PJB-2021-633
Chloroplast DNA region based phylogenetic relationships within genus Abutilon Mill.
Ishrat Jamil, Shazia Kousar and Rubina Abid
Abstract
The genus Abutilon belongs to the family Malvaceae. It is a taxonomically complex genus due to the high degree of morphological variations observed among its members, both within and between species. Describing Abutilon species is particularly challenging because of these extensive morphological variations. Consiquently, the interspecific relationships within the genus remain unclear. In the current study, phylogenetic relationships within the genus Abutilon, was studied using sequence data from the noncoding (psbA-trnH) region of the chloroplast genome. Fifteen Abutilon species that are found in Pakistan were used to reconstruct the phylogenetic tree. Bayesian Inference analysis was applied to generate the phylogenetic tree, resulting in a well resolved phylogenetic tree with strong statistical support. Phylogenetic relationships were further discussed by comparing the morphological characteristics. Based on the psbA-trnH sequence data, two major groups with further clades were identified which generally confirmed the traditional grouping with some exceptions. The genetic profile of A. alii was found to be similar to A. muticum and A. pannasum, suggesting that these species are closely related and should be placed in the same group. Similarly, the study inferred the close association of A. pakistanicum to A. grandifolium; A. fruticosum to A. ramosum; A. karachianum to A. hirtum and A. sepalum; A. bidentatum to A. indicum, A. figarianum and A. gafoorianum. One of the most significant findings of this analysis was the identification of A. theophrasti as a basal species, with unique sequence characteristics suggesting that it should be considered both basal and primitive. In this study, the associations among Abutilon species were explored using DNA sequence data from noncoding region of the chloroplast genome and the inferred relationships were compared with previous morphology-based classification of Abutilon. Prior to this study, the discrimination of Abutilon species and their associations had not been explored using molecular data. The findings provide molecular evidence that largely supports the previously established morphological based classification with some exceptions. The study also suggests that psbA-trnH could serve as a reliable marker for Abutilon species delimitation. In the future, with an increased sample size, this molecular marker (psbA-trnH) could be utilized to discriminate Abutilon species and explore interspecific and infrageneric association among them. The species delimitation and inferred association presented in this study will contribute to updating the classification of Abutilon at molecular level.
To Cite this article:
Jamil, I., S. Kousar and R. Abid. 2025. Chloroplast DNA region based phylogenetic relationships within genus Abutilon mill. Pak. J. Bot., 57(4): DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.30848/PJB2025-4(39)
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