Phylogenetic utility of the AP3/DEF K-domain and its molecular evolution in Impatiens (Balsaminaceae).
APETALA3 (AP3)/DEFICIENS (DEF) is a MADS-box transcription factor that is involved in establishing the identity of petal and stamen floral organs. The AP3/DEF gene lineage has been extensively examined throughout the angiosperms in order to better understand its role in floral diversity and evolution. As a result, a large number of cloned AP3/DEF orthologues are available, which can be used for the design of taxon specific primers for phylogeny reconstruction of close relatives of the group of interest. Following this reasoning, we investigated the phylogenetic utility of the two AP3/DEF paralogues (ImpDEF1 and ImpDEF2) that were recently identified in the genus Impatiens (Balsaminaceae). K-domain introns 4 and 5 of both AP3/DEF duplicates were amplified and sequenced for 59 Impatiens species. Phylogenetic analyses of the separated and combined ImpDEF1 and ImpDEF2 data sets result in highly congruent topologies with the previously obtained chloroplast atpB-rbcL data set. Combination of chloroplast and nuclear matrices results in a well-supported evolutionary hypothesis of Impatiens. Our results show that introns 4 and 5 in AP3/DEF-like genes are a valuable source of characters for phylogenetic studies at the infrageneric level.
Janssens
Steven
S
Laboratory of Plant Systematics, Institute of Botany and Microbiology, Kasteelpark Arenberg 31, BE-3001 Leuven, Belgium. Steven.Janssens@bio.kuleuven.be
Geuten
Koen
K
Viaene
Tom
T
Yuan
Yong-Ming
YM
Song
Yi
Y
Smets
Erik
E
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001483:Base Sequence; D001499:Bayes Theorem; D026281:DEFICIENS Protein / Q000235:genetics*; D017931:DNA Primers; D018742:DNA, Chloroplast / Q000235:genetics; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D018628:Gene Dosage / Q000235:genetics; D014644:Genetic Variation; D029069:Impatiens / Q000235:genetics*; D007438:Introns / Q000235:genetics; D008957:Models, Genetic; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D013045:Species Specificity
D026281:DEFICIENS Protein; D017931:DNA Primers; D018742:DNA, Chloroplast