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The unusual mix of morphological traits displayed by extinct South American native ungulates (SANUs) confounded both Charles Darwin, who first discovered them, and Richard Owen, who tried to resolve their relationships. Here we report an almost complete mitochondrial genome for the litoptern Macrauchenia. Our dated phylogenetic tree places Macrauchenia as sister to Perissodactyla, but close to the radiation of major lineages within Laurasiatheria. This position is consistent with a divergence estimate of B66Ma (95% credibility interval, 56.64-77.83 Ma) obtained for the split between Macrauchenia and other Panperissodactyla. Combined with their morphological distinctiveness, this evidence supports the positioning of Litopterna (possibly in company with other SANU groups) as a separate order within Laurasiatheria. We also show that, when using strict criteria, extinct taxa marked by deep divergence times and a lack of close living relatives may still be amenable to palaeogenomic analysis through iterative mapping against more distant relatives.
Ophiostomatoid fungi are vectored by their bark-beetle associates and colonize different host tree species. To survive and proliferate in the host, they have evolved mechanisms for detoxification and elimination of host defence compounds, efficient nutrient sequestration, and, in pathogenic species, virulence towards plants. Here, we assembled a draft genome of the spruce pathogen Ophiostoma bicolor. For our comparative and phylogenetic analyses, we mined the genomes of closely related species (Ophiostoma piceae, Ophiostoma ulmi, Ophiostoma novo-ulmi, and Grosmannia clavigera). Our aim was to acquire a genomic and evolutionary perspective of gene families important in host colonization. Genome comparisons showed that both the nuclear and mitochondrial genomes in our assembly were largely complete. Our O. bicolor 25.3 Mbp draft genome had 10 018 predicted genes, 6041 proteins with gene ontology (GO) annotation, 269 carbohydrate-active enzymes (CAZymes), 559 peptidases and inhibitors, and 1373 genes likely involved in pathogen-host interactions. Phylogenetic analyses of selected protein families revealed core sets of cytochrome P450 genes, ABC transporters and backbone genes involved in secondary metabolite (SM) biosynthesis (polyketide synthases (PKS) and non-ribosomal synthases), and species-specific gene losses and duplications. Phylogenetic analyses of protein families of interest provided insight into evolutionary adaptations to host biochemistry in ophiostomatoid fungi.