Systematics and evolution of tribe Sinningieae (Gesneriaceae): evidence from phylogenetic analyses of six plastid DNA regions and nuclear ncpGS.

For nearly all species in the three genera of tribe Sinningieae (Gesneriaceae), Sinningia, Paliavana, and Vanhouttea (mostly in southeastern Brazil) plus 10 outgroups, we have sequenced six non-coding DNA regions (i.e., plastid intergenic spacers trnT-trnL, trnL-trnF, trnS-trnG, atpB-rbcL, and introns in the trnL and rpl16 genes) and four introns in nuclear plastid-expressed glutamine synthetase gene (ncpGS). Separate and combined analyses of these data sets using maximum parsimony supported the monophyly of Sinningieae, but the genera Paliavana and Vanhouttea were found embedded within Sinningia; therefore a new infrageneric classification is here proposed. Mapping of pollination syndromes on the DNA-based trees supported multiple origins of hummingbird and bee syndromes and derivation of moth and bat syndromes from hummingbird flowers. Perennial tubers were derived from perennial stems in non-tuberous plants.