Chloroplast DNA evolution and phylogenetic relationships in Lycopersicon

Chloroplast DNA was purified from 12 accessions that represent most of the species diversity in the genus Lycopersicon (family Solanaceae) and from 3 closely related species in the genus Solanum. Fragment patterns produced by digestion of these DNAs with 25 different restriction endonucleases were analyzed by agarose gel electrophoresis. In all 15 DNAs, a total of only 39 restriction site mutations were detected among 484 restriction sites surveyed, representing 2,800 base pairs of sequence information. This low rate of base sequence change is paralleled by an extremely low rate of convergent change in restriction sites; only 1 of the 39 mutations appears to have occurred independently in two different lineages. Parsimony analysis of shared mutations has allowed the construction of a maternal phylogeny for the 15 accessions. This phylogeny is generally consistent with relationships based on morphology and crossability but provides more detailed resolution at several places. All accessions within Lycopersicon form a coherent group, with two of the three species of Solanum as outside reference points. Chloroplast DNA analysis places S. pennellii firmly within Lycopersicon, confirming recent studies that have removed it from Solanum. Red-orange fruit color is shown to be a monophyletic trait in three species of Lycopersicon, including the cultivated tomato, L. esculentum. Analysis of six accessions within L. peruvianum reveals a limited amount of intraspecific polymorphism which, however, encompasses all the variation observed in L. chilense and L. chmielewskii. It is suggested that these latter two accessions be relegated to positions within the L. peruvianum complex.