J Syst Evol ›› 2014, Vol. 52 ›› Issue (1): 40-50.DOI: 10.1111/jse.12061

• Research Articles • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Molecular systematics and biogeography of Wisteria inferred from nucleotide sequences of nuclear and plastid genes

1,4Jianhua LI* 2Jin-Huo JIANG 2Cheng-Xin FU 3Shao-Qing TANG   

  1. 1(Department of Biology, Hope College, Holland, MI 49423, USA)
    2(College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China)
    2(College of life sciences, Guangxi Normal University, Guilin 541004, Guangxi, China)
  • Received:2013-06-27 Published:2014-01-14

Abstract: Previous molecular phylogenetic studies of Fabaceae indicated that species of Wisteria, an intercontinental disjunct genus between eastern Asia and eastern North America, formed a clade derived from within Callerya. However, interspecific relationships were not well resolved or supported. In this study, we used sequences of the nuclear ribosomal DNA internal transcribed spacer region and the chloroplast gene matK to examine interspecific relationships and explore implications of the phylogeny for the systematics and biogeography of Wisteria. Our results showed that Wisteria with deciduous leaves and racemose inflorescences formed a strongly supported clade derived from within the paraphyletic Callerya. Afgekia was also found to be included within Callerya. Therefore, our data support the merger ofAfgekia, Callerya, and Wisteria. The phylogenetic pattern suggested that the deciduousness in Wisteria may be a derived trait likely in response to temperate climate, and the racemose inflorescences in the AfgekiaCalleryaWisteria clade may have evolved from panicles. Our study also provided strong support for the sister relationship of the North American and eastern Asian species of Wisteria. In the Asian clade, Wisteria brachybotrys Siebold & Zucc. of Japan was sister to the clade containing W. floribunda (Willd.) DC of Japan and Korea, and W. sinensis (Sims) Sweet of China. However, our data offered weak support for the sister relationship ofW. floribunda and W. sinensis. Our divergence time and biogeographic analyses suggested that the eastern Asian–North American disjunction in Wisteria may have occurred through a dispersal event in the middle Miocene (13.4 Mya) from the Old World to the New World across the Bering land bridge followed by vicariance in the late Miocene (6.8 Mya). This study added another example to the “out of Asia” migration for the eastern Asian–eastern North American disjunction.

Key words: Afgekia, Callerya, eastern Asian-North American disjunction, matK, nrDNA ITS.