In this study we used molecular phylogenetics methods with internal transcribed spacer (ITS) as a marker to resolve evolutionary relations between representatives of the subtribe Asterinae from Siberia, Kazakhstan, and the European part of Russia. Our reconstruction revealed that a clade including all Asterinae species is paraphyletic. | Turkish Journal of Botany Turk J Bot (2015) 39: 808-824 © TÜBİTAK doi: Research Article Relationships and generic delimitation of Eurasian genera of the subtribe Asterinae (Astereae, Asteraceae) using molecular phylogeny of ITS 1, 2,3 4 Elena KOROLYUK *, Alexey MAKUNIN , Tatiana MATVEEVA Central Siberian Botanical Garden, Siberian Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk, Russia 2 Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, Siberian Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk, Russia 3 Theodosius Dobzhansky Center for Genome Bioinformatics, Saint Petersburg State University, Saint Petersburg, Russia 4 Department of Genetics & Biotechnology, Saint Petersburg State University, Saint Petersburg, Russia 1 Received: Accepted/Published Online: Printed: Abstract: The subtribe Asterinae (Astereae, Asteraceae) includes highly variable, often polyploid species. Recent findings based on molecular methods led to revision of its volume. However, most of these studies lacked species from Eurasia, where a lot of previous taxonomic treatments of the subtribe exist. In this study we used molecular phylogenetics methods with internal transcribed spacer (ITS) as a marker to resolve evolutionary relations between representatives of the subtribe Asterinae from Siberia, Kazakhstan, and the European part of Russia. Our reconstruction revealed that a clade including all Asterinae species is paraphyletic. Inside this clade, there are species with unresolved basal positions, for example Erigeron flaccidus and its relatives. Moreover, several well-supported groups exist: group of the genera Galatella, Crinitaria, Linosyris, and Tripolium; group of species of North American origin; and three related groups of Eurasian species: typical Eurasian asters, Heteropappus group (genera Heteropappus, Kalimeris), and Asterothamnus group (genera Asterothamnus, Rhinactinidia). The results .
