Molecular characterization of phylogeneticrelationships in Fritillaria species inferred from chloroplast trnL-trnFsequences

The genus Fritillaria embraces about 165 taxa in the family Liliaceae. In this study, the molecular phylogenetic relationships between 10 Fritillaria taxa were presented. Fritillaria spp. were collected from their natural habitats, and specimens with different morphological features were obtained via selective breeding. Specimens with the desired characters were presented as promising candidate cultivars for ornamental use. Phylogenetic analysis was based on DNA sequences of the chloroplast trnL-trnF region. The phylogeny was constructed using the neighbor joining, maximum parsimony, maximum likelihood, and Bayesian inference methods. The data showed that the examined Fritillaria spp. were evidently diverged into 2 Fritillaria subgenera. Members of the subgenus Fritillaria formed one clade while the other clade contained the subgenera Theresia and Petilium. Separation within the latter clade was strongly supported with bootstrap values, whereas resolution within the subgenus Fritillaria remained ambiguous. This analysis revealed the feasibility of the chloroplast trnL-trnF region DNA sequence for phylogeny of the Fritillaria species. Our study is the first phylogenetic analysis in Fritillaria spp. based on the trnL-trnF region. Fingerprint data of these cultivars would be a valuable source for their identification and for the generation of new cultivars in future.