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Nephopteris out of the clouds: Molecular evidence places the enigmatic N. maxonii (Pteridaceae) within the Jamesonia clade

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Abstract

The monospecific fern genus Nephopteris is restricted to four páramos in Colombia. Until now, its phylogenetic relationships have not been clarified, although morphological traits suggest that it belongs to the taenitidoid clade of the subfamily Pteridoideae in the Pteridaceae. We isolated four chloroplast (atpA, chlL, rbcL, and rps4) loci of N. maxonii and performed maximum parsimony and maximum likelihood phylogenetic analyses, including a preliminary analysis based on rbcL of 424 accessions of leptosporangiate ferns. Then, we carried out separate and combined reconstructions for all four loci, focusing the sampling in the subfamily Pteridoideae (Pteridaceae). Our results show that Nephopteris belongs to the taenitidoid clade of the subfamily Pteridoideae and is nested in Jamesonia. Thus, the new combination Jamesonia maxonii is provided. Its dimorphic sterile and fertile leaves appear to be unique within the taenitidoids. Given that this species shares the same microhabitat with other Jamesonia species, it is unlikely that leaf shape evolution within the entire clade is a result of adaptive processes to páramo conditions.

Resumen

El género monoespecífico de helechos Nephopteris está restringido a cuatro páramos de Colombia. Hasta ahora, las relaciones filogenéticas del género no han sido precisadas, aunque los caracteres morfológicos sugieren que pertenece a la subfamilia Pteridoideae, de las Pteridaceae. Cuatro loci del cloroplasto (atpA, chlL, rbcL, and rps4) de N. maxonii fueron aislados y empleados para reconstruir la filogenia bajo Parsimonia y Máxima Verosimilitud, incluído un análisis preliminar basado en secuencias de rbcL de 424 muestras de helechos leptosporangiados. Enseguida, llevamos a cabo análisis separados para los cuatro loci, enfocando el muestreo en la subfamilia Pteridoideae (Pteridaceae). Nuestros resultados demuestran que Nephopteris pertenece al clado taenitidoide de la subfamilia Pteridoideae, anidado dentro de Jamesonia. Por lo tanto, proponemos la nueva combinación, Jamesonia maxonii. Las hojas dimórficas de J. maxonii son únicas dentro del clado de helechos taenitidoides. Debido a que esta especie crece en los mismos microhabitat junto a otras especies de Jamesonia, es improbable que la evolución foliar en el clado Jamesonia sea el resultado de procesos adaptativos frente a condiciones de páramo.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank R. Callejas-Posada and V. Suaza-Gaviria (Universidad de Antioquia) for field assistance, and J. F. Alzate (Centro de Secuenciación Genómica Nacional, Universidad de Antioquia) for lab assistance. We also thank the important commentaries on the manuscript made by L. M. Kelly and R. C. Moran (New York Botanical Garden) and two anonymous reviewers. This work was partially supported by the Convocatoria Programáticas Ciencias Exactas y Naturales 2012-2013 and by the Estrategia de Sostenibilidad 2013–2014 granted by the Comité para el Desarrollo de la Investigación (CODI), Universidad de Antioquia (Medellín-Colombia).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto de Biología, Universidad de Antioquia, AA 1224, Medellín, Colombia

    Natalia Pabón-Mora

  2. Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Facultad de Ciencias, Instituto de Ciencias Naturales, AA 7495, Sede Bogotá, Colombia

    Favio González

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  1. Natalia Pabón-Mora
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  2. Favio González
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Correspondence to Natalia Pabón-Mora.

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Pabón-Mora, N., González, F. Nephopteris out of the clouds: Molecular evidence places the enigmatic N. maxonii (Pteridaceae) within the Jamesonia clade. Brittonia 68, 83–92 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12228-015-9394-0

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