Skip to main content
Log in

Phylogenetic position ofEphedra rhytidosperma, a species endemic to China: Evidence from chloroplast and ribosomal DNA sequences

  • Articles
  • Published:
Chinese Science Bulletin

Abstract

The chloroplast genes matK. and rbcL, ribosomal gene 18S and ITS regions of nuclear ribosomal DNA fromEphedra rhytidosperma, a species endemic to China, were sequenced and its phylogenetic position was investigated. Independent and combined phylogenetic analyses for the DNA sequences from 16 taxa representing 15 species of the genusEphedra were performed using the maximum parsimony (MP), neighbor-joining (NJ), minimum evolution (ME) and maximum likelihood (ML) methods. The results indicate thatE. rhytidosperma is closely related toE. equisetina. The divergence time between them is estimated to be 10.85±2.44 Ma based on the results of the relative-rate tests and the evolutionary rate of rbcL gene.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Price, R. A., Systematics of the Gnetales: Areview of morphological and molecular evidence, Int. J. Pl. Sci., 1996, 157 (Suppl.): S40-S49.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Friedman, W. E., Sexual reproduction inEphedra nevadensis (Ephedraceae): Further evidence of double fertilization in a nonflowering seed plant, Am. J. Bot., 1990, 77: 1582–1598.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Bowe, L. M., Coat, G., Depamphilis, C. W., Phylogeny of seed plants based on all three genomic compartments: Extant gymnosperms are monophyletic and Gnetales’ closest relatives are conifers, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 2000, 97: 4092–4097.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Chaw, S. M., Parkinson, C. L., Cheng, Y. et al., Seed plant phylogeny inferred from all three plant genomes: Monophyly of extant gymnosperms and origin of Gnetales from conifers, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 2000, 97: 4086–4091.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Rydin, C., Mohr, B., Friis, E. M.,Cratonia cotyledon gen. et sp nov: A unique Cretaceous seedling related toWelwitschia, Proc. Royal Soc. London Ser. B Biol. Sci., 2003, 270(Suppl): S29-S32.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Tao, J. R., Yang, Y., Alloephedra xingxuei gen. et sp. nov., an early Cretaceous member of ephedraceae from dalazi formation in Yanji Basin, Jilin Province of China, Acta Palaeontolog. Sin., 2003, 42(2): 208–215.

    Google Scholar 

  7. Huang, J. L., Price, R. A., Estimation of the age of extantEphedra using chloroplast rbcL sequence data, Mol. Biol. Evol., 2003, 20: 435–440.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Rydin, C., Pedersen, K. R., Friis, E. M., On the evolutionary history ofEphedra: Cretaceous fossils and extant molecules, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 2004, 101: 16571–16576.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Wu, X. W., He, Y. L., Mei, S. W., Discovery ofEphedrites from the lower Jurassic Xiaomeigou Formation, Qinghai, Acta Palaeobo. Palynolog. Sin., 1986, 8: 13–21.

    Google Scholar 

  10. Crane, P. R., The fossil history of the Gnetales, Int. J. Pl. Sci., 1996, 157(Suppl.): S50-S57.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Guo, S. X., Wu, X. W., Ephedrites from Latest Jurrassic Yixian formation in western Liaoning, Northeast China, Acta Palaeontolog. Sin., 2000, 39: 81–91.

    Google Scholar 

  12. Sun, G., Zheng, S. L., Dilcher, D. L. et al., Early Angiosperms and Their Associated Plants from Western Liaoning, China, Shanghai: Shanghai Scientific and Technological Education Publishing House, 2001.

    Google Scholar 

  13. Yang, Y., Geng, B.Y., Dilcher, D. L. et al., Morphology and affinities of an early CretaceousEphedra (Ephedraceae) from China, Am. J. Bot, 2005, 92:231–241.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Ickert-Bond, S. M., Wojciechowski, M. E., Phylogenetic relationships inEphedra (Gnetales): Evidence from nuclear and chloroplast DNA sequence data, Syst. Bot, 2004, 29: 834–849.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Huang, J. L., Giannasi, D. E., Huang, J., Phylogenetic relationships inEphedra (Ephedraceae) inferred from chloroplast and nuclear DNA sequences, Mol. Phylogenet Evol., 2005, 35: 48–59.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Long, C., Kakiuchi, N., Takahashi, A. et al., Phylogenetic analysis of the DNA sequence of the non-coding region of nuclear ribosomal DNA and chloroplast ofEphedra plants in China, Planta Med., 2004, 70: 1080–1084.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Doyle, J. J., Doyle, J. L., A rapid DNA isolation procedure for small quantities of fresh leaf tissue, Phytochem. Bull., 1987, 19: 11–15.

    Google Scholar 

  18. Shi, S., Huang, Y., Zhong, Y. et al., Phylogeny of the Altingiaceae based on cpDNA matK, PY-IGS and nrDNA ITS sequences, PI. Syst. Evol., 2001, 230: 13–24.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. Thompson, J. D., Gibson, T. J., Plewniak, F. et al., The ClustalX windows interface: Flexible strategies for multiple sequence alignment aided by quality analysis tools, Nucleic Acids Res., 1997, 25: 4876–4882.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. Fitch, W. M., Toward defining the course of evolution: Minimum change for a specific tree topology, Syst. Zool., 1971, 20: 406–416.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Saitou, N., Nei, M., The neighbor-joining method: A new method for reconstructing phylogenetic trees, Mol. Biol. Evol., 1987, 4: 406–425.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. Rzhetsky, A., Nei, M., Theoretical foundation of the minimum-evolution method of phylogenetic inference, Mol. Biol. Evol., 1993, 10: 1073–1095.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. Felsenstein, J., Evolutionary trees from DNA sequences: A maximum likelihood approach, J. Mol. Evol., 1981, 17: 368–376.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  24. Swofford, D. L., PAUP* 4.0. Phylogenetic Analysis Using Parsimony (and other methods), Sunderland: Sinauer Associates, 1999.

    Google Scholar 

  25. Hasegawa, M., Kishino, H., Yano, T, Dating of the human-ape splitting by a molecular clock of mitochondrial DNA, J. Mol. Evol., 1985, 22: 160–174.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  26. Li, P., Bousquet, J., Relative-rate test for nucleotide substitutions between two lineages, Mol. Biol. Evol., 1992, 9: 1185–1189.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  27. Zhong, Y., Shi, S. H., Tang, X. H. et al., Testing relative evolutionary rates and estimating divergence times among six genera ofRhizophoraceae using cpDNA and nrDNA sequences, Chinese Sci. Bull., 2000, 45(11): 1011–1015

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  28. Kumar, S., Tamura, K., Nei, M., MEGA3: Integrated software for molecular evolutionary genetics analysis and sequence alignment, Briefings Bioinfo., 2004, 5: 150–163.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  29. Robinson-Rechaui, M., Huchon, D., RRTree: Relative-rate tests between groups of sequences on a phylogenetic tree, Bioinformatics, 2000, 16: 296–297.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  30. Pachomova, M. G., Ephedraceae, Plantae Asiae Centralis, 1971, 6: 25–33.

    Google Scholar 

  31. Mussayev, I. F., On geography and phylogeny of some representatives of the genusEphedra L., Bot. Zhurnal., 1978, 63: 523–543.

    Google Scholar 

  32. Wendt, T, A new varietyof Ephedra torreyana (Ephedraceae) from West Texas and Chihuahua, with notes on hybridization in theE. torreyana complex, Phytologia, 1993, 74: 141–150.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Yong Yang or Yang Zhong.

Additional information

These authors contributed equally to this work.

About this article

Cite this article

Wang, Q., Wang, L., Zhou, R. et al. Phylogenetic position ofEphedra rhytidosperma, a species endemic to China: Evidence from chloroplast and ribosomal DNA sequences. Chin.Sci.Bull. 50, 2901–2904 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02899657

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02899657

Keywords

Navigation