Molecular genetic variation in Passiflora alata (Passifloraceae), an invasive species in southern Brazil

Abstract

A total of 85 wild plants were collected in different areas of southern and south‐eastern Brazil, and studied for nrDNA internal transcribed spacers (ITS). Thirty‐two of them were also investigated for two other nuclear (G3pdh and LEAFY), as well as eight plastid systems. Sixty‐one ITS sequence types were identified, in a region of 412 bp, whereas 42 G3pdh haplotypes were found in a region of 1010 bp, and 23 LEAFY haplotypes in a region of 565 bp. GC content was higher in ITS (65%) than in the two other nuclear regions (40–42%), whereas nucleotide diversity was markedly higher in G3pdh than in the other two. No variability was found in the plastid systems. Most of the nuclear molecular diversity (56–86%) occurs at the intrapopulation level, and there is clear evidence of population expansion and little geographical structure. Historical information and field studies indicate that Passiflora alata is actively colonizing previously unoccupied areas in southern Brazil. High indices of intrapopulation variability were found in the region that is being colonized, similar to those found in areas where P. alata is native. Multiple introductions, as well the species’ genetic structure and human interference, may explain these findings. © 2006 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2006, 88, 611–630.

Effects of past climate onPassiflora actinia(Passifloraceae) populations and insights into future species management in the Brazilian Atlantic forest

“…Koehler‐Santos et al . () found similar or higher values for three nuclear markers, including ITS, in P. alata Curtis. The intraspecific variability of ITS in Passiflora spp.…”

Efficiency of ITS Sequences for DNA Barcoding in Passiflora (Passifloraceae)

“…In our study, the three ITS datasets studied presented equally efficient results as potential barcodes in the subgenera Astrophea and Deidamioides as did ITS1 and ITS1+2 for the subgenus Passiflora and ITS1+2 for the subgenus Decaloba . One also must consider the steps of DNA isolation, PCR amplification, and sequencing when choosing a DNA barcode [ 8 ]; in this case, the ITS region has proved to be a suitable marker in Passiflora studies [ 36 , 38 , 43 , 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 ]. Neither ITS1 nor ITS2 alone were perfect to distinguish all samples in this study.…”

“…Several studies in Passiflora have been conducted utilizing the ITS region for different proposes [ 36 , 38 , 43 , 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 ]. These studies demonstrate the phylogenetic signal of ITS in Passiflora and the subsequent contribution of this marker in clarifying the evolutionary relationships between and within species of the genus.…”

The use and limits of ITS data in the analysis of intraspecific variation in Passiflora L. (Passifloraceae)

“…The ITS region has been successfully used to infer phylogeographic patterns in a wide range of species (Jeandroz et al 1997; Manos et al , 1999; Rodriguez-Lanetty and Hoegh-Guldberg, 2002; Duran et al , 2004; Lorenz-Lemke et al , 2005; Koehler-Santos et al , 2006; Nettel and Dodd, 2007; Yamaji et al , 2007). Furthermore, since the ITS region is flanked by well-conserved rRNA genes, universal primers can be used for widely different plant groups, thereby avoiding the need for developing specific primer sets, as is the case for SSR markers.…”