What does the 5S rRNA multigene family tell us about the origin of the annual Triticeae (Poaceae)?

Abstract

We have investigated the complex relationships among the annual genera within the tribe Triticeae through phylogenetic analyses of the 5S rRNA multigene family. Cloned sequences were assigned to groups of orthologous sequences, called unit classes, that were subjected to several analyses including BLAST (Basic Local Alignment Search Tool) searches to assess possible ancestral relationships with perennial genera; phylogenetic analyses using parsimony (Pars), maximum likelihood (ML), and Bayesian methods; and minimum reticulation networks from the Pars, ML, and Bayesian trees. In this study, we included genera with both annual and perennial species, such as Dasypyrum, Hordeum, and Secale. BLAST pointed to Pseudoroegneria (carrier of the St genome) and possibly Thinopyrum (carrier of the J genome) as the potential next of kin. However, Thinopyrum and Pseudoroegneria have never fallen together on the individual trees with the former generally associated with Crithopsis, Aegilops, Triticum, and Dasypyrum, while the latter is usually associated with the rest of the genera within Triticeae. The “long” unit classes placed Dasypyrum breviaristatum together with Dasypyrum villosum, whereas the “short” unit classes put them far apart on the trees. None of the gene trees alone was able to summarize the complex relationships among the genera, in line with previous results in the Triticeae. However, the application of tools designed to display phylogenetic networks was able to depict the complex links among the genera based on the short and the long gene trees, including the close link between Thinopyrum and Pseudoroegneria suggested by the phylogenetic analyses. In addition, our analyses provide support for the hypothesis that at least some annual Triticeae taxa are derived from their perennial relatives.