Plastid atpA data provide improved support for deep relationships among ferns
Abstract
DNA sequence data and phylogenetic approaches have contributed greatly to our understanding
of fern relationships. Nonetheless, the datasets analyzed to date have not been sufficient
to definitively resolve all parts of the global fern phylogeny; additional data and
more extensive sampling are necessary. Here, we explore the phylogenetic utility of
the plastid atpA gene. Using newly designed primers, we obtained atpA sequences for
52 fern and 6 outgroup taxa, and then evaluated the capabilities of atpA relative
to four other molecular markers, as well as the contributions of atpA in combined
analyses. The five single-gene datasets differed markedly in the number of variable
characters they possessed; and although the relationships resolved in analyses of
these datasets were largely congruent, the robustness of the hypotheses varied considerably.
The atpA dataset had more variable characters and resulted in a more robustly supported
phylogeny than any of the other single gene datasets examined, suggesting that atpA
will be exceptionally useful in more extensive studies of fern phylogeny and perhaps
also in studies of other plant lineages. When the atpA data were analyzed in combination
with the other four markers, an especially robust hypothesis of fern relationships
emerged. With the addition of the atpA data, support increased substantially at several
nodes; three nodes, which were not well-supported previously, received both good posterior
probability and good bootstrap support in the combined 5-gene (> 6 kb) analyses.
Type
Journal articleSubject
Science & TechnologyLife Sciences & Biomedicine
Plant Sciences
Evolutionary Biology
global fern phylogeny
phylogenetic utility
plastid atpA gene
RBCL GENE-SEQUENCES
NUCLEOTIDE-SEQUENCES
PHYLOGENETIC-RELATIONSHIPS
SEED PLANTS
MONOPHYLETIC GROUPS
CHLOROPLAST GENOME
EXTANT FERNS
PTERIDOPHYTES
EVOLUTION
DNA
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https://hdl.handle.net/10161/21865Published Version (Please cite this version)
10.2307/25065684Publication Info
Schuettpelz, E; Korall, P; & Pryer, KM (2006). Plastid atpA data provide improved support for deep relationships among ferns. Taxon, 55(4). pp. 897-906. 10.2307/25065684. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/21865.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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