| Abstract Detail
Systematics Section / ASPT Stefanovic, Sasa [1], Stevanovic, Vladimir [2], Lakusic, Dmitar [2], Kuzmina, Maria [1], Medjedovic, Safer [3], Tan, Kit [4]. Molecular phylogeny of Edraianthus DC (Grassy Bells; Campanulaceae), an endemic genus from the Balkans. THE Balkan Peninsula is known as an ice-age refugium and a place with intense speciation and diversification rates. The genus Edraianthus represents one of the most prominent groups of plants endemic to this region. Out of approximately two-dozen described species (sensu Lakusic) only few are found outside the Balkans (Italy and S Carpathians). As such, Edraianthus represents an excellent model not only for studying speciation processes and genetic diversity but also for testing hypotheses regarding biogeography, identification, and characterization of refugia, as well as post-glacial colonization dynamics in Europe. With its distinctive mode of capsule dehiscence, Edraianthus seems to be morphologically well defined, but neither the monophyly nor the relationships within this genus (nor its relationships with other putatively closely allied species) were tested in a rigorous phylogenetic framework to date. We present here the first phylogenetic study of Edraianthus based on multiple plastid and nuclear sequences derived from a wide taxonomic sampling and geographic range. While the sister-group to Edraianthus could not be ascertained, the preliminary results strongly support its monophyly as currently circumscribed. Campanula parnassica, an endemic species from Southern Greece sometimes treated as E. parnassicus, is not found to form a clade with the Edraianthus species and is best kept segregated. Our study identified several distinct monophyletic groups within Edraianthus, some of which correspond closely to previously established taxonomic treatments and some of which are first identified here. Morphological, taxonomical, and biogeographical implications of these relationships are also discussed.
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1 - University of Toronto at Mississauga, Biology, 3359 Mississauga Rd N, Mississauga, Ontario, L5L1C6, Canada
2 - University of Belgrade, Biology, Botanical Institute and Garden, Takovska 43, Belgrade, 11000, Serbia and Montenegro
3 - University of Sarajevo, Forestry, Zagrebacka 20, Sarajevo, 71000, Bosnia and Herzegovina
4 - University of Copenhagen, Botanical Institute and Garden, Oster Farimagsgade 2D, Copenhagen, 1353, Denmark
Keywords:
Edraianthus
Campanula
Campanulaceae
molecular phylogenetics
biogeography
Balkan peninsula.
Presentation Type: Oral Paper:Papers for Sections
Session: 74-2
Location: 120/Ayres
Date: Wednesday, August 2nd, 2006
Time: 1:15 PM
Abstract ID:188 |
