| Abstract Detail
Biogeography Havran, J [1], McCauley, Ross [2]. Preliminary phylogeny of the endemic Hawaiian genus Nototrichium. The genus Nototrichium (Amaranthaceae) contains three species of shrubs to small trees endemic to the Hawaiian archipelago. Previous molecular systematic studies have demonstrated that Nototrichium is sister to the widespread tropical genus Achyranthes. Due to similarities in flower morphology and woody growth form, the Norfolk Island endemic Achyranthes arborescens is hypothesized to be sister to Nototrichium. We investigated the molecular systematic relationships between species of Nototrichium and Pacific species of Achyranthes. DNA from each species of Nototrichium (N. sandwicense, N. humile, and N. divaricatum) occurring on each Hawaiian island and species of Pacific Achyranthes was extracted from leaf materials obtained from field collections, herbarium specimens, and DNA libraries. The Internal Transcribed Spacer sequences and several chloroplast regions were amplified and sequenced. Maximum Parsimony and Maximum Likelihood analyses were used to estimate the phylogenetic relationships among species of Nototrichium and Achyranthes. Our results demonstrate that Nototrichium represents a well-supported monophyletic group derived from within Achyranthes. From our current data we show that A. japonica, a herbaceous species with invasive tendencies distributed across East Asia, and not A. arborescens, is sister to Nototrichium. We provide evidence that the genus Nototrichium is likely Asian in origin and did not become established in the archipelago from the southwest Pacific. The woody growth form likely evolved in the genus following its establishment on the Hawaiian archipelago. Within the genus Nototrichium our results show that the widespread N. sandwicense is paraphyletic with respect to N. humile and N. divaricatum. Additional gene regions and species of Achyranthes will be investigated to further elucidate the relationships among the species of Nototrichium. Broader Impacts:
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1 - Campbell University, Dept Biological Sciences, 205 Day Dorm Rd, Buies Creek, NC, 27506, USA
2 - Fort Lewis College, Department of Biology And Agriculture, 1000 Rim Drive, Durango, CO, 81301, USA
Keywords:
Amaranthaceae
Nototrichium
Achyranthes
Hawaii
Insular woodiness.
Presentation Type: Poster:Posters for Topics
Session: P
Location: Grand Salon A - D/Riverside Hilton
Date: Monday, July 29th, 2013
Time: 5:30 PM
Number: PBG005
Abstract ID:343
Candidate for Awards:None |
