Combining Data from DNA Sequences and Morphology for a Phylogeny of Moringaceae (Brassicales)

• DOI: 10.1043/0363-6445-27.1.55
• Publication Date: 2009-01-24
• Authors: Mark E. Olson
• Keywords: Paraphyly; Character evolution

Abstract The Old World dry tropical family Moringaceae is remarkable for the great diversity of habit and floral morphology found within its only genus, Moringa. To infer phylogenetic relationships all 13 species, parsimony analyses morphological data DNA sequences from a low-copy nuclear region (PEPC), chloroplast (trnG), tandemly-repeated present in high copy number (ITS) were conducted each set separately combined. Characters studies ontogeny substantially enhanced resolution set. Incongruence Length Difference test indicated congruence sets, as did Templeton tests comparing single tree resulting combined analysis context individual sets. This presented preferred topology, which four bottle trees appear basal paraphyletic assemblage, with three species slender (including economically important M. oleifera) forming a...