Abstract Detail

Systematics Section / ASPT

Evans, Timothy M. [2], Brown, Gregory K. [1], Wendt, Tania [3], Tuthill, Dorothy E. [1].

Phylogenetic relationships in Bromelioideae (Bromeliaceae) based on three chloroplast DNA regions.

Subfamily Bromelioideae (Bromeliaceae) consists of 33 genera and approximately 780 species. Due to a high degree of morphological variation (both vegetative and floral), poor preservation of floral tissue, and an unusually low rate of molecular evolution, the group has resisted efforts to produce a natural classification. To evaluate phylogenetic relationships within the subfamily, two chloroplast spacer regions (trnL-trnF and psbA-trnH) and one coding region (matK) were sequenced in representatives of the subfamily. To date, all three regions have been sequenced in 70 species representing 23 genera of Bromelioideae. Bayesian analysis (using three data partitions) and maximum parsimony (MP) analysis yielded largely congruent results, with some notable exceptions near the base of the tree. The following conclusions are supported: 1) Bayesian analysis placed Puya and Deinacanthon sister to the rest of Bromelioideae, whereas MP placed Bromelia as sister to the rest of the subfamily; 2) the heterogeneous Aechmea is highly polyphyletic, with species being found in at least seven different lineages; 3) Billbergia is monophyletic, with the exception of the morphologically divergent B. viridiflora; 4) Canistropsis correia-araujoi, a putative bigeneric hybrid, is separate from the remainder of Canistropsis and sister to Neoregelia bragarum; 5) Canistropsis (minus C. correia-araujoi), Edmundoa, Nidularium, and Wittrockia paulistana form a strongly supported clade that lacks further resolution; 6) Portea is polyphyletic, with representatives being found in at least two separate lineages; and 7) the monophyly of Lymania is unclear, with members being part of a large polytomy.

1 - University of Wyoming, Department of Botany, 1000 E. University Ave., Laramie, Wyoming, 82071, USA
2 - Hope College, Biology Department, Peale Science Center, 35 East 12th St., Holland, Michigan, 49400-9000, USA
3 - Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Departamento de Botânica, CCS-IB, Cidade Universitária, Ilha do Fundão, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, 21941 590, Brasil

Keywords:
Bayesian phylogenetics
Bromeliaceae
Bromelioideae
parsimony.

Presentation Type: Poster
Session: 32-83
Location: Special Event Center (Cliff Lodge)
Date: Tuesday, August 3rd, 2004
Time: 12:30 PM
Abstract ID:280