BATES, PAUL L.*, JAMES R. ESTES, AND LINDA E. WATSON. School of Biological Sciences, University of Nebraska, 348 Manter Hall, Lincoln, NE 68588-0118; Department of Botany, Miami University, Oxford, OH 45056. - Phylogenetic relationships in the Artemisia ludoviciana complex (Anthemidae/Asteraceae).
The Artemisia ludoviciana complex is a widely distributed group
of herbaceous perennial species that occur in western North America
from the Aleutian Islands to Jalisco in Central Mexico, which includes
approximately 18 taxa. Evolutionary relationships within the group are
unresolved due to continuous variation within the complex, perhaps as
a result of hybridization and polyploidy. Previous work on the group
yielded two mutually exclusive hypotheses of polyploid origin:
allopolyploidy vs. autopolyploidy. We initiated a study to determine
the mode of polyploid origin in the group and to construct a phylogeny
for the group. We are using ITS and ETS nrDNA sequences to infer
phylogenetic relationships and ISSR analyses to reveal polyploid
origin. Data gathered to date will be discussed.
Key words: Artemisia ludoviciana, Asteraceae, ETS, ISSR, ITS, polyploidy