GOODSON, BARBARA E.1*, JAVIER FRANCISCO-ORTEGA2, JAVIER FUERTES-AGUILAR3, ARNOLDO SANTOS-GUERRA4, and ROBERT K. JANSEN1. 1Section of Integrative Biology, University of Texas, Austin, TX 78712; 2Department of Biological Sciences, Florida International University, University Park, Miami, FL 33199, and The Research Center, Fairchild Tropical Garden, Miami, FL 33156; 3Real Jardin Botanico, 28014 Madrid, Spain; 4Jardin de Aclimatacion de La Orotava, Calle Retama Num. 2, 38400 Puerto de La Cruz, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain. - Phylogenetic relationships of endemic species of Crambe sect. Dendrocrambe (Brassicaceae) in Macaronesia based on chloroplast DNA restriction site data.
Fourteen species of Crambe sect. Dendrocrambe
(Brassicaceae) are endemic to the Macaronesian islands and are found
in a variety of habitats. A previous study using ITS sequence data
indicated that the island endemics form a monophyletic group comprised
of three major lineages. Although interspecific relationships were
resolved in some cases, relationships among the three major groups and
among other species were not sufficiently resolved. We are performing
a cpDNA restriction site study to provide additional resolution and to
have an independent molecular marker to test previous hypotheses of
the evolution of Crambe in Macaronesia. Our preliminary cpDNA results
are congruent with the previous ITS study and suggest that
inter-island colonization and subsequent differentiation is the major
pattern of evolution in this group.
Key words: biogeography, Brassicaceae, Crambe, islands, Macaronesia