Phylogenetic relationships in subfamily Tillandsioideae (Bromeliaceae) based on DNA sequence data from seven plastid regions

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Abstract
Molecular phylogenetic studies of seven plastid DNA regions were used to resolve circumscriptions at generic and infrageneric levels in subfamily Tillandsioideae of Bromeliaceae. One hundred and ten tillandsioid samples were analyzed, encompassing 10 genera, 104 species, and two cultivars. Two species of Bromelioideae, eight species of the polymorphic Pitcairnioideae, and two species of Rapateaceae were selected as outgroups. Parsimony analysis was based on sequence variation of five noncoding (partial 5′ and 3′trnKintron,rps16intron,trnLintron,trnL‐trnFintergenic spacer,atpB‐rbcLintergenic spacer) and two coding plastid regions (rbcLandmatK). Phylogenetic analyses of individual regions produced congruent, but mostly weakly supported or unresolved clades. Results of the combined data set, however, clearly show that subfamily Tillandsioideae is monophyletic. The earliest divergence separates a lineage comprised ofGlomeropitcairniaandCatopsisfrom the “core” tillandsioids. In their present circumscriptions, generaVrieseaandTillandsia, and their subgenera or sections, as well asGuzmaniaandMezobromelia, are poly‐ and/or paraphyletic. GeneraAlcantarea,Werauhia,Racinaea, andViridanthaappear monophyletic, but separation of these fromVrieseaandTillandsiamakes the remainder paraphyletic. Nevertheless, Tillandsioideae separates into four main clades, which are proposed as tribes, viz., Catopsideae, Glomeropitcairnieae, Vrieseeae, and Tillandsieae.