Gene markers for exon capture and phylogenomics in ray-finned fishes

Gene capture coupled with the next generation sequencing has become one of the favorable methods in subsampling genomes for phylogenomic studies. Many target gene markers have been developed in plants, sharks, frogs, reptiles and others, but few have been reported in the ray-finned fishes. Here, we identified a suite of \"single-copy\" protein coding sequence (CDS) markers through comparing eight fish genomes, and tested them empirically in 83 species (33 families and 11 orders) of ray-finned fishes. Sorting through the markers according to their completeness and phylogenetic decisiveness in taxa tested resulted in a selection of 4,434 markers, which were proven to be useful in reconstructing phylogenies of the ray-finned fishes at different taxonomic level. We also proposed a strategy of refining baits (probes) design a posteriori based on empirical data. The markers that we have developed may fill a gap in the tool kit of phylogenomic study in vertebrates.