Nyree Zerega

Northwestern University | NU

The mulberry genus, Morus L. (Moraceae), has long been taxonomically difficult, and its species circumscription has only been defined recently. This genus comprises ca. 16 species distributed across Asia and the Americas, yet its biogeographic history remains poorly understood. In this study, we reconstructed the phylogeny and explored the biogeogr...

Studies investigating the evolution of flowering plants have long focused on isolating mechanisms such as pollinator specificity. Some recent studies have proposed a role for introgressive hybridization between species, recognizing that isolating processes such as pollinator specialization may not be complete barriers to hybridization. Occasional h...

Every crop has a story. The story of breadfruit (Artocarpus altilis), an increasingly valued staple crop in tropical agroforestry systems, is filled with intrigue, oppression, and remains incomplete. The Caribbean is a major producer and consumer of breadfruit, yet most breadfruit there came from a single 1793 introduction aimed at providing a chea...

Incorporating perennial crops into agroecosystems has been shown to mitigate soil degradation and improve soil health by enhancing soil aggregation and soil organic carbon (SOC) accrual. However, our understanding of the ability and timeframe for perennial crop systems to build soil health within the context of conversion from abandoned crop land r...

‘Breadfruit’ is a common tree species in Taiwan. In the indigenous Austronesian Amis culture of eastern Taiwan, ‘breadfruit’ is known as Pacilo , and its fruits are consumed as food. On Lanyu (Botel Tobago) where the indigenous Yami people live, ‘breadfruit’ is called Cipoho and used for constructing houses and plank-boats. Elsewhere in Taiwan, ‘br...

'Breadfruit' is a common tree species in Taiwan. In the indigenous Austronesian Amis culture of eastern Taiwan, 'breadfruit' is known as Pacilo, and its fruits are consumed as food. On Lanyu (Botel Tobago) where the indigenous Yami people live, 'breadfruit' is called Cipoho and used for constructing houses and plank-boats. Elsewhere in Taiwan, 'bre...

This paper presents Artocarpus buyangensis, a newly-described species known only from Manus Island, Papua New Guinea. A member of Artocarpus subgenus Artocarpus phylogenetically placed near A. section Artocarpus series Rugosi, A. buyangensis most closely resembles Artocarpus elasticus and A. sericicarpus, neither of which is found east of the Moluc...

Retracing pathways of historical species introductions is fundamental to understanding the factors involved in the successful colonization and spread, centuries after a species’ establishment in an introduced range. Numerous plants have been introduced to regions outside their native ranges both intentionally and accidentally by European voyagers a...

Indigenous peoples are important stewards of biodiversity, often living near and possessing intimate knowledge of ecosystems. As a result, species new to science may be long known to indigenous people. While the scientific endeavor has long benefitted from indigenous knowledge, it has usually not engaged with it on equal footing. While Linnaean tax...

The breadfruit genus Artocarpus J.R.Forst. & G.Forst. (Moraceae) has sixteen species in Singapore, fourteen of them native. In this precursory study to the treatment of Artocarpus for the Flora of Singapore, we present updated phylogenomic analyses of Artocarpus subgenus Artocarpus based on 517 nuclear genes. The following taxonomic changes based o...

We present a densely sampled phylogenomic study of the mulberry tribe (Moreae, Moraceae), an economically important clade with a global distribution, revealing multiple losses of inflexed stamens, a character traditionally used to circumscribe Moreae. Inflexed stamens facilitate ballistic pollen release and are associated with wind pollination, and...

Artocarpus bergii, named for the late C. C. Berg, is from Halmahera in the Moluccas, and is a close ally of breadfruit (A. altilis). The species resembles the Micronesian A. mariannensis but with generally smaller parts. Because it is known from only a small area and the type locality is a potential mining site, A. bergii is likely of conservation...

The breadfruit genus (Artocarpus J.R.Forst. & G.Forst., Moraceae) has 16 species in Singapore, 14 of them native. The following taxonomic changes in Artocarpus subgenus Pseudojaca Trécul, based on recent phylogenetic work, are presented with diagnostic characters. Artocarpus griffithii (King) Merr. is reinstated as distinct from A. lamellosus Blanc...

(2757) Antiarideae Dumort., Anal. Fam. Pl.: 16. 1829 [Angiosp.: Mor.], nom. utique rej. prop. Typus: Antiaris Lesch.

We present a 517-gene phylogenetic framework for the breadfruit genus Artocarpus (ca. 70 spp., Moraceae), making use of silica-dried leaves from recent fieldwork and herbarium specimens (some up to 106 years old) to achieve 96% taxon sampling. We explore issues relating to assembly, paralogous loci, partitions, and analysis method to reconstruct a...

Limestone karsts of Southeast Asia can harbor high levels of endemism, but are highly fragmented, increasingly threatened, and their biodiversity is often poorly studied. This is true of the Padawan Limestone Area of Sarawak, Malaysia, home to the endemic Artocarpus annulatus, the closest known wild relative of two important and underutilized fruit...

Recent taxonomic work on Artoarpus has revealed two undescribed species from Thailand and Vietnam. Artocarpus rubrosoccatus, endemic to peninsular Thailand, resembles A. lacucha but is distinguished by its deep red clavate staminate inflorescences. Artocarpus montanus is found in the montane regions of southern and central Vietnam, and perhaps also...

https://authorea.com/users/337132/articles/462777-travel-tales-of-a-worldwide-weed-genomic-signatures-reveal-colonial-trade-routes-and-prior-adaptation-are-key-to-the-success-of-plantago-major

We present a phylogenomic study of Brosimum and the allied genera Trymatococcus and Helianthostylis, with near-complete taxon sampling. Distributed from Mexico and the Greater Antilles to the Amazon, this clade contains the underutilized crop ramón (bread nut) (Brosimum alicastrum) as well as other species valued for timber or medicinal uses. Targe...

We present a densely-sampled phylogenomic study of the mulberry tribe (Moreae, Moraceae), an economically important clade with a global distribution, revealing multiple losses of inflexed stamens, a character traditionally used to circumscribe Moreae. Inflexed stamens facilitate ballistic pollen release and are associated with wind pollination, and...

Two of the most economically important plants in the Artocarpus genus are jackfruit (A. heterophyllus Lam.) and breadfruit (A. altilis (Parkinson) Fosberg). Both species are long-lived trees that have been cultivated for thousands of years in their native regions. Today they are grown throughout tropical to subtropical areas as an important source...

Two of the most economically important plants in the Artocarpus genus are jackfruit (A. heterophyllus Lam.) and breadfruit (A. altilis (Parkinson) Fosberg). Both species are long-lived trees that have been cultivated for thousands of years in their native regions. Today they are grown throughout tropical to subtropical areas as an important source...

We present a 517-gene phylogenetic framework for the breadfruit genus Artocarpus (ca. 70 spp., Moraceae), making use of silica-dried leaves from recent fieldwork and herbarium specimens (some up to 106 years old) to achieve 96% taxon sampling. We explore issues relating to assembly, paralogous loci, partitions, and analysis method to reconstruct a...

Crop genetic diversity is important, but may be lost due to intentional or non-intentional selection processes. Jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus) is the national fruit of Bangladesh, where it displays great morphological diversity, but recent work suggests diversity may be declining. This study tests whether genetic diversity is changing over ti...

Aim: The Neotropics have the highest terrestrial biodiversity on earth. Investigating the relationships between the floras of the Neotropics and other tropical areas is critical to understanding the origin and evolution of this mega-diverse region. Tribe Dorstenieae (Moraceae) has a pantropical distribution and almost equal number of species on bot...

Here we describe the new tribe, Parartocarpeae, within the Moraceae (mulberry family). The tribe comprises two small Malesian genera, Parartocarpus and Hullettia, and brings the total number of Moraceae tribes to seven. Evidence for this new designation comes from a phylogeny based on 333 nuclear genes sequenced using target enrichment via hybridiz...

Breadfruit species (Artocarpus altilis and A. altilis × A. mariannensis) have been an important food and material resource for many Pacific Island societies for centuries, and have traditionally been a primary staple for many small islands and atolls. Domesticated by Near Oceania peoples several thousand years ago, breadfruit was spread throughout...

Breadfruit species (Artocarpus altilis and A. altilis × A. mariannensis) have been an important food and material resource for many Pacific Island societies for centuries, and have traditionally been a primary staple for many small islands and atolls. Domesticated by Near Oceania peoples several thousand years ago, breadfruit was spread throughout...

Premise of the Study Underutilized crops and their wild relatives are important resources for crop improvement and food security. Cempedak [Artocarpus integer (Thunb). Merr.] is a significant crop in Malaysia but underutilized elsewhere. Here we performed molecular characterization of cempedak and its putative wild relative bangkong (Artocarpus int...

Premise of the Study Underutilized crops, such as breadfruit (Artocarpus altilis, Moraceae) have the potential to improve global food security. Humans have artificially selected many cultivars of breadfruit since its domestication began approximately 3500 years ago. The goal of this research was to identify transcriptomic signals of positive select...

Premise of research. Jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus, Moraceae) is an emerging but underutilized crop whose pollination is poorly understood. We present a multidisciplinary investigation of the reproductive biology and chemical ecology of jackfruit and a putative pollinator, Clinodiplosis ultracrepidata Gagné new species (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae...

Premise of the study: Untapped information about allele diversity within populations and individuals (i.e., heterozygosity) could improve phylogenetic resolution and accuracy. Many phylogenetic reconstructions ignore heterozygosity because it is difficult to assemble allele sequences and combine allele data across unlinked loci, and it is unclear...

The liverwort subfamily Acrobolboideae has historically contained the three genera: Acrobolbus, Marspidium, and Tylimanthus. Generic delimitations in this subfamily have been historically inferred from morphological characters, specifically the location of gametangia. Taxonomists have had difficulty separating the genera, with some combining Tylima...

Background and aims: Maclura (ca. 12 spp., Moraceae) is a widespread genus of trees and woody climbers found on five continents. Maclura pomifera, the Osage orange, is considered a classic example of an anachronistic fruit. Native to the central USA, the grapefruit-sized Osage oranges are unpalatable and have no known extant native dispersers, lea...

Background and aims: The breadfruit genus ( Artocarpus , Moraceae) includes valuable underutilized fruit tree crops with a centre of diversity in Southeast Asia. It belongs to the monophyletic tribe Artocarpeae, whose only other members include two small neotropical genera. This study aimed to reconstruct the phylogeny, estimate divergence dates a...

Premise of the study: Using sequence data generated via target enrichment for phylogenetics requires reassembly of high-throughput sequence reads into loci, presenting a number of bioinformatics challenges. We developed HybPiper as a user-friendly platform for assembly of gene regions, extraction of exon and intron sequences, and identification of...

Premise of the study: We used moderately low-coverage (17×) whole-genome sequencing of Artocarpus camansi (Moraceae) to develop genomic resources for Artocarpus and Moraceae. Methods and results: A de novo assembly of Illumina short reads (251,378,536 pairs, 2 × 100 bp) accounted for 93% of the predicted genome size. Predicted coding regions wer...

Breadfruit is a traditional, long-lived, staple tree crop that was domesticated in Oceania. Beginning in the late sixteenth century efforts were initiated to introduce breadfruit to other tropical regions. Today it is grown throughout the tropics, and the Caribbean is the second most important producer of breadfruit outside of Oceania. Despite its...

• Premise of the study: Chloroplast microsatellite loci were characterized from transcriptomes of Artocarpus altilis (bread- fruit) and A. camansi (breadnut). They were tested in A. odoratissimus (terap) and A. altilis and evaluated in silico for two congeners. • Methods and Results: Fifteen simple sequence repeats (SSRs) were identified in chlorop...

Breadfruit (Artocarpus altilis, Moraceae) is a trad tional staple crop in Oceania and has been introduced throughout the tropics. This study examines important germplasm collections of breadfruit and its closest wild relatives and aims to (1) characterize genetic diversity, including identification of unknown and duplicate accessions, (2) evaluate...

Premise of the study: Microsatellite loci were isolated and characterized from enriched genomic libraries of Artocarpus altilis (breadfruit) and tested in four Artocarpus species and one hybrid. The microsatellite markers provide new tools for further studies in Artocarpus. Methods and Results: A total of 25 microsatellite loci were evaluated acros...

Dorstenia, the second largest genus (105 species) within the Moraceae, is the only genus in the family with woody, herbaceous and succulent species. All but one species of Dorstenia are restricted to the Neotropics or Africa, and it is the only genus in the family with an almost equal transatlantic distribution. This work presents the first molecul...

Moraceae is a large (~1,050 species) primarily tropical family with several economically and ecologically important species. While its monophyly has been well supported in recent studies, relationships within the family at the tribal level and below remain unresolved. Delimitation of the tribe Artocarpeae has been particularly difficult. Classifica...

Jackfruit ( Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam.) Diversity in Bangladesh: Land Use and Artificial Selection. Bangladesh is often recognized as a secondary center of diversity for jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam.) and is expected to harbor important genetic diversity of this underutilized tree crop. Unfortunately, genetic erosion is occurring bef...

Figs (Ficus, Moraceae) constitute one of the largest genera of flowering plants with ca. 750 species worldwide. While the extraordinary mutualism between figs and their pollinating wasps has received attention for decades, we are only just beginning to reconstruct the phylogeny of both partners, a necessary framework for addressing a variety of que...

Darwin's Harvest addresses concerns that we are losing the diversity of crop plants that provide food for most of the world. With contributions from evolutionary biologists, geneticists, agronomists, molecular biologists, and anthropologists, this collection discusses how economic development, loss of heirloom varieties and wild ancestors, and mode...

The biogeographical history of the mulberry family (Moraceae) was investigated using phylogenetic inferences from nuclear and chloroplast DNA, molecular dating with multiple fossil calibrations, and independent geological evidence. The Moraceae are centered in the tropics which has invited the hypothesis that the family has Gondwanan origins and ex...

Breadfruit (Artocarpus, Moraceae) is an important staple in Oceania and throughout much of the tropics. Interpretations of species delimitations among breadfruit and its closest relatives have varied from recognition of one to several species. To better understand the systematics and ultimately the origins of breadfruit, we considered evidence from...

Breadfruit ( Artocarpus, Moraceae) is an important staple in Oceania and throughout much of the tropics. Interpretations of species delimitations among breadfruit and its closest relatives have varied from recognition of one to several species. To better understand the systematics and ultimately the origins of breadfruit, we considered evidence fro...

Fig pollination is a well-known example of obligate mutualism involving specialized fig wasps (Hymenoptera, Agaonidae) and Ficus (Moraceae). However, pollination is poorly understood in Castilleae, the recently identified sister group to Ficus. Here we report the first record of thrips pollination in a member of the paleotropical Castilleae. We use...

Breadfruit (Artocarpus altilis, Moraceae), a traditional starch crop in Oceania, has enjoyed legendary status ever since its role in the infamous mutiny aboard the H.M.S. Bounty in 1789, yet its origins remain unclear. Breadfruit's closest relatives are A. camansi and A. mariannensis. DNA fingerprinting data (AFLP, amplified fragment length polymor...

Tracing the genetic ancestors of a staple food illuminates human migration in the Pacific.

The rhizome ofActaea racemosa L., commonly called black cohosh, is a popular botanical dietary supplement used to treat female health concerns. The rhizomes used in black cohosh products are often collected from the wild. To ensure quality control, it is imperative that plants be correctly identified. This paper examines the use of the DNA fingerpr...

The rhizome of Actaea racemosa L., commonly called black cohosh, is a popular botanical dietary supplement used to treat female health concerns. The rhizomes used in black cohosh products are often collected from the wild. To ensure quality control, it is imperative that plants be correctly identified. This paper examines the use of the DNA fingerp...

Typescript. Thesis (Ph. D.)--New York University, Graduate School of Arts and Science, 2003. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 134-145).