| Abstract Detail
Systematics Section Martinez-Habibe, Maria Cristina [1]. Phylogenetics, Taxonomy and Biogeography of the Caribbean species of Bursera (Burseraceae). As currently circumscribed, Bursera is a Neotropical genus comprising ca. 100 species of shrubs and trees distributed mostly in semi-deciduous tropical forests from the southernmost United States to Central America and northwestern South America. About 82 species occur in Mexico, ca. 70 of them endemic. Outside Mexico, the region with the next highest diversity and endemism of Bursera is the Greater Antilles and the Bahamas (GAB), where ca. 17 species are currently recognized, 15 of them endemic to the region. The GAB species of Bursera have never been the focus of molecular or detailed morphological or anatomical studies, nor even of a comprehensive taxonomic treatment, and their relationships to species in Central and/or South America are essentially unknown. Preliminary work on Bursera suggests that some GAB species are phylogenetically related with B. simaruba, the most widespread species in the genus. The relationships among GAB species is unknown, even within islands. A molecular phylogenetic reconstruction of Bursera is presented, using both nuclear (External Transcriber Spacer [ETS] and the fourth intron of the phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase gene, PEPC) and chroloplast (psbA-trnH spacer, rps16-trnK spacer) data to understand the evolutionary history of the genus in the Caribbean, a region with a complex paleogeography. Preliminary results such as multiple dispersals from the mainland, the position of Colombian B. inversa as sister to all other species of Bursera, the multiple evolutionary transitions to simple leaves and evidence of hybridization in Cuba and the Dominican Republic are discussed. Broader Impacts:
Ongoing collaboration with Cuban botanist Jacqueline Perez-Camacho is making possible the new treatment of the family Burseraceae for the Flora of Cuba.
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1 - Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden, 1500 N College Avenue, Claremont, CA, 91711, USA
Keywords:
Burseraceae
Caribbean
phylogenetics
semi-deciduous forests
Bursera.
Presentation Type: Oral Paper:Papers for Sections
Session: 56
Location: 556B/Convention Center
Date: Wednesday, August 4th, 2010
Time: 3:00 PM
Number: 56008
Abstract ID:611 |
