Document Type
Article
Publication Date
6-2008
Journal or Book Title
American Journal of Botany
Volume
95
Issue
6
First Page
756
Last Page
765
DOI
10.3732/ajb.0800049
Abstract
The study of recently formed species is important because it can help us to better understand organismal divergence and the speciation process. However, these species often present difficult challenges in the field of molecular phylogenetics because the processes that drive molecular divergence can lag behind phenotypic divergence. In the current study we show that species of the recently diverged North American endemic genus of purple coneflower,Echinacea, have low levels of molecular divergence. Data from three nuclear loci and two plastid loci provide neither resolved topologies nor congruent hypotheses about species-level relationships. This lack of phylogenetic resolution is likely due to the combined effects of incomplete lineage sorting, hybridization, and backcrossing following secondary contact. The poor resolution provided by molecular markers contrasts previous studies that found well-resolved and taxonomically supported relationships from metabolic and morphological data. These results suggest that phenotypic canalization, resulting in identifiable morphological species, has occurred rapidly within Echinacea. Conversely, molecular signals have been distorted by gene flow and incomplete lineage sorting. Here we explore the impact of natural history on the genetic organization and phylogenetic relationships of Echinacea.
Rights
Works produced by employees of the U.S. Government as part of their official duties are not copyrighted within the U.S. The content of this document is not copyrighted.
Language
en
File Format
application/pdf
Recommended Citation
Flagel, Lex E.; Rapp, Ryan Adam; Grover, Corrinne E.; Widrlechner, Mark P.; Hawkins, Jennifer S.; Grafenberg, Jessie L.; Álvarez, Inés; Chung, Gyu Young; and Wendel, Jonathan F., "Phylogenetic, morphological, and chemotaxonomic incongruence in the North American endemic genus Echinacea" (2008). NCRPIS Publications and Papers. 26.
https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/ncrpis_pubs/26
Included in
Agricultural Science Commons, Agriculture Commons, Evolution Commons, Horticulture Commons, Plant Breeding and Genetics Commons
Comments
This article is from American Journal of Botany 95, no. 6 (June 2008): 756–765, doi:10.3732/ajb.0800049.