Abstract
Recent studies indicate that the discriminatory power of the core DNA barcodes (rbcLa + matK) for land plants may have been overestimated since their performance have been tested only on few closely related species. In this study we focused mainly on how the addition of complementary barcodes (nrITS and trnH-psbA) to the core barcodes will affect the performance of the core barcodes in discriminating closely related species from family to section levels. In general, we found that the core barcodes performed poorly compared to the various combinations tested. Using multiple criteria, we finally advocated for the use of the core + trnH-psbA as potential DNA barcode for the family Combretaceae at least in southern Africa. Our results also indicate that the success of DNA barcoding in discriminating closely related species may be related to evolutionary and possibly the biogeographic histories of the taxonomic group tested.
Highlights
Combretaceae is a medium-sized family within Myrtales, comprising about 500 species in 17 to 23 genera
Based on morphological characters and phylogenetic analysis, the family Combretaceae has been recovered as monophyletic and sister to the rest of Myrtales (Brown 1810, Dahlgren and Thorne 1984, Tan et al 2002, Sytsma et al 2004, Maurin et al 2010, Stace 2010)
With ca. 350 species, Combretum Loefl., the largest genus in the family has its centre of diversity in Africa, with approximately 63 species described in southern Africa – south of the Zambezi river and includes South Africa, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland, and Mozambique (Maurin et al 2010, Jordaan et al 2011)
Summary
Combretaceae is a medium-sized family within Myrtales, comprising about 500 species in 17 to 23 genera. Other morphological features such as presence of trichomes, stalked glands, domatia, inflorescence, fruit shape, leaf and pollen morphology are important for species delimitation in Combretaceae (Exell and Stace 1966, Stace 2007, 2010, Maurin et al 2010, Jordaan et al 2011). It becomes necessary to search for an alternative method to augment traditional morphology-based taxonomy of Combretaceae
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
