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Molecular systematics of Abelmoschus (Malvaceae) and genetic diversity within the cultivated species of this genus based on nuclear ITS and chloroplast rpL16 sequence data

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Abstract

The genus Abelmoschus includes several crop plants which are especially important in SE Asia and several African countries. However, the systematic treatment of this genus is difficult, in part because hybridization between different forms seems to be frequent. In this study we present nuclear internal transcribed spacer ITS and chloroplast rpL16 sequences with the aim of reconstructing phylogenetic relationships within Abelmoschus, and its relationship with the genus Hibiscus and other related Malvaceae. Based on our analysis of nuclear ITS and chloroplast rpL16 sequence data, Abelmoschus is resolved as a monophyletic clade. Abelmoschus tetraphyllus is clearly separated from A. manihot but closely related to A. ficulneus and should not be treated as a subspecies of A. manihot. None of the wild species included in this study can be confirmed as an ancestor of A. esculentus or A. caillei. Neither A. esculentus nor A. caillei can be distinguished from each other by the markers used for this study, although the evidence does not exclude the possibility of a hybrid origin of A. caillei involving A. esculentus and an unknown species. The genetic diversity within A. esculentus and A. caillei is low if compared with A. manihot. The evidence presented here does not allow us to draw any conclusions about the geographic origin (Africa vs. Asia) of A. esculentus.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank the United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service (USDA, ARS), J. K. Ahiakpa (University of Ghana-Legon, Ghana) and Dr. D. Achel (Ghana Atomic Energy Commission) for donating samples for this study. The authors also thank the Science and Technology Development Fund (STDF), The Egyptian Ministry of Scientific Research, for granting M. Magdy (Grant ID: 6559). This research was partly funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (Project CGL2011-22936/BOS) and by European Regional Development Funds.

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  1. Departamento de Biología Vegetal (Botánica), Universidad de Murcia, Campus de Espinardo, 30100, Murcia, Spain

    Olaf Werner & Rosa María Ros

  2. Genetic Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Ain Shams University, 68 Hadayek Shubra, 11241, Cairo, Egypt

    Mahmoud Magdy

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Werner, O., Magdy, M. & Ros, R.M. Molecular systematics of Abelmoschus (Malvaceae) and genetic diversity within the cultivated species of this genus based on nuclear ITS and chloroplast rpL16 sequence data. Genet Resour Crop Evol 63, 429–445 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10722-015-0259-x

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