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Updated: May 31, 2026

Using Phylogenetic Analysis to Investigate Eukaryotic Gene Origin
Published on: August 14, 2018
The tortoise and the hare: choosing between noncoding plastome and nuclear Adh sequences for phylogeny reconstruction
R L Small1, J A Ryburn, R C Cronn
1Department of Botany, Bessey Hall, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa 50011.
Abstract:
Phylogenetic resolution is often low within groups of recently diverged taxa due to a paucity of phylogenetically informative characters. We tested the relative utility of seven noncoding cpDNA regions and a pair of homoeologous nuclear genes for resolving recent divergences, using tetraploid cottons (Gossypium) as a model system. The five tetraploid species of Gossypium are a monophyletic assemblage derived from an allopolyploidization event that probably occurred within the last 0.5-2 million years. Previous analysis of cpDNA restriction site data provided only partial resolution within this clade despite a large number of enzymes employed. We sequenced three cpDNA introns (rpl16, rpoC1, ndhA) and four cpDNA spacers (accD-psaI, trnL-trnF, trnT-trnL, atpB-rbcL) for a total of over 7 kb of sequence per taxon, yet obtained only four informative nucleotide substitutions (0.05%) resulting in incomplete phylogenetic resolution. In addition, we sequenced a 1.65-kb region of a homoeologous pair of nuclear-encoded alcohol dehydrogenase (Adh) genes. In contrast with the cpDNA sequence data, the Adh homoeologues yielded 25 informative characters (0.76%) and provided a robust and completely resolved topology that is concordant with previous cladistic and phenetic analyses. The enhanced resolution obtained using the nuclear genes reflects an approximately three- to sixfold increase in nucleotide substitution rate relative to the plastome spacers and introns.
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