Evolution and biogeography of Centaurea section Acrocentron inferred from nuclear and plastid DNA sequence analyses.

ABSTRACT:

Background and aims

Section Acrocentron of the genus Centaurea is one of the largest sections of Centaurea with approx. 100 species. The geographic distribution, centred in the Mediterranean, makes it an excellent example for studies of the biogeographic history of this biodiversity-rich region.

Methods

Plastid (trnH-psbA) and nuclear (ITS and ETS) DNA sequence analysis was used for phylogenetic reconstruction. Ancestral biogeographic patterns were inferred by dispersal-vicariance analysis (DIVA).

Key results

The resulting phylogeny has implications for the sectional classification of Acrocentron and confirms merging sect. Chamaecyanus into Acrocentron as a subsection. Previous suggestions of an eastern Mediterranean origin of the group are confirmed. The main centres

SUBMITTER: Font M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2707886 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature