DISCORDANCE BETWEEN NUCLEAR AND CHLOROPLAST PHYLOGENIES IN THE HEUCHERA GROUP (SAXIFRAGACEAE)

Various factors, including taxon density, sampling error, convergence, and heterogeneity of evolutionary rates, can potentially lead to incongruence between phylogenetic trees based on different genomes. Particularly at the generic level and below, chloroplast capture resulting from hybridization may distort organismal relationships in phylogenetic analyses based on the chloroplast genome, or genes included therein. However, the extent of such discord between chloroplast DNA (cpDNA) trees and those trees based on nuclear genes has rarely been assessed. We therefore used sequences of the internal transcribed spacer regions (ITS-1 and ITS-2) of nuclear ribosomal DNA (rDNA) to reconstruct phylogenetic relationships among members of the Heuchera group of genera (Saxifragaceae). The Heuchera group presents an important model for the analysis of chloroplast capture and its impact on phylogenetic reconstruction because hybridization is well documented within genera (e.g., Heuchera), and intergeneric hybrids involving six of the nine genera have been reported. An earlier study provided a well-resolved phylogenetic hypothesis for the Heuchera group based on cpDNA restriction-site variation. However, trees based on ITS sequences are discordant with the cpDNA-based tree. Evidence from both morphology and nuclear-encoded allozymes is consistent with the ITS trees, rather than the cpDNA tree, and several points of phylogenetic discord can clearly be attributed to chloroplast capture. Comparison of the organellar and ITS trees also raises the strong likelihood that ancient events of chloroplast capture occurred between lineages during the early diversification of the Heuchera group. Thus, despite the many advantages and widespread use of cpDNA data in phylogeny reconstruction, comparison of relationships based on cpDNA and ITS sequences for the Heuchera group underscores the need for caution in the use of organellar variation for retrieving phylogeny at lower taxonomic levels, particularly in groups noted for hybridization.