Molecular evidence for hybridization in the aquatic plant Limosella on sub-Antarctic Marion Island

Abstract

DNA sequence data have become a crucial tool in assessing the relationship between morphological variation and genetic and taxonomic groups, including in the Antarctic biota. Morphologically distinct populations of submersed aquatic vascular plants were observed on sub-Antarctic Marion Island, potentially representing the two species of such plants listed in the island's flora, Limosella australis R.Br. (Scrophulariaceae) and Ranunculus moseleyi Hook.f. (Ranunculaceae). To confirm their taxonomic identity, we sequenced a nuclear locus (internal transcribed spacer; ITS) and two plastid loci (trnL-trnF, rps16) from three specimens collected on Marion Island and compared the sequences with those in public sequence databases. For all three loci, sequences from the Marion Island specimens were nearly identical despite morphological dissimilarity, and phylogenetic analyses resolved them to a position in Limosella. In phylogenetic trees and comparisons of species-specific sequence polymorphisms, the Marion Island specimens were closest to a clade comprising Limosella aquatica L., L. curdieana F.Muell. and L. major Diels for ITS and closest to L. australis for the plastid loci. Cytonuclear discordance suggests a history of hybridization or introgression, which may have consequences for morphological variability and ecological adaptation.