Phylogenetics and character evolution in the carnivorous plant genus Genlisea A. St.-Hil. (Lentibulariaceae).
The carnivorous plant genus Genlisea A. St.-Hil. (Lentibulariaceae) comprises at least 22 species distributed in South and Central America as well as in Africa (including Madagascar). It has only recently been shown to be a true carnivore, specialized in protozoa and other small soil organisms. Here we present a statistically highly supported phylogeny of Genlisea based on three chloroplast loci. The most recent common ancestor of Genlisea most likely was of Neotropical origin and characterized by pedicels that are recurved in fruit, a strongly glandular inflorescence, and bivalvate capsule dehiscence. The further evolution of various morphological characters during the diversification of the genus is discussed. The two previously suggested subgenera Tayloria and Genlisea correspond to the two major clades found in our analyses. In subgenus Genlisea, three clades can be clearly distinguished based on molecular and morphological characters and on biogeographic patterns, which led us to propose a new sectional classification.
Fleischmann
Andreas
A
Department of Biology, Systematic Botany and Mycology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Menzinger Strasse 67, D-80638 Munich, Germany. fleischmann@lrz.uni-muenchen.de
Schäferhoff
Bastian
B
Heubl
Günther
G
Rivadavia
Fernando
F
Barthlott
Wilhelm
W
Müller
Kai F
KF
D018742:DNA, Chloroplast / Q000235:genetics; D018744:DNA, Plant / Q000235:genetics; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D005843:Geography; D019684:Magnoliopsida / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*; D010802:Phylogeny; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
D018742:DNA, Chloroplast; D018744:DNA, Plant