The phylogenetic reconstruction inferred from the sequence of a cpDNA intergene region as a framework for the taxonomic revision of a systematic group: the example of the tribeRubieae(Rubiaceae)

Abstract

Abstract In our previous works (MANEN et al., Pl. Syst. Evol. 190: 195–211, 1994; NATALI et al., Ann. Missouri Bot. Gard. 82: 428–439, 1995) we had presented a phylogenetic analysis of 39 species of the tribe Rubieae and of 15 taxa belonging to 12 other tribes of Rubiaceae using the DNA sequence of the chloroplast atpB–rbcL intergene region. This has allowed a precise and useful delimitation of the tribe Rubieae, which is clearly monophyletic and characterised by a 50–bp deletion. The clades recognised within Rubieae are often in agreement with classical taxonomic views, but also partly contradict traditional groupings. In this paper we extend these data by adding the sequences of 9 more Rubieae taxa, belonging to 6 different genera, and we analyse in detail the taxonomic implications of these results in the view of a complete revision of the tribe Rubieae. The results of our phylogenetic study, based on sequence data for a chloroplast intergene region, show the great taxonomic potential of this new metho...