AOBPreview originally published online on January 8, 2008
Annals of Botany 2008 101(3):385-402; doi:10.1093/aob/mcm299
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Friends or Relatives? Phylogenetics and Species Delimitation in the Controversial European Orchid Genus Ophrys
1 Jodrell Laboratory, Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, Richmond, Surrey TW9 3DS, UK
2 School of Biological Sciences, Plant Science Laboratories, University of Reading, Reading RG6 6AS, UK
* For correspondence: E-mail d.devey{at}rbgkew.org.uk
Received: 31 January 2007 Returned for revision: 15 March 2007 Accepted: 24 October 2007 Published electronically: 9 January 2008
Background and Aims: Highly variable, yet possibly convergent, morphology and lack of sequence variation have severely hindered production of a robust phylogenetic framework for the genus Ophrys. The aim of this study is to produce this framework as a basis for more rigorous species delimitation and conservation recommendations.
Methods: Nuclear and plastid DNA sequencing and amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) were performed on 85 accessions of Ophrys, spanning the full range of species aggregates currently recognized. Data were analysed using a combination of parsimony and Bayesian tree-building techniques and by principal co-ordinates analysis.
Key Results: Complementary phylogenetic analyses and ordinations using nuclear, plastid and AFLP datasets identify ten genetically distinct groups (six robust) within the genus that may in turn be grouped into three sections (treated as subgenera by some authors). Additionally, genetic evidence is provided for a close relationship between the O. tenthredinifera, O. bombyliflora and O. speculum groups. The combination of these analytical techniques provides new insights into Ophrys systematics, notably recognition of the novel O. umbilicata group.
Conclusions: Heterogeneous copies of the nuclear ITS region show that some putative Ophrys species arose through hybridization rather than divergent speciation. The supposedly highly specific pseudocopulatory pollination syndrome of Ophrys is demonstrably ‘leaky’, suggesting that the genus has been substantially over-divided at the species level.
Key words: AFLP, DNA sequencing, hybridization, introgression, Ophrys, pseudocopulation, species delimitation, systematics
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