KIM, HYI-GYUNG1*, VICKI A. FUNK2, and ELIZABETH A. ZIMMER1. 1Laboratory of Molecular Systematics, Smithsonian Institution, Suitland, MD 20746; 2Department of Botany, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20560. - Molecular phylogenetics of the Liabeae (Asteraceae-Cichorioideae) based on ITS and ndhF sequences.
Liabeae is a well-defined neotropical tribe containing approximately
15 genera and 180 species, and occupying a wide variety of habitats
throughout Mexico, Central America, the West Indies, and Western South
America. Despite several comprehensive studies using the morphological
characters, fundamental disagreements among the morphological studies
persist regarding the precise inter-generic relationships.
Phylogenetic analyses of the ITS sequence data show a high level of
variation with a strong support for the inter-generic relationship of
the Liabeae. However the ndhF phylogeny is more or less
incongruent with ITS phylogeny. Nevertheless, there are several
important agreements regarding the recognition of the major clades:
the subtribe Paranepheliinae, the clade
Munnozia/Chrysactinium, the clade
Erato/Philoglossa, the paraphyly of the Munnozia,
and the new placement of the two Munnozia species outside the
core Munnozia . In addition, the ITS tree implies that the
genera restricted in narrow area and centered relatively in Southern
South America are possibly primitive lineages in the tribe Liabeae.
Key words: ITS, Liabeae, Molecular phylogenetics, ndhF