Comprehensive phylogenomic time tree of bryophytes reveals deep relationships and uncovers gene incongruences in the last 500 million years of diversification

Premise: Bryophytes form a major component of terrestrial plant biomass, structuring ecological communities in all biomes. Our understanding of the evolutionary history of hornworts, liverworts, and mosses has been significantly reshaped by inferences from molecular data, which have highlighted extensive homoplasy in various traits and repeated bursts of diversification. However, the timing of key events in the phylogeny, patterns, and processes of diversification across bryophytes remain unclear. Methods: Using the GoFlag probe set, we sequenced 405 exons representing 228 nuclear genes for 531 species from 52 of the 54 orders of bryophytes. We inferred the species phylogeny from gene tree analyses using concatenated and coalescence approaches, assessed gene conflict, and estimated the timing of divergences based on 29 fossil calibrations. Results: The phylogeny resolves many relationships across the bryophytes, enabling us to resurrect five liverwort orders and recognize three more and propose 10 new orders of mosses. Most orders originated in the Jurassic and diversified in the Cretaceous or later. The phylogenomic data also highlight topological conflict in parts of the tree, suggesting complex processes of diversification that cannot be adequately captured in a single gene-tree topology. Conclusions: We sampled hundreds of loci across a broad phylogenetic spectrum spanning at least 450 Ma of evolution; these data resolved many of the critical nodes of the diversification of bryophytes. The data also highlight the need to explore the mechanisms underlying the phylogenetic ambiguity at specific nodes. The phylogenomic data provide an expandable framework toward reconstructing a comprehensive phylogeny of this important group of plantsFunding was provided by the NSF collaborative project “Building a Comprehensive Evolutionary History of Flagellate Plants” (DEB #1541506 to J.G. Burleigh, E.C. Davis, S.F. McDaniel, and E.B. Sessa, and #1541545 to M von Konrat). B.G. acknowledges DEB‐1753811. J.C.V.A. acknowledges the Canada Research Chair (950‐232698); the CRNSG‐RGPIN 05967–2016 and the Canadian Foundation for Innovation (projects 36781, 39135). The authors thank the two anonymous reviewers and the Associate Editor for their constructive comments on previous versions of the manuscrip

Comment on the letter of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology (SVP) dated April 21, 2020 regarding “Fossils from conflict zones and reproducibility of fossil‑based scientific data”: Myanmar amber

Non peer reviewe

Effect of Perceived Stigma on Community-Based Mental Health Service Use Among Jail Detainees

Many personal, situational and environmental factors serve as barriers and facilitators to community-based mental health service use. An important factor to consider is perceived mental illness stigma, which can be defined as an awareness of the potential negative stereotypes and social exclusion that may result from having a mental disorder. Models of health service use are often used in mental health services research, but these models generally fail to include perceived mental illness as a factor. This study proposed the addition of perceived stigma as an important predisposing factor in the Behavioral Model for Vulnerable Populations. Through a secondary data analysis of interview data collected from 431 female and male jail detainees, this dissertation examined the relationships between predisposing, enabling and need-based factors and mental health service use. Data was collected from jail detainees housed in the psychiatric treatment units of the Cook County Department of Corrections. The study used the World Mental Health – Composite International Diagnostic Interview, which was adapted to for a correctional population and included the Perceived Devaluation and Discrimination scale to measure perceived mental illness stigma. Findings from the research showed that a number of factors positively or negatively influenced mental health service use in this sample. Increases in perceive mental illness stigma, the main variable of interest, were shown to increase the incidence rates of service use. This finding was contrary to expected outcomes, as it was predicted that stigma would decrease incidence rates of service use. The need to receive care in spite of potentially stigmatizing service delivery and possible involvement in public, mandated or coerced care were cited as possible reasons for this finding. Other factors that increased the likelihood of using services included having positive attitudes toward mental health service use, endorsing higher levels of religiosity, being insured and having access to regular care. Findings of the study have relevance for social work education, practice and research. Efforts to reduce stigma at the individual, clinical, systems and social levels should enhance personal wellbeing, improve social inclusion, reduce devaluation and discrimination and increase mental health service use over time

Selaginella was hyperdiverse already in the Cretaceous

Peer reviewe