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Molecular phylogeny of monocotyledons inferred from combined analysis of plastid matK and rbcL gene sequences

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Abstract

Using matK and rbcL sequences (3,269 bp in total) from 113 genera of 45 families, we conducted a combined analysis to contribute to the understanding of major evolutionary relationships in the monocotyledons. Trees resulting from the parsimony analysis are similar to those generated by earlier single or multiple gene analyses, but their strict consensus tree provides much better resolution of relationships among major clades. We find that Acorus (Acorales) is a sister group to the rest of the monocots, which receives 100% bootstrap support. A clade comprising Alismatales is diverged as the next branch, followed successively by Petrosaviaceae, the Dioscoreales–Pandanales clade, Liliales, Asparagales and commelinoids. All of these clades are strongly supported (with more than 90% bootstrap support). The sister-group relationship is also strongly supported between Alismatales and the remaining monocots (except for Acorus) (100%), between Petrosaviaceae and the remaining monocots (except for Acorus and Alismatales) (100%), between the clade comprising Dioscoreales and Pandanales and the clade comprising Liliales, Asparagales and commelinoids (87%), and between Liliales and the Asparagales–commelinoids clade (89%). Only the sister-group relationship between Asparagales and commelinoids is weakly supported (68%). Results also support the inclusion of Petrosaviaceae in its own order Petrosaviales, Nartheciaceae in Dioscoreales and Hanguanaceae in Commelinales.

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Acknowledgements

We express our sincere gratitude to Hiroshi Tobe for helpful comments and critical reading of the manuscript, to Wendy B. Zomlefer and Hidetoshi Nagamasu for supplying us with plant materials used in this study, to Pu Fading of Chengdu Institute of Biology, Academia Sinica, China and staff members of Wawushan National Forest Park, China and Teshio Experimental Forest, Hokkaido University, Japan for their assistance in various ways in fieldwork, and to Moritoshi Iino for allowing us to use his ABI auto-sequencer freely. The study was supported in part by Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research (11640701 and 14405012) from the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture, Japan.

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  1. Shizuka Fuse

    Present address: Museum of Nature and Human Activities, Hyogo, Japan

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Botanical Gardens, Graduate School of Science, Osaka City University, 2000 Kisaichi, Katano-shi, Osaka 576-0004, Japan

    Minoru N. Tamura, Jun Yamashita, Shizuka Fuse & Masatake Haraguchi

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  1. Minoru N. Tamura
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Correspondence to Minoru N. Tamura.

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Tamura, M.N., Yamashita, J., Fuse, S. et al. Molecular phylogeny of monocotyledons inferred from combined analysis of plastid matK and rbcL gene sequences. J Plant Res 117, 109–120 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10265-003-0133-3

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