Phylogenetic studies of the tribe Brongniartieae (Fabaceae) using nuclear DNA (ITS-1) and morphological data

Abstract

Nuclear DNA sequence data (Internal Transcribed Spacer 1 of the 45S rDNA cistron) and morphological data were used for phylogenetic studies of the tribe Brongniartieae (Fabaceae), a tribe of four Australian and two tropical American genera. Alignment of the ITS-1 region was largely unambiguous and the phylogeny produced using parsimony methods had a high consistency index. Morphological data were mostly congruent with the molecular data and were informative for some nodes where molecular data were lacking. Combining molecular and morphological data resulted in a well-resolved phylogeny. Analyses confirm the monophyly of the tribe and show that the American genus Brongniartia is more closely ..