Plant Diversity ›› 2012, Vol. 34 ›› Issue (2): 109-119.DOI: 10.3724/SP.J.1143.2012.10259

• Articles •     Next Articles

Phylogeny and Character Evolution in Allium Subgenus Amerallium (Amaryllidaceae)

 LI  Qin-Qin, ZHOU  Song-Dong, HE  Xing-Jin, WEI  Xian-Qin   

  1. School of Life Sciences, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610064, China
  • Received:2011-04-29 Online:2012-04-25 Published:2012-01-25

Abstract:

Bayesian and parsimony analyses of the nuclear ribosomal DNA internal transcribed spacer (ITS) were used to infer the phylogeny of Allium subgenus Amerallium. Phylogenetic analyses corroborate that Amerallium is monophyletic and the results indicate that Amerallium composed of three isolated geographical groups: North American Ameralliums, the Mediterranean region Ameralliums, and eastern Asian Ameralliums. Reconstruction of character evolution suggests bulbs as a primitive or ancestral state, and rhizomes and thick fleshy roots as derived states which have evolved and developed several times independently within the groups of Amerallium, and the basic chromosome number x=7 is the primitive state and other basic chromosomes numbers (x=8, 9, 10, 11) are derived from x=7. Within North American Ameralliums, dysploidy is a rather rare evolutionary event and polyploidy seems to be a relatively frequent evolutionary event. Within the Mediterranean region and eastern Asian Ameralliums, both dysploidy and polyploidy are two primary driving forces in their chromosome evolution.

Key words: Allium, Amerallium, Character evolution, ITS, Phylogeny

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