title: Phylogenetic relationships and generic delimitation of Eurasian Aster (Asteraceae: Astereae) inferred from ITS, ETS and trnL-F sequence data.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The classification and phylogeny of Eurasian (EA) Aster (Asterinae, Astereae, Asteraceae) remain poorly resolved. Some taxonomists adopt a broad definition of EA Aster, whereas others favour a narrow generic concept. The present study aims to delimit EA Aster sensu stricto (s.s.), elucidate the phylogenetic relationships of EA Aster s.s. and segregate genera.
  
  
  METHODS
  The internal and external transcribed spacers of nuclear ribosomal DNA and the plastid DNA trnL-F region were used to reconstruct the phylogeny of EA Aster through maximum parsimony and Bayesian analyses.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The analyses strongly support an Aster clade including the genera Sheareria, Rhynchospermum, Kalimeris (excluding Kalimeris longipetiolata), Heteropappus, Miyamayomena, Turczaninowia, Rhinactinidia, eastern Asian Doellingeria, Asterothamnus and Arctogeron. Many well-recognized species of Chinese Aster s.s. lie outside of the Aster clade.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results reveal that EA Aster s.s. is both paraphyletic and polyphyletic. Sheareria, Rhynchospermum, Kalimeris (excluding K. longipetiolata), Heteropappus, Miyamayomena, Turczaninowia, Rhinactinidia, eastern Asian Doellingeria, Asterothamnus and Arctogeron should be included in Aster, whereas many species of Chinese Aster s.s. should be excluded. The recircumscribed Aster should be divided into two subgenera and nine sections. Kalimeris longipetiolata, Aster batangensis, A. ser. Albescentes, A. series Hersileoides, a two-species group composed of A. senecioides and A. fuscescens, and a six-species group including A. asteroides, should be elevated to generic level. With the Aster clade, they belong to the Australasian lineages. The generic status of Callistephus should be maintained. Whether Galatella (including Crinitina) and Tripolium should remain as genera or be merged into a single genus remains to be determined. In addition, the taxonomic status of A. auriculatus and the A. pycnophyllus-A. panduratus clade remains unresolved, and the systematic position of some segregates of EA Aster requires further study.
authors.affiliation: College of Life Sciences, Hunan Normal University, Changsha, China.
authors.forename: Wei-Ping
authors.initials: WP
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Fu-Sheng
authors.initials: FS
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Todorka
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Jivkova
authors.forename: Gen-Shen
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Yin
mesh_terms: D019659:Asteraceae / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics; D018744:DNA, Plant / Q000235:genetics; D017343:Genes, Plant; D010802:Phylogeny
chemical_list: D018744:DNA, Plant