HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Submit a response Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in ISI Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via ISI Web of Science (17) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Allan, G. J. Articles by Porter, J. M. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Allan, G. J. Articles by Porter, J. M. Agricola Articles by Allan, G. J. Articles by Porter, J. M.

Tribal delimitation and phylogenetic relationships of Loteae and Coronilleae (Faboideae: Fabaceae) with special reference to Lotus: evidence from nuclear ribosomal ITS sequences¹

⁰ Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden, 1500 North College Avenue, Claremont, California 91711 USA

The temperate herbaceous tribes Loteae and Coronilleae have traditionally been regarded as taxonomically distinct entities. More recent morphological assessments, however, have challenged this view and suggest combining the two tribes under Loteae. Two key features used to distinguish the Coronilleae from Loteae include jointed fruits and branched root nodules. We evaluate the taxonomic utility of these characters using information derived from phylogenetic analyses of the internal transcribed spacers ITS1 + 2, and the intervening 5.8S region of nuclear ribosomal DNA. Results from this study show that neither the Loteae nor Coronilleae form individual monophyletic groups, and that key fruit and root nodule characters used to distinguish the Coronilleae are homoplastic. Given these data, we support the recognition of a single tribe, Loteae. We also find that Lotus, the largest and most morphologically complex genus in either tribe, is not monophyletic. Rather, it consists of two geographically distinct lineages, Old and New World, each of which are more closely related to other Loteae genera: Old World Lotus are more closely related to Old World Anthyllis, while New World Lotus show closer affinities to Old World Coronilla. These data also have important implications for the biogeography of New World Lotus: equally most parsimonious reconstructions suggest a complex scenario of intercontinental dispersals that involve not only Old World Lotus but Coronilla as well.

Key Words: Coronilleae • Fabaceae • internal transcribed spacer • Loteae • Lotus • phylogeny

This article has been cited by other articles:

				G. J. Kenicer, T. Kajita, R. T. Pennington, and J. Murata Systematics and biogeography of Lathyrus (Leguminosae) based on internal transcribed spacer and cpDNA sequence data Am. J. Botany, July 1, 2005; 92(7): 1199 - 1209. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]