Cryptic species of pondweeds (Potamogetonaceae) at an intercontinental scale revealed by molecular phylogenetic analyses

0558179 - BÚ 2023 RIV NL eng J - Journal Article
Fehrer, Judith - Iida, K. - Kaplan, Zdeněk
Cryptic species of pondweeds (Potamogetonaceae) at an intercontinental scale revealed by molecular phylogenetic analyses.
Taxon. Roč. 71, č. 3 (2022), s. 531-551. ISSN 0040-0262. E-ISSN 1996-8175
R&D Projects: GA ČR GA17-06825S
Institutional support: RVO:67985939
Keywords : genetic-variation * hybrid origin * delimitation * diversity * plants * hybridization * taxonomy * genus * identification * dispersal * aquatic plants * cryptic species * discontinuous distribution * multigene phylogeny * Potamogeton * reciprocal monophyly
OECD category: Plant sciences, botany
Impact factor: 3.4, year: 2022
Method of publishing: Limited access
https://doi.org/10.1002/tax.12686

Cryptic species are morphologically indistinguishable but genetically divergent entities that constitute an important part of Earth's biodiversity. They occur in all kingdoms of life, especially when morphological characters are scarce. Compared to the high number of plant species, relatively few cryptic species have been detected so far. Here, we report cryptic species in pondweeds (Potamogeton), freshwater aquatic angiosperms that are characterized by reduced morphology. Using four molecular markers (ITS, 5S-NTS, rpl20-5 ' rps12, trnT-trnL), three of them unlinked, we found that the widespread P. octandrus consists of three divergent lineages that correspond to the geographic origins of samples from Africa, Asia, and Australia, respectively. Relatively high genetic divergence between these lineages, reciprocal monophyly and many fixed diagnostic characters indicate that P. octandrus consists of three cryptic species. We formally distinguish the African lineage as P. parvifolius and the Australian lineage as P. tenuicaulis from Asian P. octandrus s.str. Potamogeton tenuicaulis is paraphyletic with the Asian species P. cristatus, which differs by unique fruit characters. We assume that the ancestor of P. cristatus originated from Australia and reached Asia by long-distance dispersal. Quality criteria for assigning species status to cryptic species and their formal taxonomic recognition are discussed.
Permanent Link: https://hdl.handle.net/11104/0336064