Phylogeny of Ononis in Iran using nuclear ribosomal DNA and chloroplast sequence data

Abstract

The genus<em> Ononis</em>,embraces more than 85 species worldwide. In the present study, materials of two subspecies of <em>O. spinosa</em> from different localities of Iran alongside some other native species of the genus were included in phylogenetic analyses. In addition, over 50 accessions were obtained from GenBank. In order to clarify the exact number of subspecies of <em>O. spinosa</em> in Iran, datasets were obtained from sequencing of nuclear ribosomal ITS (nr DNA ITS) and trnL<em>-</em>F plastid (cp DNA) regions and analysed. Three taxa belonging to <em>O. spinosa </em>L. complex (<em>O. spinosa </em>subsp<em>. leiosperma</em>, <em>O. spinosa</em> subsp. <em>antiquorum</em>, and <em>O. arvensis</em>=<em>O. spinosa</em> subsp. <em>arvensis</em>) were previously reported from Iran. Based on Maximum Parsimony and Bayesian analyses of the molecular datasets, it is shown that, unlike the previous reports, Iranian <em>O. spinosa</em> complex belongs to only two subspecies (i.e. <em>leiosperma</em> and <em>arvensis</em> subspp.). In addition, we also found that, <em>O. spinosa</em> subsp. <em>antiquorum</em> is not present in Iran. It was also demonstrated that, seed sculpturing does not provide valuable characters in diagnosing different subspecies of <em>O. spinosa</em>.