Grass plastomes reveal unexpected paraphyly with endemic species of Micrairoideae from India and new haplotype markers in Arundinoideae(1)

摘要

PREMISE OF THE STUDY: We investigated the little-studied Arundinoideae/Micrairoideae clade of grasses with an innovative plastome phylogenomic approach. This method gives robust results for taxa of uncertain phylogenetic placement. Arundinoideae comprise 45 species, although historically was much larger. Arundinoideae is notable for the widely invasive Phragmites australis. Micrairoideae comprise nine genera and 200 species. Some are threatened with extinction, including Hubbardia, some Isachne spp., and Limnopoa. Two micrairoid genera, Eriachne and Pheidochloa, exhibit C-4 photosynthesis in this otherwise C-3 subfamily and represent an independent origin of the C-4 pathway among grasses.