L. Gielly et P. Taberlet, A PHYLOGENY OF THE EUROPEAN GENTIANS INFERRED FROM CHLOROPLAST TRNL (UAA) INTRON SEQUENCES, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 120(1), 1996, pp. 57-75
Phylogenetic relationships between the European species of the genus G
entiana L. (Gentianaceae) were inferred from chloroplast trnL (UAA) in
tron sequence data. The phylogeny obtained is largely in accordance wi
th the classification of species into sections Gentiana, Megalanthe an
d Calathianae. Few synapomorphies support the branching of the main li
neages and thus could suggest a rapid radiation following the coloniza
tion of Europe. Within section Gentiana, our results are highly congru
ent with the previous distinction of G. montserratii Vivant from G. lu
tea L. Section Megalanthe is divided into two well separated lineages,
both of which comprise calcicole and calcifuge species. The 'star phy
logeny' obtained in section Calathianae suggests that most of the taxa
speciated almost simultaneously. Relative-rate tests between two line
ages suggested that section Chondrophyllae displays higher mutation ra
tes than the rest of the genus Gentiana and that cpDNA can violate ass
umptions of rate constancy at lower taxonomic level. (C) 1996 The Linn
ean Society of London.