Molecular phylogeny of the leafy liverwort Lejeunea (Porellales): evidence for a neotropical origin, uneven distribution of sexual systems and insufficient taxonomy.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Lejeunea is a largely epiphytic, subcosmopolitan liverwort genus with a complex taxonomic history. Species circumscriptions and their relationships are subject to controversy; biogeographic history and diversification through time are largely unknown.

Methodology and results

We employed sequences of two chloroplast regions (trnL-trnF, rbcL) and the nuclear ribosomal ITS region of 332 accessions to explore the phylogeny of the Harpalejeunea-Lejeunea-Microlejeunea complex. Lejeunea forms a well-supported clade that splits into two main lineages corresponding to L. subg. Lejeunea and L. subg. Crossotolejeunea. Neotropical accessions dominate early diverging lineages of both main clades of Lejeunea. This pattern suggests an origin in the Neotropics followed by several

SUBMITTER: Heinrichs J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3867362 | biostudies-literature | 2013

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature