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A four‐gene study of evolutionary relationships in Solanum section Acanthophora
Author(s) -
Levin Rachel A.,
Watson Kimberly,
Bohs Lynn
Publication year - 2005
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.92.4.603
Subject(s) - biology , monophyly , subgenus , phylogenetic tree , solanum , botany , phylogenetics , maximum parsimony , lineage (genetic) , sister group , evolutionary biology , zoology , taxonomy (biology) , clade , gene , genetics
The “spiny solanums,” Solanum subgenus Leptostemonum (Solanaceae), comprise a large lineage with over 350 species and include the cultivated eggplant, Solanum melongena . Despite the importance of this subgenus, phylogenetic relationships among these taxa are currently unclear. The present research contributes to this understanding while focusing on Solanum section Acanthophora , a group of ca. 19 species defined by the presence of simple hairs, rather than the stellate hairs common across the rest of subgenus Leptostemonum . In this study we inferred phylogenetic relationships among 29 Solanum taxa, including 14 species of section Acanthophora , using DNA sequence data from two nuclear regions (ITS and the granule‐bound starch synthase gene [GBSSI or waxy ]) and two chloroplast regions ( trnT‐trnF and trnS‐trnG ). This combination of gene regions resulted in a well resolved phylogenetic hypothesis, with results strongly suggesting that Solanum sect. Acanthophora is not monophyletic, although the majority of taxa comprise a monophyletic lineage that is sister to Solanum section Lasiocarpa . Of the four gene regions, waxy was especially useful for phylogenetic inference, with both a high percentage of parsimony‐informative sites as well as a low level of homoplasy. Further studies in progress will help elucidate relationships of sect. Acanthophora with respect to other members of subgenus Leptostemonum .