Abstract Detail

Systematics Section/ASPT

Wenzel, Aaron [1], Wolfe, Andrea [2].

Systematics of Penstemon section Ericopsis using genus-specific low-copy nuclear loci.

With ca. 300 species, Penstemon (Plantaginaceae) is the largest plant genus endemic to North America and has been hypothesized to represent a rapid evolutionary radiation in response to events during the Pleistocene . Previous phylogenetic studies were unable to resolve most relationships among closely-related species based on cpDNA and ITS sequence data. One section within the genus, Ericopsis, has represented a particularly problematic group for more than a century, with debate centering on which species actually belong in Ericopsis and what the phylogenetic relationships between these species are. Currently, the section contains 15 species (divided among three subsections) that are native to the Intermountain and Southwest regions of the U.S. The goals of our study were: 1) Use informative, low-copy nuclear loci to characterize phylogenetic relationships among species in Ericopsis, and 2) Use the results from the phylogenetic analyses to assess the current taxonomy of Ericopsis in terms of which species do and do not belong in the section. We developed primers for 14 low-copy nuclear loci using data obtained from a whole genome shotgun sequencing run of six Penstemon species; together these loci provided more than 5,500 bp of sequence data. Using SVDquartets, a coalescent-based quartet method for phylogenetic inference, we found that section Ericopsis as currently circumscribed is not monophyletic. Two species currently classified in Ericopsis (P. acaulis and P. laricifolius) fall outside the section, while two non-Ericopsis species (P. dolius and P. pinifolius) are included in the Ericopsis clade. In addition, one of the subsections within Ericopsis, subsection Linarioides, is consistently recovered as a clade nested within the rest of the section. Finally, we were able to elucidate most relationships among the rest of the species. We conclude that taxonomic revision of section Ericopsis is warranted given the results of our analyses.

1 - Ohio State University, Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology, 318 W. 12th Ave, Columbus, Ohio, 43210, United States
2 - Ohio State University, Department Of Ecology, Evolution, And Organismal Biology, 318 W. 12th Avenue, Columbus, OH, 43210-1293, USA

Keywords:
Penstemon
Plantaginaceae
single-copy nuclear gene
Whole genome shotgun sequencing
Coalescence
Phylogenetics.

Presentation Type: Oral Paper:Papers for Sections
Session: 47
Location: Salon 3/The Shaw Conference Centre
Date: Tuesday, July 28th, 2015
Time: 2:45 PM
Number: 47006
Abstract ID:856
Candidate for Awards:None