Phylogenetic relationships of a major diversification of Croton (Euphorbiaceae) in the western Indian Ocean region

作者：Haber Elizabeth A; Kainulainen Kent; Van Ee Benjamin W; Oyserman Ben O; Berry Paul E^*

来源：Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 2017, 183(4): 532-544.

DOI：10.1093/botlinnean/box004

• Comoro Islands
• Madagascar
• Mascarene Islands
• molecular phylogenetics

Croton is one of the most diverse genera of flowering plants in Madagascar, with > 150 endemic species encountered in nearly all vegetation types. This study focuses on the evolutionary history of Croton in the western Indian Ocean region (WIOR), which includes Madagascar, the Comoro Islands and the Mascarene Islands, and aims to resolve species relationships and the biogeographic history of the genus there. We obtained nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer and plastid (matK, trnH-psbA and trnL-F) sequence data for 71, or close to half, of the Croton spp. in the WIOR and 15 other Old World species and seven New World species. We analysed them phylogenetically using Bayesian and maximum likelihood criteria and performed an ancestral state reconstruction of their geographical distributions. Our results show general support for a single origin of Croton on Madagascar from Africa. This was followed by an extensive radiation into nearly all available habitats in Madagascar and subsequent dispersal events out of Madagascar, including two back colonizations to Africa, one or more dispersals to the Comoro Islands and a single dispersal to the Mascarene Islands.

• 出版日期2017-4-1