DNA sequence diversity and the origin of cultivated safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.; Asteraceae).

ABSTRACT:

Background

Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) is a diploid oilseed crop whose origin is largely unknown. Safflower is widely believed to have been domesticated over 4,000 years ago somewhere in the Fertile Crescent. Previous hypotheses regarding the origin of safflower have focused primarily on two other species from sect. Carthamus - C. oxyacanthus and C. palaestinus - as the most likely progenitors, although some attention has been paid to a third species (C. persicus) as a possible candidate. Here, we describe the results of a phylogenetic analysis of the entire section using data from seven nuclear genes.

Results

Single gene phylogenetic analyses indicated some reticulation or incomplete lineage sorting. However, the analysis of the combined dataset revealed a close rel

SUBMITTER: Chapman MA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2241619 | biostudies-literature | 2007 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature