Phylogenetics and Biogeography of Lilium ledebourii from the Hyrcanian Forest

Shekoofeh Shokrollahi,Gholamali Heshmati,Christian Parisod,Narjes Amirchakhmaghi,Hamed Yousefzadeh,Yigang Song,Hamid Bina,Shujait Ali

doi:10.3390/d14020137

Abstract

Lilium ledebourii (Baker) Boiss is one of the most endangered lilies, restricted to only a few small and fragmented areas in the Hyrcanian forest. This study aimed at evaluating the taxonomy of this unique Iranian lily and reconstructing divergence time from other species of the genus Lilium to address the role of this region in its diversification. Phylogenetic trees based on nuclear ITS and chloroplastic matK strongly supported the monophyly of the genus Lilium and division into subclades hardly matching prior morphological classifications. Biogeographic analyses using S-DIVA revealed East Asia as the ancestral range from where Lilium presented a multidirectional expansion towards North America, West-Central Asia, North Asia, and Europe. Diverging from ancestral Lilium during the beginning of Eocene (50 Ma; 95% HDP: 68.8–36.8). Specific members of Lilium colonized Iran (Western Asia) separated from the Clade IV (West-Central Asia and Europe lineage), and then yielded the Iranian L.ledebourri. Accordingly, the north of Iran appears to have promoted both long-term persistence and migration of Lily species from Asia to the Europe.

Highlights

Lilium L. (Liliaceae) is one of the most fascinating genera among the plant kingdom, and it adds to its importance on horticulture, medicine and food [1,2,3]
Seven sections were recognized based on morphological taxonomy and molecular phylogenetic methods [2,8,10]
internal transcribed spacers (ITS) sequences from Iranian samples were longer (644–654 bp) than those retrieved from NCBI (465–485 bp)

Summary

Introduction

Lilium L. (Liliaceae) is one of the most fascinating genera among the plant kingdom, and it adds to its importance on horticulture, medicine and food [1,2,3]. Lilium is a perennial herbs with subterranean bulbs and mostly spring-flowering that grow in steppes and mountain meadows [4]. This genus occurs in Eurasia and North America and has three main ranges including the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau in East Asia, North America, and the Caucasus [5,6]. The genus of Lilium, with approximately 100 species, has been classified into five to eleven sections [7,8,9]. Due to the frequent gene flow among sections, the major phylogenetic clades of Lilium are still controversial but have been clear [2,3,8,10].

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Conclusion