title: Natural hybridization origin of Rhododendron agastum (Ericaceae) in Yunnan, China: inferred from morphological and molecular evidence.
abstract: The natural hybridization that occurs between two sympatric species of Rhododendron subgenus Hymenanthes in Yunnan, China, was investigated. The assumed parents, Rhododendron delavayi Franch. and R. decorum Franch., are morphologically distinct, and the putative hybrid species, R. agastum Balf. f. et W. W. Smith, has an intermediate morphology. We used the main morphological characters, sequences of the nuclear ribosomal DNA ITS region, and the chloroplast DNA trnL-F intronspacer to analyze the three species, and compared these morphological and molecular data with an artificial hybrid between R. decorum (female symbol) x R. delavayi (male symbol). From the results, we conclude that R. agastum is a natural hybrid between a female R. delavayi and a male R. decorum.
authors: Kunming Botanic Garden, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, Yunnan, China.
authors: Jing-Li
authors: JL
authors: Zhang
authors: Chang-Qin
authors: CQ
authors: Zhang
authors: Lian-Ming
authors: LM
authors: Gao
authors: Jun-Bo
authors: JB
authors: Yang
authors: Hong-Tao
authors: HT
authors: Li
mesh_terms: D002681:China; D018744:DNA, Plant / Q000235:genetics; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal / Q000235:genetics; D035264:Flowers / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics; D006824:Hybridization, Genetic; D010802:Phylogeny; D018515:Plant Leaves; D012098:Reproduction / Q000235:genetics; D029793:Rhododendron / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
chemical_list: D018744:DNA, Plant; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal