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. 2008 Feb;101(3):385-402.
doi: 10.1093/aob/mcm299. Epub 2008 Jan 8.

Friends or relatives? Phylogenetics and species delimitation in the controversial European orchid genus Ophrys

Dion S Devey  1 , Richard M Bateman, Michael F Fay, Julie A Hawkins
Affiliations

Friends or relatives? Phylogenetics and species delimitation in the controversial European orchid genus Ophrys

Dion S Devey et al. Ann Bot. 2008 Feb.

Abstract

Background and aims: Highly variable, yet possibly convergent, morphology and lack of sequence variation have severely hindered production of a robust phylogenetic framework for the genus Ophrys. The aim of this study is to produce this framework as a basis for more rigorous species delimitation and conservation recommendations.

Methods: Nuclear and plastid DNA sequencing and amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) were performed on 85 accessions of Ophrys, spanning the full range of species aggregates currently recognized. Data were analysed using a combination of parsimony and Bayesian tree-building techniques and by principal co-ordinates analysis.

Key results: Complementary phylogenetic analyses and ordinations using nuclear, plastid and AFLP datasets identify ten genetically distinct groups (six robust) within the genus that may in turn be grouped into three sections (treated as subgenera by some authors). Additionally, genetic evidence is provided for a close relationship between the O. tenthredinifera, O. bombyliflora and O. speculum groups. The combination of these analytical techniques provides new insights into Ophrys systematics, notably recognition of the novel O. umbilicata group.

Conclusions: Heterogeneous copies of the nuclear ITS region show that some putative Ophrys species arose through hybridization rather than divergent speciation. The supposedly highly specific pseudocopulatory pollination syndrome of Ophrys is demonstrably 'leaky', suggesting that the genus has been substantially over-divided at the species level.

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Figures

F<sc>ig</sc>. 1.
Fig. 1.
(A–J) Single representative species of each of the ten clades of Ophrys delimited in the ITS tree, presented in alphabetical order (i.e. image A represents clade A) and at a constant magnification (original images were slides taken at 1:1 scale; thus, the long axis of each image represents 35 mm): (A) O. insectifera, Hampshire, UK; (B) O. tenthredinifera, Sicily; (C) O. speculum, Sicily; (D) O. bombyliflora, Sicily; (E) O. bilunulata, Crete; (F) O. apifera, Kent, UK; (G) O. sphegodes, Dorset, UK; (H) O. apulica, Gargano, Italy; (I) O. heldreichii, Crete; (J) O. attica, Peloponnese. (K–L) Two examples from Crete of natural hybrids between highly divergent clades within Ophrys: (K) O. bombyliflora (Group D) × O. cretensis (Group G); (L) O. iricolor (Group E) × O. spruneri grigoriana (Group G). All photographs by R. M. Bateman.
F<sc>ig</sc>. 2.
Fig. 2.
One of 6287 equally parsimonious trees for the transcribed spacers 1 and 2 (ITS) and the 5·8S gene dataset. Numbers above lines represent branch lengths. Of the numbers below the branches, the first is the Bayesian posterior probability (pp) and the second the bootstrap percentage (bp). Values <50 % not shown.
F<sc>ig</sc>. 3.
Fig. 3.
One of the 2053 most parsimonious trees for the combined trnH–psbA intergenic spacer and trnD–trnT intergenic spacer data matrices. Numbers represent the bootstrap percentage (bp).
F<sc>ig</sc>. 4.
Fig. 4.
(A) PCoA plot of AFLP results. (b) Three-dimensional PCoA plot of AFLP results. Species groups: api, apifera; arg, argolica; atl, atlantica; att, attaviria; ber, bertolonii; bomb, bombyliflora; bor, bornmuelleri; exa, exaltata; fuc, fuciflora; fun, funerea; fus, fusca; inc, incubacea; ins, insectifera; iri, iricolor; lun, lunulata; lut, lutea; mam, mammosa; oba, obaesa; ome, omegaifera; rein, reinholdii; sbfus, subfusca; sco, scolopax; spe, speculum; sph, sphegodes; ten, tenthredinifera; tet, tetraloniae; umb, umbilicata.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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