Morphological and phylogenetic analysis of Erythronium (Liliaceae) species in Southern Siberia

This study presents morphological and phylogenetic analyses of 3 species of Erythronium growing in the mountains of Southern Siberia. Species are Erythronium sibiricum (Fisch. et Mey) Krylov, E. sajanense Stepanov et Stassova, E. sulevii (Ruksans) Stepanov. According to the morphological parameters of the species, E. sajanense shows the clearest isolation, characterized by small peduncles; awl-shaped staminate filaments, sharply narrowing at the base; a more compact stigma of the pistil; the color of the perianth petals. According to the principal component analysis, E. sajanense separates from the other two species. Phylogenetic analysis was based on sequencing chloroplast genes matK, rbcL and the nuclear marker ITS (ITS1-5.8S rDNA-ITS2). The phylogenetic trees show a clear division of the species of Erythronium into the Eurasian and East-North American groups. The maximum number of nucleotide substitutions was noted for E. sajanense, whereas E. sibiricum and E. sulevii show greater genetic similarity. The most informative markers for the identification of Erythronium species are ITS regions characterized by a high level of variability between individual species.