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Elatinaceae are sister to Malpighiaceae; Peridiscaceae belong to Saxifragales
Author(s) -
Davis Charles C.,
Chase Mark W.
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
american journal of botany
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.218
H-Index - 151
eISSN - 1537-2197
pISSN - 0002-9122
DOI - 10.3732/ajb.91.2.262
Subject(s) - ndhf , malpighiaceae , biology , synapomorphy , evolutionary biology , perianth , sister group , botany , nuclear gene , phylogenetic tree , clade , genetics , gene , pollen , mitochondrial dna , stamen
Phylogenetic data from plastid ( ndhF and rbcL ) and nuclear ( PHYC ) genes indicate that, within the order Malpighiales, Elatinaceae are strongly supported as sister to Malpighiaceae. There are several putative morphological synapomorphies for this clade; most notably, they both have a base chromosome number of X = 6 (or some multiple of three or six), opposite or whorled leaves with stipules, unicellular hairs (also uniseriate in some Elatinaceae), multicellular glands on the leaves, and resin (Elatinacae) or latex (Malpighiaceae). Further study is needed to determine if these features are synapomorphic within the order. Malpighiaceae have previously been inferred as sister to Peridiscaceae based on rbcL sequence data, but the rbcL sequence of Whittonia is a chimera of two sequences, neither of which appears to be Whittonia . Our data from plastid ( atpB, rbcL ) and nuclear (18S rDNA) genes instead place Peridiscaeace as a member of the Saxifragales.