Departments of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, and Plant Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721.
Am J Bot. 1999 Jan;86(1):70-80.
We used sequence data from the intron and spacer of the trnL-trnF chloroplast region to study phylogenetic relationships among Acanthaceae. This region is more variable than other chloroplast loci that have been sequenced for members of Acanthaceae (rbcL and ndhF), is more prone to length mutations, and is less homoplasious than these genes. Our results indicate that this region is likely to be useful in addressing phylogenetic questions among but not within genera in these and related plants. In terms of phylogenetic relationships, Elytraria (representing Nelsonioideae) is more distantly related to Acanthaceae sensu stricto (s.s.) than Thunbergia and Mendoncia. These last two genera are strongly supported as sister taxa. Molecular evidence does not support monophyly of Acanthaceae s.s., although there is strong morphological evidence for this relationship. There is strong support for monophyly of four major lineages within Acanthaceae s.s.: the Acanthus, Barleria, Ruellia, and Justicia lineages as here defined. The last three of these comprise a strongly supported monophyletic group, and there is weaker evidence linking the Ruellia and Justicia lineages as closest relatives. Within the Acanthus lineage, our results confirm the existence of monophyletic lineages representing Aphelandreae and Acantheae. Lastly, within the Justicia lineage, we develop initial hypotheses regarding the definition of sublineages; some of these correspond to earlier ideas, whereas others do not. All of these hypotheses need to be tested against more data.
我们使用 trnL-trnF 叶绿体区的内含子和间隔区的序列数据来研究爵床科植物之间的系统发育关系。与已测序的其他叶绿体基因（rbcL 和 ndhF）相比，该区域的变异性更大，更容易发生长度突变，并且与这些基因的同质性更低。我们的研究结果表明，该区域可能有助于解决这些植物及其相关植物属间而不是属内的系统发育问题。在系统发育关系方面，Elytraria（代表 Nelsonioideae）与狭义的爵床科（s.s.）的关系比 Thunbergia 和 Mendoncia 更为疏远。这后两个属被强烈支持为姐妹分类群。分子证据不支持狭义爵床科的单系性，尽管有强烈的形态学证据支持这种关系。在狭义的爵床科内有四个主要谱系的强烈支持：这里定义的 Acanthus、Barleria、Ruellia 和 Justicia 谱系。后三个谱系构成了一个强烈支持的单系群，并且有较弱的证据表明 Ruellia 和 Justicia 谱系是最亲近的亲属。在 Acanthus 谱系内，我们的研究结果证实了存在代表 Aphelandreae 和 Acantheae 的单系谱系。最后，在 Justicia 谱系内，我们提出了关于亚谱系定义的初步假设；其中一些与早期的观点相对应，而另一些则不对应。所有这些假设都需要用更多的数据进行检验。
