Phylogenetic position ofArabis arenicolaand generic limits ofAphragmusandEutrema(Brassicaceae) based on sequences of nuclear ribosomal DNA

Abstract

Sequence data from the nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of 45 taxa were used to determine the phylogenetic relationship of Arabis arenicola to Arabis , Arabidopsis , Braya , and Eutrema , and that of Eutrema to the purportedly related genera Aphragmus , Lignariella , Neomartinella , Platycraspedum , Taphrospermum , and Thellungiella . Arabis arenicola was originally described as Eutrema in 1830, transferred to Arabis in 1898, and has remained in Arabis to the present, even though it is morphologically more similar to Arabidopsis, Braya, and Eutrema. Sequence data were obtained from representative taxa of Arabis, Arabidopsis, and related Boechera and Catolobus, Braya and Neotorularia, and Eutrema, Aphragmus, Lignariella, Neomartinella, Platycraspedum, Taphrospermum, and Thellungiella. The five Arabis arenicola accessions examined had ITS sequences that were identical to each other and to four Arabidopsis lyrata accessions. In both maximum parsimony and maximum likelihood analyses, Arabis arenicola fell within the Arabidopsis clade and was closely aligned with Arabidopsis lyrata. Two of six purportedly related genera were not closely related to Eutrema. Both analyses placed Lignariella within a separate well-supported clade with Aphragmus, while the other four genera, Neomartinella, Platycraspedum, Taphrospermum, and Thellungiella, fell within a well-supported clade with Eutrema. Morphology and molecular data strongly suggest transferring Arabis arenicola to Arabidopsis, expanding Aphragmus to include Lignariella, and expanding Eutrema to include Neomartinella, Platycraspedum, Taphrospermum, and Thellungiella. New combinations in Arabidopsis and Aphragmus are proposed.