Morphological Phylogenetic Analysis of Seven Varieties of Ficus deltoidea Jack from the Malay Peninsula of Malaysia

Abstract

This study is the first report to suggest a morphological phylogenetic framework for the seven varieties of Ficus deltoidea Jack (Ficus: Moraceae) from the Malay Peninsula of Malaysia. Several molecular-based classifications on the genus Ficus had been proposed, but neither had discussed the relationship between seven varieties of F. deltoidea to its allies nor within the varieties. The relationship between seven varieties of F. deltoidea is still debated due to the extreme morphological variabilities and ambiguous boundaries between taxa. Thus, the correct identification of these varieties is important as several morphological characters are variety-specific. To test the monophyly and further resolved the relationship in F. deltoidea, a morphological phylogenetic analysis was conducted based on herbarium specimens representing the seven varieties of F. deltoidea that were collected from the Malay Peninsula of Malaysia, by using related species of the genus Ficus; F. grossularioides, F. ischnopoda and F. oleifolia as the outgroups. Parsimony and neighbour-joining analyses indicated that F. deltoidea is monophyletic, in that the seven varieties of F. deltoidea nested into two clades; clade subspecies deltoidea (var. deltoidea, var. bilobata, var. angustifolia, var. kunstleri and var. trengganuensis) and clade subspecies motleyana (var. intermedia and var. motleyana).

Intraspecific classification of Ficus deltoidea Jack subsp. deltoidea (Moraceae) in Peninsular Malaysia based on morphological and molecular variations

“…Although several studies on the classification of F. deltoidea have been reported based on morphological and anatomical diversities (Mat et al, 2012;Fatihah et al, 2012Fatihah et al, , 2014Awang et al, 2013), the results were not conclusive due to the complex morphological variation within the species. In order to further elucidate the phylogenetic relationship among varieties of F. deltoidea subsp.…”

C1 Metabolism and Photorespiration of <i>Ficus deltoidea</i> based on Peptide Mass Fingerprinting Approach

“…Figure 2 shows the functional categories of the identified proteins. The most abundant category is belonging to DNA/RNA metabolism (75), followed by plant growth related proteins (65), hypothetical (29), miscellaneous (28), signalling (27), stress protein (26), lipid metabolism (19), cell protein (19), hormone metabolism (14), development (14), transport (14), secondary metabolism (11), amino acid metabolism (8), C-1 metabolism (9), cell wall proteins (6), metal handling (6), photosynthesis (4), redox (4), major CHO metabolism (3), co-factor and vitamin metabolism (3), tetrapyrrole synthesis (3), minor CHO metabolism (2), mitochondrial electron transport (2), nucleotide metabolism (2) and finally protein related to biodegradation of xenobiotics (1). Only proteins related to C1-metabolsim are selected and their matched peptide sequences are listed in Table 1.…”

“…trengganuensis are widely used in the Malay traditional medicines. Malay women or ladies are used to consume the plant decoction for energy restoration and uterus strengthening, especially after childbirth [1,2]. Furthermore, it is believed to be effective in improving blood circulation, diabetes, gout and hypertension, as well as reducing water in lung disease [3].…”

Structure and Principal Components Analyses Reveal an Intervarietal Fusion in Malaysian Mistletoe Fig (Ficus deltoidea Jack) Populations

“…kinabaluensis and var. trengganuensis [ 13 ]. Local collectors of F. deltoidea have identified the accessions mainly based on the leaf and fruit morphology.…”

“…Accordingly, morphological features have been subjected to a broad investigation in the latest researches, whereas the shape and color of leaves and fruits are described highly variable [ 15 ]. More recently, Fatihah et al [ 13 ] attempted to employ these features as a marker to evaluate the morphological phylogeny of the plant’s varieties in Peninsula Malaysia.…”