav. and Eucalyptus L'Hér. For taxonomic revision, the tree supports the recog...