Adenia (Passifloraceae) and its Adaptive Radiation: Phylogeny and Growth Form Diversification
The genus Adenia provides a natural experiment to investigate the evolution of growth form. Within the group, trees, shrubs, herbs, vines, and lianas are present. Using ITS1 + 5.8S + ITS2 sequence data, a phylogeny of 67 of, ∼100 species of Adenia is inferred using
parsimony and Bayesian analyses. Specific hypotheses of monophyly are also tested to couch the analyses of growth form evolution within a phylogenetic framework. Within the context of this phylogeny, synapomorphies for major clades are discussed, as are patterns of growth form evolution. Absolute
divergence times of nodes are estimated using penalized likelihood, and speciation rate based on these times is inferred to be fast relative to some other lineages of life. By reconstructing evolutionary history on a sample of trees from the posterior distribution of the Bayesian analysis,
it is estimated that succulent stems evolved ca. four times, and tubers ca. eight. Transitions between markedly different growth forms occur on the scale of a few hundred thousand to a few million years, and close relatives frequently have different forms with no intermediates. The rapid diversification
rates, fast morphological transitions, and multiple origins of water storage tissue in roots and shoots are hypothesized to result from a shared developmental program for water storage tissue that is flexibly turned on and off during evolution in stems and roots.
Keywords: ADAPTIVE RADIATION; ADENIA; DIVERGENCE TIME DATING; GROWTH FORM; SPECIATION RATE; STEM SUCCULENCE; TUBER
Document Type: Regular Paper
Publication date: 01 October 2006
- Systematic Botany is the scientific journal of the American Society of Plant Taxonomists and publishes four issues per year.
2011 Impact Factor: 1.517
2011 ISI Journal Citation Reports® Rankings: 87/190 - Plant Sciences
34/45 - Evolutionary Biology - Editorial Board
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