Scientific Area
Parallel Evolution or Hybridisation, causes of the debated species boundries in Rhododendron subgenus Pentanthera
ID: 613 / 264
Category: Abstract
Track: Pending
Proposed Symposium Title: Parallel Evolution or Hybridisation, causes of the debated species boundries in Rhododendron subgenus Pentanthera
Authors:
Gulzar Khan1, Raulf Baur2, and Dirk C. Albach1
Affiliations: 1. Fak V: AG Biodiversity and Evolution of Plants, Institute of Biology and Environmental Sciences (IBU), University of Oldenburg, 2. Heinrich-Heine-Str. 8, 77654 Offenburg, Germany; dr-ralf-bauer@kabelbw.de
Abstract:
Rhododendron (Ericaceae) is one of the largest genera of woody plants with 1156 species. The genus has been divided into five subgenera, of which R. subg. Pentanthera G. Don comprises a group of highly ornamental and very interesting distribution, indigenous to North America, Japan, China, and the Caucasus region with 17 species assigned R. section Pentanthera commonly known as Azaleas. The section has highly debated taxonomy and unresolved phylogeny. We here used the GBS techniques to assess the spcecies boundries using the population and phylogenomic approaches. Our initial results suggest that using > 7000 biallelic SNPs that their is frequent admixture among different species of R. section Penanthera. The initial phylogenomic results also support reticulation in the tree oft he section. We also found polyploidy in the section. This explain and provide new insights into the compatibility of different species and factors upholding species barriers