Phylogenetic reconstruction based on low copy DNA sequence data in an allopolyploid: the B genome of wheat

Study of bread wheat (Triticum aestivum) may help to resolve several questions related to polyploid evolution. One such question regards the possibility that the component genomes of polyploids may themselves be polyphyletic, resulting from hybridization and introgression among different polyploid species sharing a single genome. We used the B genome of wheat as a model system to test hypotheses that bear on the monophyly or polyphyly of the individual constituent genomes. By using aneuploid wheat stocks, combined with PCR-based cloning strategies, we cloned and sequenced two single-copy-DNA sequences from each of the seven chromosomes of the wheat B genome and the homologous sequences from representatives of the five diploid species in section Sitopsis previously suggested as sister groups to the B genome. Phylogenetic comparisons of sequence data suggested that the B genome of wheat underwent a genetic bottleneck and has diverged from the diploid B genome donor. The extent of genetic diversity among the Sitopsis diploids and the failure of any of the Sitopsis species to group with the wheat B genome indicated that these species have also diverged from the ancestral B genome donor. Our results support monophyly of the wheat B genome.