The genus Gymnospermium (Berberidaceae) in Italy: identity and relationships of the populations at the western limit of the genus range

TY - JOUR

T1 - The genus Gymnospermium (Berberidaceae) in Italy

T2 - identity and relationships of the populations at the western limit of the genus range

AU - Rosati, Leonardo

AU - Coppi, Andrea

AU - Farris, Emmanuele

AU - Fascetti, Simonetta

AU - Becca, Giovanna

AU - Peregrym, Mykyta

AU - Tan, Kit

AU - Selvi, Federico

PY - 2019/11/2

Y1 - 2019/11/2

N2 - Gymnospermium is a small genus of 7–12 taxa subject to diverging taxonomic treatments and distributed from east China to the Balkans. The recent discovery of Gymnospermium in the S-Apennines posed questions about origin and identity. Accordingly, we performed a systematic investigation by means of morphological, karyological and molecular tools. All populations were diploid with 2n = 14 as for the Balkan G. scipetarum (incl. G. maloi), and also morphology suggested a close affinity to the latter. However, the Italian populations differed from typical G. scipetarum by the lower stamen:petal length and style:carpel length. By including all European and most Asian taxa in a phylogenetic analysis, we shed new light into the species-level relationships in this genus. In the combined ITS-trnL-F phylogeny, two major clades were retrieved. One included the central Asian and eastern European taxa plus the Greek endemic G. peloponnesiacum sister to G. odessanum, and one the Balkan and Apennine populations. Such findings further corroborated that the Apennine plant belong to G. scipetarum. The native status of the Italian population is supported by exclusive SNPs in both ITS1 and trnL-F sequences. Along with morphological evidence, this allows to refer it to the new subspecies G. scipetarum subsp. eddae.

AB - Gymnospermium is a small genus of 7–12 taxa subject to diverging taxonomic treatments and distributed from east China to the Balkans. The recent discovery of Gymnospermium in the S-Apennines posed questions about origin and identity. Accordingly, we performed a systematic investigation by means of morphological, karyological and molecular tools. All populations were diploid with 2n = 14 as for the Balkan G. scipetarum (incl. G. maloi), and also morphology suggested a close affinity to the latter. However, the Italian populations differed from typical G. scipetarum by the lower stamen:petal length and style:carpel length. By including all European and most Asian taxa in a phylogenetic analysis, we shed new light into the species-level relationships in this genus. In the combined ITS-trnL-F phylogeny, two major clades were retrieved. One included the central Asian and eastern European taxa plus the Greek endemic G. peloponnesiacum sister to G. odessanum, and one the Balkan and Apennine populations. Such findings further corroborated that the Apennine plant belong to G. scipetarum. The native status of the Italian population is supported by exclusive SNPs in both ITS1 and trnL-F sequences. Along with morphological evidence, this allows to refer it to the new subspecies G. scipetarum subsp. eddae.

KW - Amphi-adriatic distribution

KW - apennine endemics

KW - balkan flora

KW - endangered species

KW - forest plants

KW - phylogenetic relationships

KW - taxonomy

U2 - 10.1080/11263504.2018.1549613

DO - 10.1080/11263504.2018.1549613

M3 - Journal article

AN - SCOPUS:85059450432

SN - 1126-3504

VL - 153

SP - 796

EP - 808

JO - Plant Biosystems

JF - Plant Biosystems

IS - 6

ER -