| Abstract Detail
Systematics/Phytogeography / Taxonomie/ Section Lagomarsino, Laura [1], Kress, John [2], Specht, Chelsea [3]. Molecular Phylogeny and Evolution of Heliconia (Zingiberales:Heliconiaceae). The genus Heliconia is an ecologically and economically important group of monocots that includes approximately 215 species distributed primarily in the Neotropics. Despite their prominence in the ecosystems in which they reside, little recent work has been conducted on the evolutionary relationships among the species of Heliconia. A new molecular phylogeny of Heliconia is presented based on five neutral markers: trnH-psbA and trnLF from the plastid genome, ETS and ITS from the nuclear ribosomal complex, and rpb2, a low-copy nuclear intron of the RNA polymerase II gene. These analyses suggest that previous phylogenies of the genus based on morphological characters alone have been confounded due to evolutionary convergences in floral features associated with hummingbird pollination. In addition to reflecting well-supported evolutionary relationships, the molecular phylogeny can be utilized to make inferences about character evolution and biogeography, as well as coevolutionary radiations with hummingbird pollinators and ecological associates such as floral mites and hispine beetle herbivores. In addition the phylogeny will provide the basis for revised taxonomic circumscriptions and a new evolutionary classification for this charismatic group of tropical plants.
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1 - University of California, Berkeley, Plant and Microbial Biology, 111 Koshland Hall, Berkeley, CA, 94720-3102, USA
2 - Smithsonian, Botany, PO Box 37012, Washington, D.C, 20013-7012, USA
3 - University of California, Berkeley, Plant and Microbial Biology, 111 Koshland Hall MC 3102, Berkeley, California, 94720-3102, USA
Keywords:
Heliconia
Heliconiaceae
Zingiberales
species-level phylogenetics
Low-copy Nuclear Markers
Neotropics.
Presentation Type: Oral Paper:Papers for Sections
Session: 47
Location: 157/Law
Date: Tuesday, July 29th, 2008
Time: 2:00 PM
Number: 47005
Abstract ID:201 |
