Morphological and molecular systematic for selected Blechnum from Peninsular Malaysia

• Main Authors: Yusuf, Umi Kalsom, Nulit, Rosimah
• Format: Conference or Workshop Item
• Language: English
• Published: 2012
• Online Access: http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/27630/1/Morphological%20and%20molecular%20systematic%20for%20selected%20Blechnum%20from%20Peninsular%20Malaysia.pdf; http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/27630/

Systematic of Blechnum spp. using both morphological and molecullar studies were resucued in a monophyletic tree. The use of coding rbcL and non-coding tmH-psbA genes amplified from chloroplast were used to support the morphological differences. From the study, five species of Blechnum, Blechnum fraseri, Blechnum vestitum, Blechnum indicum, Blechnum orientale and Blechnum finlaysonianum were clustered independently according to morphological characters of scales, rhizome, stipe, rachis, laminae and their fertile and sterile pinnae. On the basis of morphological similarity, both B. fraseri and B. vestitum were lomariod species; their fertile pinnae much reduced in size compared to their sterile pinnae. This result was supported by molecular analyses by having 0.034 genetic distances and the phylogenetic tree represented here shown both of them more related. However, some of the relationships have been previously suspected on the basis of morphological similarity and supported as well by the DNA analyses were shown in this study for B. oriental and B. finlaysomanium. They were similar in rhizome, scales and laminae characters. Most importantly, both of them are eublecdnoid species; the fertile and sterile pinnae are similar in size and the genetic distance for B. orientale and B. finlaysonianum is 0.017. However. B. indicum was independently because of morphological distinct and no obvious relatives to other species. Morphological and molecular variations were consistently complemented to each other, and may be useful for further phylogenetic and taxonomical studies.