Deciphering the origins of apomictic polyploids in the Cheilanthes yavapensis complex (Pteridaceae).
Abstract
Deciphering species relationships and hybrid origins in polyploid agamic species complexes
is notoriously difficult. In this study of cheilanthoid ferns, we demonstrate increased
resolving power for clarifying the origins of polyploid lineages by integrating evidence
from a diverse selection of biosystematic methods. The prevalence of polyploidy, hybridization,
and apomixis in ferns suggests that these processes play a significant role in their
evolution and diversification. Using a combination of systematic approaches, we investigated
the origins of apomictic polyploids belonging to the Cheilanthes yavapensis complex.
Spore studies allowed us to assess ploidy levels; plastid and nuclear DNA sequencing
revealed evolutionary relationships and confirmed the putative progenitors (both maternal
and paternal) of taxa of hybrid origin; enzyme electrophoretic evidence provided information
on genome dosage in allopolyploids. We find here that the widespread apomictic triploid,
Cheilanthes lindheimeri, is an autopolyploid derived from a rare, previously undetected
sexual diploid. The apomictic triploid Cheilanthes wootonii is shown to be an interspecific
hybrid between C. fendleri and C. lindheimeri, whereas the apomictic tetraploid C.
yavapensis is comprised of two cryptic and geographically distinct lineages. We show
that earlier morphology-based hypotheses of species relationships, while not altogether
incorrect, only partially explain the complicated evolutionary history of these ferns.
Type
Journal articleSubject
Science & TechnologyLife Sciences & Biomedicine
Plant Sciences
apomixis
Cheilanthes
cryptic species
enzyme electrophoresis
gapCp
hybridization
low-copy nuclear gene
multiple origins
polyploidy
Pteridaceae
NONCODING CHLOROPLAST DNA
PHYLOGENETIC-RELATIONSHIPS
MATERNAL INHERITANCE
FERNS
EVOLUTION
UTILITY
HYBRIDIZATION
MONILOPHYTES
INFERENCES
ASTERACEAE
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https://hdl.handle.net/10161/21801Published Version (Please cite this version)
10.3732/ajb.0900019Publication Info
Grusz, AL; Windham, MD; & Pryer, KM (2009). Deciphering the origins of apomictic polyploids in the Cheilanthes yavapensis complex
(Pteridaceae). American journal of botany, 96(9). pp. 1636-1645. 10.3732/ajb.0900019. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/21801.This is constructed from limited available data and may be imprecise. To cite this
article, please review & use the official citation provided by the journal.
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Kathleen M. Pryer
Professor of Biology

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