Azarnoosh Jafari
Islamic Azad university, Iran
Title: Phylogenetic analysis of genera Bellevalia, Leopoldia, Muscari and Pseudomuscari species (Hyacintheae) in Iran based on four plastid DNA regions.
Biography
Biography: Azarnoosh Jafari
Abstract
In the present research, a phylogenetic study of the Iranian species of Bellevalia, Leopoldia, Muscari and Pseudomuscari (tribe Hyacintheae, Asparagaceae) was performed based on the plastid regions rbcL, matK, trnL intron and trnL-F spacer. The four sections of genus Bellevalia i.e. Nutans, Patens, Conica and Oxydonta are found in Iran. Traditionally, flower colour and shape, the ratio of leaf to scape length were used to delimit sections, subsections and species, while an overlap in these features was sometime observed and flower colour and shape change in fresh and dried specimen. Regarding Muscari, Davis and Stuart believed that Pseudomuscari and Leopoldia were subgenera of this genus while Garbari and Greuter treated them as distinct genera. These three genera are distinguished based on flower colour, shape and throat contraction. Leopoldia is similar to Bellevalia and Muscari is similar to Pseudomuscari. So, in order to determine the exact circumscription of sections and genera, a phylogenetic analysis based on four plastid DNA regions was performed. For this 91 specimens including Hyacinthus as outgroup taxon were evaluated. The results showed that Bellevalia is a monophyletic clade, but that its sections are not. Also, some Leopoldia species are placed in the Muscari clade. Moreover the two possible positions of Muscari and Leopoldia shown here can be explaned by: hybridization between these two genera. Thus, based on these results, Leopoldia could be considered as an infrageneric rank of Muscari. Since, no decisive point was observed in genera and sections circumscription, it is recommended that this molecular analysis is expanded to investigate further the relationships among species of Hyacintheae in Iran.