Evolución de la familia Agavaceae: Filogenia, biología reproductiva y genética de poblaciones

Abstract

The Agavaceae family comprises eight genera with contrasting reproductive biologies, given that they can be iteroparous (if they can reproduce several times), or semelparous ( if each individual produces an inflorescence and then dies); they also display a wide variety of  floral morphologies and of pollinators (from bees to bats, including hummingbirds and moths). Here we review their reproductive biology and attempt a synthesis of their population genetics and evolution. In order to do these analyses, we reconstructed their phylogeny using ITS l and ITS 2 data, and calibrated a molecular clock. We use Hasta for comparisons, although we review some genera that have been considered related to the family. To close the paper, we discuss the evolutionary patterns in the family, mapping the different characters in the phylogeny.