A DNA microsatellite based phylogeny of Glycine species native to Australia David Holznagel Whitman College Walla Walla, WA 99362

Abstract

Eleven distinct microsatellite loci were compared among six wild perennial species of Glycine subgenus Glycine native to Australia, as well as in the domesticated soybean, Glycine max (subgenus Soja ). This comparison was undertaken in order to gain a better understanding of the relationships among these species through the creation of an evolutionary phylogeny based on these microsatellite data. Wild species investigated include G. albicans, G. clandestina, G. hirticaulis, G. lactovirens, G. latrobeana, and G. tomentella. Microsatellite loci were selectively amplified using PCR. Amplification products were differentiated according to molecular weight using gel electrophoresis and visualization under UV light through ethidium bromide staining. Algorithmic analysis using the numerical taxonomy and multivariate analysis system (NTSYS) produced a phylogenetic dendrogram illustrating evolutionary relationships of test species which is compared here with other methods of assigning phylogenetic relationships. The taxonomic groupings suggested by this study are consistent with other major methods of assigning phylogenetic relatedness such as morphological comparison, cross-breeding, and chloroplast DNA sequence comparison.

Research supervisor: Dr. Rod Peakall
CSIRO
Australian National University
Canberra, Australia