Molecular tests of the proposed diploid hybrid originof Gilia achilleifolia (Polemoniaceae).

Gilia achilleifolia is a putative diploid hybrid species. Hybrid origin was hypothesized based on traditional biosystematicevidence (i.e., morphological, cytological, and crossability data),which may be insufficient to establish genealogical history. Here,phylogenetic analysis of sequence data from the internal transcribedspacer (ITS) regions is used to examine the relationship between theputative hybrid species and its proposed parents. Isozyme variation isassayed to test for genetic additivity in the putative hybrid taxon andmorphological data are analyzed cladistically to evaluate the charactersthat led to the original hypothesis of hybrid origin. The ITS-basedgene tree placed G. achilleifolia in two divergent clades, eachsister to one of the putative parental lineages. Little isozymeadditivity was observed and G. achilleifolia possessed sixunique alleles among 42 alleles observed. However, ITS and isozymetrees differed in their placement of the two lineages of G.achilleifolia; both lineages are closer to a third putative parentin the isozyme tree. Also, G. achilleifolia is intermediate orpolymorphic for all nine morphological characteristics differentiatingthe parental species. Sorting of ancestral polymorphisms cannot easilyaccount for expression patterns of seven of these characters. In ourview, these results fail to distinguish between alternative hypothesesof ancient hybrid origin and divergent evolution, belying the difficultyof detecting ancient hybrids.