title: Phylogeny and classification of Paris (Melanthiaceae) inferred from DNA sequence data.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Paris (Melanthiaceae) is a temperate genus of about 24 perennial herbaceous species distributed from Europe to eastern Asia. The delimitation of the genus and its subdivisions are unresolved questions in the taxonomy of Paris. The objective of this study is to test the generic and infrageneric circumscription of Paris with DNA sequence data.
  
  
  METHODS
  Phylogenetic analysis of 21 species of Paris based on nuclear ITS and plastid psbA-trnH and trnL-trnF DNA sequence data, alone and in combination, was employed to assess previous classifications.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Paris is monophyletic in all analyses. Neither of the two traditionally recognized subgenera (Paris and Daiswa) are monophyletic. Sections Axiparis, Kinugasa, Paris and Thibeticae are monophyletic in only some of the analyses. Species of sections Dunnianae, Fargesianae and Marmoratae are consistently intercalated among species of section Euthyra in all analyses. Strong discordance between nuclear and plastid lineages is detected.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The data support the classification of Paris as a single genus rather than as three genera (Daiswa, Kinugasa and Paris sensu stricto). They provide justification for the transfer of section Axiparis from subgenus Paris to subgenus Daiswa and for the combination of sections Dunnianae, Fargesianae and Marmoratae into section Euthyra. The nuclear-plastid discordance is interpreted as the result of interspecific hybridization among sympatric species.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Biogeography and Biodiversity, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Heilongtan, Kunming, Yunnan, 650204, China.
authors.forename: Yunheng
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ji
authors.forename: Peter W
authors.initials: PW
authors.lastname: Fritsch
authors.forename: Heng
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Tiaojiang
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Xiao
authors.forename: Zhekun
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhou
mesh_terms: D005075:Biological Evolution; D021901:DNA, Intergenic / Q000032:analysis*; D018744:DNA, Plant / Q000032:analysis*; D035264:Flowers / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000145:classification / Q000502:physiology; D014644:Genetic Variation; D019684:Magnoliopsida / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics; D010802:Phylogeny; D018087:Plastids / Q000235:genetics; D012639:Seeds / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000145:classification; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
chemical_list: D021901:DNA, Intergenic; D018744:DNA, Plant