Testing species delimitation in sympatric species complexes: the case of an African tropical tree, Carapa spp. (Meliaceae) |
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Authors: | Duminil Jérôme Kenfack David Viscosi Vincenzo Grumiau Laurent Hardy Olivier J |
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Institution: | a Service Evolution Biologique et Ecologie, CP160/12, Faculté des Sciences, Université Libre de Bruxelles, 50 Av. F. Roosevelt, 1050 Brussels, Belgium b Laboratoire de Foresterie des Régions Tropicales et Subtropicales, Unité de Gestion des Ressources Forestières et des Milieux Naturels, Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech., Université de Liège, Passage des Déportés, 2, 5030 Gembloux, Belgium c Center for Tropical Forest Science, Arnold Arboretum of the Harvard University, 1300 Centre Street, Boston, MA 02131, USA d Museo Erbario del Molise (MEM), Dipartimento S.T.A.T., Università Degli Studi del Molise, C. da Fonte Lappone, IT-86090 Pesche (IS), Italy |
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Abstract: | Plant species delimitation within tropical ecosystems is often difficult because of the lack of diagnostic morphological characters that are clearly visible. The development of an integrated approach, which utilizes several different types of markers (both morphological and molecular), would be extremely useful in this context. Here we have addressed species delimitation of sympatric tropical tree species that belong to Carapa spp. (Meliaceae) in Central Africa. We adopted a population genetics approach, sampling numerous individuals from three locations where sympatric Carapa species are known to exist. Comparisons between morphological markers (the presence or absence of characters, leaf-shape traits) and molecular markers (chloroplast sequences, ribosomal internal transcribed spacer region (ITS) sequences, and nuclear microsatellites) demonstrated the following: (i) a strong correlation between morphological and nuclear markers; (ii) despite substantial polymorphism, the inability of chloroplast DNA to discriminate between species, suggesting that cytoplasmic markers represent ineffective DNA barcodes; (iii) lineage sorting effects when using ITS sequences; and (iv) a complex evolutionary history within the genus Carapa, which includes frequent inter-specific gene flow. Our results support the use of a population genetics approach, based on ultra-polymorphic markers, to address species delimitation within complex taxonomic groups. |
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Keywords: | Species boundary Hybridization Bayesian assignment Rainforest Africa Speciation |
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