DE LUNA, EFRAIN*, HIROMI TSUBOTA, DOLORES GONZALEZ, SACHIKO MAEDA, HIROYUKI AKIYAMA, TOMOTSUGU ARIKAWA, RAY TANGNEY, CYMON J. COX, ANGELA E. NEWTON, KEIKO KOSUGE, MASANOBU HIGUCHI, AND HIRONORI DEGUCHI. Departamento de Sistematica Vegetal, Instituto de Ecologia AC, Xalapa, VER 91000 Mexico. - An overview of phylogenetic relationships among families of pleurocarps: implications from variation in 165 rbcL sequences.
As a result of several coordinated projects, rbcL sequences
from nearly all hypnobryalean families have been obtained and
compiled. Our goal was to investigate what a large data matrix of
rbcL sequences can tell us about the relationships within the
pleurocarps, what groups of taxa are supported by this sequence, and
how well the rbcL sequence resolves the relationships between
the groups. Cladistic analyses of this sequence divide the
pleurocarps into three primary clades: Hookeriales A, Hookeriales B,
and Hypnales sensu lato, which includes the Leucodontales. The
strict consensus shows good resolution within groups of families, but
not among the groups. Robust clades of families revealed by the
present analyses include the following: [Leucodontaceae, Climaciaceae,
Anomodontaceae], [Neckeraceae, Leptodontaceae, Echinodiaceae,
Lembophyllaceae], and [Hypnaceae, Thuidiaceae, Entodontaceae,
Sematophyllaceae]. The general tree topology is not congruent with
previous hypotheses of relationships among suborders and superfamilies
in the traditional Leucodontales and Hypnales. The phylogeny of the
pleurocarps is not as yet resolved, but this study shows that the
current classification of three suborders in the Hypnales and four in
the Leucodontales, is no longer tenable.
Key words: Hypnales, Mosses, pleurocarps, rbcL.