Chao Yi-Shan, Ebihara Atsushi, Chiou Wen-Liang, Tsai Jer-Min, Huang Yu-Wen, Ranker Tom A
Department of Biomedical Science and Environmental Biology, Kaohsiung Medical University, 100, Shih-Chuan 1st Rd., Kaohsiung, 80708, Taiwan.
Department of Botany, National Museum of Nature and Science, 4-1-1, Amakubo, Tsukuba-shi, Ibaraki, 305-0005, Japan.
Sci Rep. 2022 Jun 1;12(1):9145. doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-11390-7.
The Pteris fauriei group (Pteridaceae) has a wide distribution in Eastern Asia and includes 18 species with similar but varied morphology. We collected more than 300 specimens of the P. fauriei group and determined ploidy by flow cytometry and inferred phylogenies by molecular analyses of chloroplast and nuclear DNA markers. Our results reveal a complicated reticulate evolution, consisting of seven parental taxa and 58 hybrids. The large number of hybrid taxa have added significant morphological complexity to the group leading to difficult taxonomic issues. The hybrids generally had broader ranges and more populations than their parental taxa. Genetic combination of different pairs of parental species created divergent phenotypes of hybrids, exhibited by both morphological characteristics and ecological fidelities. Niche novelty could facilitate hybrid speciation. Apogamy is common in this group and potentially contributes to the sustainability of the whole group. We propose that frequent hybridizations among members of the P. fauriei group generate and maintain genetic diversity, via novel genetic combinations, niche differentiation, and apogamy.
傅氏凤尾蕨类群（凤尾蕨科）在东亚分布广泛，包含18个形态相似但有所差异的物种。我们收集了300多个傅氏凤尾蕨类群的标本，通过流式细胞术确定倍性，并通过对叶绿体和核DNA标记的分子分析推断系统发育。我们的结果揭示了一个复杂的网状进化过程，由七个亲本类群和58个杂交种组成。大量的杂交类群增加了该类群显著的形态复杂性，导致了困难的分类学问题。杂交种通常比其亲本类群具有更广泛的分布范围和更多的种群。不同亲本物种对的基因组合产生了杂交种的不同表型，这在形态特征和生态适应性方面都有体现。生态位新颖性可能促进杂交物种形成。无融合生殖在该类群中很常见，并可能有助于整个类群的可持续性。我们提出，傅氏凤尾蕨类群成员之间频繁的杂交通过新的基因组合、生态位分化和无融合生殖产生并维持了遗传多样性。
