Dipsacales Phylogeny Based on Chloroplast Dna Sequences

Eight new rbcL DNA sequences and 15 new sequences from the 5' end of the chloroplast ndhF gene were obtained from representative Dipsacales and outgroup taxa. These were analyzed in combination with previously published sequences for both regions. In addition, sequence data from the entire ndhF gene, the trnL-F intergenic spacer region,the trnL intron,the matK region, and the rbcL-atpB intergenic spacer region were collected for 30 taxa within Dipsacales. Phylogenetic relationships were inferred using maximum parsimony and maximum likelihood methods. Infer red tree topologies are in strong agreement with previous results from separate and combined analyses of rbcL and morpholo gy, and confidence in most major clades is now very high. Concerning controversial issues, we conclude that Dipsacales in the traditional sense is a monophyletic group and that Triplostegia is more closely related to Dipsacaceae than it is to Valerianaceae. Heptacodium is only weakly supported as the sister group of the Caprifolieae (within which relationships remain largely unresolved), and the exact position of Diervilleae is uncertain. Within Morinaceae, Acanthocalyx is the sister group of Morina plus Cryptothladia. Dipsacales now provides excellent opportunities for comparative studies, but it will be important to check the congruence of chloroplast results with those based on data from other genomes.