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Abstract Detail


Systematics Section/ASPT

Gándara, Etelvina [1], Sosa, Victoria [2], Specht, Chelsea [3].

Origin and diversification of the Milla Clade (Brodiaeoideae, Asparagaceae): a Neotropical group of six geophyte genera.

The Milla Clade (Brodiaeoideae, Asparagaceae) is a group of herbaceous petaloid geophytes endemic to the biogeographic province known as Mega-Mexico. It comprises six genera, each with only a few species. Behria, Jaimehintonia and Petronymphe are monotypic, restricted to the Baja California Peninsula, the Chihuahuan Desert and the Pacific slopes of the Sierra Madre Occidental, respectively. Bessera has two species from the Pacific Slopes of Mexico while the four species of Dandya are distributed in the Balsas Basin and the Chihuahuan Desert. Milla comprises ten species from Guatemala to Texas. The members of this complex are distributed in temperate, tropical and arid habitats, with a marked dry season and have flowers with bright colors attracting pollinators such as hummingbirds, butterflies and hawk moths. Previous phylogenetic analyses retrieved the Milla complex as a monophyletic group, nested within Brodiaeoideae, as the sister group of the Brodiaea complex. However, relationships among species and delimitation of the genera have not yet determined. In this work Bayesian and Maximum likelihood inference was performed to establish generic boundaries and to understand their relationships and their time of origin. Four molecular plastid and nuclear markers were obtained for 180 individuals of species in the Milla clade. The Milla Clade is retrieved as monophyletic with strong support. Bessera, Jaimehintonia, Milla and Petronymphe are found to be paraphyletic while Behria and Dandya are monophyletic. Jaimehintonia is placed in a group with Milla bryanii together with Petronymphe. Milla is polyphyletic; M. delicata and M biflora form a clade, while M. mexicana and M. magnifica are embedded within the Dandya clade and a second individual of M. biflora is placed with the Bessera species. Four subclades are recovered, grouping the species by their biogeographic affinities; Central Mexico, the Balsas Basin, the Chihuahuan Desert, and the Pacific Slopes of the Sierra Madre Occidental. The Milla Clade appears to have diverged from the Brodiaea Clade approx. 18.78 (10.99-27.24) Mya ago.

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1 - Instituto de Ecologia, A.C,, Biología Evolutiva, Carretera antigua a Coatepec, 351, Xalapa, Veracruz, 91070, Mexico
2 - INSTITUTO DE ECOLOGIA A.C., APDO POSTAL 63, XALAPA, Veracruz, N/A, 91000, Mexico
3 - University Of California Berkeley, 111 Koshland Hall, MC 3102, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA

Keywords:
Milla clade
Themidaceae
Brodiaeoideae
petaloid monocots
geophytes.

Presentation Type: Oral Paper:Papers for Sections
Session: 38
Location: Delaware B/Hyatt
Date: Tuesday, July 10th, 2012
Time: 3:15 PM
Number: 38007
Abstract ID:788


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