Molecular phylogenetic analysis of the infraspecific taxa of Erigeron thunbergii A. Gray distributed in ultramafic rock sites

• Published in: Plant Species Biology
• Main Authors: KAWASE, DAIJU, YUMOTO, TAKAKAZU, HAYASHI, KAZUHIKO, SATO, KEN
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 2007
• Subjects: Kamchatka Peninsula; Kamchatka
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1442-1984.2007.00182.x; https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2Fj.1442-1984.2007.00182.x; http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/wol1/doi/10.1111/j.1442-1984.2007.00182.x/fullpdf

Abstract We aimed to determine the evolutionary patterns of plants, especially focusing on plants that occur in habitats composed of ultramafic rock. We carried out molecular phylogenetic analyses of the infraspecific taxa of Erigeron thunbergii composed of varieties and the closely related species Erigeron miyabeanus . Most of these plants are distributed in serpentine, peridotite, limestone, diabase and non‐ultramafic areas of high mountains, meadows and seashores in Japan. Using data derived from sequencing the internal transcribed spacer (ITS1, 5.8S ribosomal DNA and ITS2) regions of nuclear ribosomal DNA, we identified Clade 1, which was composed of populations from Hokkaido Island and the north‐east Honshu district group, and Clade 2, which was comprised of populations from central Honshu Island, Oga Peninsula and Mt Shokanbetsu. In addition, we identified three subclades within Clade 2 in detail. The phylogenetic tree showed the possibility of two major Erigeron phylogenies, that is, from the Kamchatka Peninsula and the Chinese continent. Moreover, the plants distributed in serpentine soils on Mt Yubari and in Shimukappu showed phylogenetically closer relationships than plants distributed in more closely located non‐ultramafic sites.