SSK-DNA-Project 2005
© Ingrid&Rainer Mecklenburg
SSK-DNA-Project 2005
The South American cacti of the tribe Trichocereeae comprise several species rich and from cacti breeders beloved genera (e.g. Gymnocalycium, Echinopsis, Rebutia, Sulcorebutia and Weingartia). During this project we investigated the phylogenetic relationships between these genera based on DNA sequence data (Ritz et. al. 2007).
Full text: American Journal of Botany
SSK Contact: Dr. Christiane Ritz Christiane.Ritz@senckenberg.de
The main results are:
- The genus Rebutia is not monophyletic, because Rebutia s.s. is clearly separated from Aylostera and Mediolobivia.
- The genera Sulcorebutia, Weingartia and Cintia are very closely related.
- The genera Gymnocalycium and Weingartia are not closely related.
- The cephalia-bearing cacti (e.g. Arrojadoa, Coleocephalocereus, Micranthocereus, Melocactus, Discocactus) from the mountain regions of northeastern Brazil are closely related and clearly separated from the Andean cacti.
- This separation between Andean and North-eastern Brazilian cacti might have originated during the Andean uplift causing marine transgressions on the South American continent in the Miocene.
This project was conducted in collaboration with the Institute of Systematic Botany, University of Jena, Germany. It was financed by the members of the SSK.
This project was financed by the members of the SSK and bounties of sponsors. It was financially supported by the Freistaat Thüringen (Free State of Thuringia), Germany. The Institute of Systematic Botany, University of Jena, Germany, shared in the costs accruing.
Lobivia chrysochete
Lobivia formosa
Corryocactus tarijensis
All photos on this Website © Ingrid&Rainer Mecklenburg
Weingartia neocumingii
Rebutia supthutiana
Gymnocalycium carminathum
We used the nomenclature of Anderson (2005)ANDERSON, E. F. 2005. Das große Kakteenlexikon. Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart., except for the genus Weingartia for which we followed Augustin and Hentzschel (2002) AUGUSTIN, K. und G. HENTZSCHEL. 2002. Die Gattung Weingartia Werdermann. Gymnocalycium 15: 453-472.. ('Name in current usage')
Voucher specimens are deposited in the succulent collection of the Botanic Garden of the University of Jena. Plants were either collected as seeds from the original locations and grown in greenhouses of members of SSK according to the CITES instructions; taken from the succulent collection of the Botanic Garden Jena (BGJ); bought from the succulent breeders Haage (Erfurt, Germany) or Uhlig (Kernen, Germany); or donated by Knebel (Bad Ems, Germany), Köhres (Erzhausen, Germany), or Piltz (Düren, Germany).
