| Abstract Detail
Conservation Biology Slotta, Tracey [1]. Species Delineation in California Bush Mallows. Currently 11 species of California Bush Mallows (Malacothamnus) are recognized, all of which are rare. Historically, 2 to 27 species were included in the genus, which is endemic to California, Baja California and northern Mexico. Members of the group freely hybridize and exhibit little morphological differentiation. The objectives of the study were to examine morphological variation and survey molecular markers to determine species boundaries in (Malacothamnus). Morphological characters included vegetative traits such as phyllotaxy and pubescence and floral traits such as calyx size and shape. Although significant variation was detected among all vegetative and floral traits examined, use of floral traits alone enabled species discrimination for several entities in multidimensional scaling and cluster analyses. Molecular markers included ITS sequences and ISSRs, both indicate limited divergence between species. Low phylogenetic signal of ITS sequences resulted in unresolved clades, one with taxa allied to M. fremontii and the second to M. fasciculatus. Analysis of ISSR markers provided greater resolution with loci unique to species. Continued integration and/or recent divergence prevent taxa in Malacothamnus from forming well-defined taxonomic boundaries.
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1 - University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute, 9600 Gudelsky Drive, Rockville, MD, 20850, USA
Keywords:
Malvaceae
ISSR
ITS
morphology.
Presentation Type: Poster:Posters for Topics
Session: P
Location: Exhibit Hall (Northeast, Southwest & Southeast)/Hilton
Date: Sunday, July 8th, 2007
Time: 8:00 AM
Number: P65012
Abstract ID:2220 |
