NEPOKROEFF, MOLLY1*, WARREN L. WAGNER2, RICHARD K. RABELER3, ELIZABETH A. ZIMMER4, STEPHEN G. WELLER5, and ANN K. SAKAI5. 1Department of Biology, University of South Dakota, Vermillion, SD 57069, USA; 2Department of Systematic Biology (Botany), Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. 20560, USA; 3University of Michigan Herbarium, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA; 4Department of Systematic Biology, Laboratory of Analytical Biology, Smithsonian Institution, Suitland, MD 20746, USA; 5Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, USA. - Relationships within Caryophyllaceae inferred from molecular sequence data.
Molecular phylogenetic relationships within the large, temperate
family Caryophyllaceae have not been examined in detail, despite the
central position and well-defined nature of the family in the order
Caryophyllales. Much attention has been devoted to relationships among
the families of the Caryophyllales in recent years, however questions
remain regarding both infrafamilial relationships and placement of
several aberrant genera in Caryophyllaceae. Caryophyllaceae have been
shown to be strongly monophyletic and sister to the
Amaranthaceae-Chenopodiaceae + Achatocarpaceae. The Caryophyllaceae
are historically divided into three subfamilies: Alsinoideae,
Caryophylloideae, and Paronychioideae. Subfamilial and tribal
relationships in Caryophyllaceae are poorly understood, and several
recent studies using molecular sequence data have indicated that that
at least two of the subfamilies are not natural groups. Phylogenetic
analyses of matK and trnL sequence data support subfam.
Paronychioideae as a basal paraphyletic grade, with members of the
tribe Corrigioleae (Corrigiola and Telephium) sister to
the rest of the family. The results support the rejection of a
separate family "Illecebraceae", used by some authors, for
most Paronychioideae. Rapid diversification of the family inferred
from extremely short branch-lengths obscures relationships among the
remaining Alsinoideae and Caryophylloideae. However, preliminary
analyses indicate that the Alsinoideae is comprised of at least two
main lineages, 1) several morphologically divergent taxa plus the bulk
of the large genus Minuartia, with capsules dehiscing by entire
valves, and 2) the bulk of the large genus Arenaria, plus
Cerastium, Stellaria and several smaller related genera,
dehiscing by split valves in capsules. The large genera
Arenaria and Minuartia are not natural groups. These
results suggest that tribes in the Alsinoideae are not supported as
currently defined. The Caryophylloideae sampled so far are comprised
of two main lineages which include: 1) Silene and its relatives
and 2) Dianthus, Saponaria, Gypsophila and
relatives. These correspond with tribes Sileneae and Caryophylleae,
respectively.
Key words: Caryophyllaceae, matK, phylogeny, trnL spacer