| Abstract Detail
Systematics Section Arakaki, Monica [1], Ogburn, R. Matthew [1], Spriggs, Elizabeth [1], Edwards, Erika [1]. Update on evolutionary relationships within Portulacineae from analysis of nuclear Phytochromes A, B, and C. Recent morphological, anatomical, and molecular phylogenetic studies have provided strong support for the Portulacineae (Caryophyllales), a clade of ~ 2200 species that includes the major lineages Cactaceae, Basellaceae, Didiereaceae, Montiaceae, Anacampserotaceae, Portulacaceae, and Talinaceae. The Portulacineae contain many highly specialized succulent plants that represent a variety of life forms and complex adaptations to arid environments. Understanding how the major Portulacineae lineages are related to each other is necessary to answer a variety of important evolutionary questions: What did the ancestor of these plants look like, where did it live, and how did it function? Are there particular ecological or anatomical traits that the specialized lineages share with the more ‘typical’ herbaceous Portulaca-type plant? Can we infer the ecological conditions that may have triggered such dramatic morphological innovation in these lineages? Previous studies have focused on chloroplast markers, which have provided no too weak support for relationships among the major clades. Here we report on progress using an expanded species sampling and three nuclear markers: PHYA, PHYB, and PHYC. Preliminary analyses provide strong support for previously recovered clades (i.e., the ‘ACPT’ clade, and ‘Northern Pereskia’ and ‘caulocactus’ clades within Cactaceae) and show great promise for resolving some of the more recalcitrant clades within Portulacineae, such as the sister taxon of the cacti.
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1 - Brown University, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, 80 Waterman St., Providence, RI, 02912, USA
Keywords:
phylogenetics
Portulacineae
character evolution
Phytochrome
Cactaceae.
Presentation Type: Oral Paper:Papers for BSA Sections
Session: 33
Location: Magpie A/Cliff Lodge - Level B
Date: Tuesday, July 28th, 2009
Time: 11:00 AM
Number: 33011
Abstract ID:848 |
