Molecular Phylogeny of Caryophyllidae s.l. Based on MatK Sequences with Special Emphasis on Carnivorous Taxa

Abstract

Despite intensive morphological, chemical and cladistic studies on Caryophyllidae, the circumscription of this subclass and the interfamilial relationships are still under discussion. Using comparative sequencing of the chloroplast matK gene, hypotheses of relationships between the carnivorous Droseraceae, Nepenthaceae and Dioncophyllaceae and ten other families of the Caryophyllidae s.l. were tested and compared with previously published cladograms based on rbcL, 18S rDNA and ORF2280 sequences. Parsimony analyses indicate two well‐differentiated clades. One strongly supported clade comprises the carnivorous families Droseraceae and Nepenthaceae, along with its close relatives Dioncophyllaceae and Ancistrocladaceae. The second clade is restricted to the Polygonaceae, Plumbaginaceae, Tamaricaceae and Frankeniaceae. The Simmondsiaceae are more closely related to Caryophyllales and are at the base of the remaining taxa. Results of this analysis suggest that carnivory within Caryophyllidae s.l. has a monophyletic origin and, with the exception of Triphyophyllum, this syndrome was lost in the taxa of Dioncophyllaceae and Ancistrocladaceae. The exclusion of Drosophyllum from Droseraceae suggests no close relationship with this family. Finally, the data support a sister group relationship between the Plumbaginaceae and Polygonaceae and the Frankeniaceae and Tamaricaceae. An extensive survey of the rpl2 intron via PCR amplification indicates that the intron is absent from chloroplast genomes of Droseraceae and all taxa of Caryophyllales, but is present in Drosophyllum. Consequently, there is evidence for a multiple loss of the intron and strong support that Drosophyllum has affinities outside the Droseraceae. Our sequence data corroborate many aspects of recent cladistic analyses based predominantly on rbcL sequences. This study shows that matK sequences are useful for'phylogenetic inference among closely related members of Caryophyllidae.

Phyloclimatic Modeling: Combining Phylogenetics and Bioclimatic Modeling

“…Fossil Aldrovanda pollen also dates back at least as far as the early Eocene (Krutzsch, 1970). Cameron et al (2002) and Meimberg et al (2000) speculate a Gondwanan origin for Drosera. Meimberg et al (2000) support this based on current transcontinental distributions, whereas Cameron et al (2002) suggest this dating is supported by the fossil record, but does not refer to any observations earlier than the Eocene.…”

Chemical composition of epicuticular wax crystals on the slippery zone in pitchers of five Nepenthes species and hybrids

“…and Nepenthes khasiana, as well as of the three culture hybrids Nepenthes x intermedia, Nepenthes x superba, Nepenthes x henriana were continuously cultivated under tropical conditions in greenhouses in the Botanical Garden of the University of Würzburg. To verify the identiWcation of these specimens, plastid trnK introns were sequenced and compared with previously published sequence data (Meimberg et al 2000(Meimberg et al , 2001. DNA isolation, PCR ampliWcation of the trnK intron, sequencing and phylogenetic analysis was performed as described previously (Meimberg et al 2001(Meimberg et al , 2006.…”

Droseraceae do parque Estadual Do Ibitipoca, Minas Gerais, Brasil

“…Droseraceae é uma família cosmopolita e engloba três gêneros: Aldrovanda, Dionaea e Drosera (Meimberg et al 2000, Rivadavia et al 2003. Dionaea e Aldrovanda são monotípicos (Cronquist 1981, Takhtajan 1997) e ocorrem, respectivamente, no sudeste dos Estados Unidos e na Europa, África, Índia, Japão e Austrália.…”