[Study on phylogenetic relationships of urticaceae based on rbcL sequence].

Abstract

The sequences of rbcL from four species of Boehmeria were analyzed in this study by PCR amplification and directly sequencing. The sequences of PCR products were about 1,370 bp. RbcL sequences of nine generas were chosen from GenBank, then the rbcL of 13 species were sequenced with clustal X1.83. After sequencing, the length of rbcL was 1,428 bp and has 1,263 conserved sites, 165 variable sites and 71 information sites. By using MEGA3.1, MP tree and NJ tree of Urticaceae were constructed. Based on the difference in rbcL squence, the genetic distances among species were calculated. With these informations, we can further analyze the genetic relationships of Urticaceae. In result, Pellionia, Poikilospermum, Procris, Elatostema and Pilea formed a monophyletic group; Parietaria and Boehmeria formed another monophyletic group. However, Urtica formed a single group, suggesting it had the most distant relationship to the other genus of Urticaceae.