Morphological evolution in the mullberry family (Moraceae)

The mulberry family Moraceae comprises 37 genera and approximately 1,100 species distributed throughout tropical and temperate regions worldwide. Moraceae exhibit a complex array of inflorescence architectures, breeding systems, and pollination syndromes, which forms the basis of traditional taxonomic classification. However, morphologically based classification conflicts with evolutionary relationships proposed by molecular phylogenetics. In this study we assembled a morphological character matrix for analysis separately and in combination with existing molecular data. We evaluated 81 vegetative, reproductive, and wood anatomical characters for 94 species representing nearly all Moraceae genera. Using parsimony and Bayesian methods, these characters were evaluated with respect to ndhF chloroplast and 26S nuclear DNA sequences. Topological comparisons tested whether opposing classification schemes are more or less supported by the data. Results did not support any classification of Mor...

桑科（Moraceae）包含37属约1100种植物，广泛分布于全球热带及温带地区。桑科植物具有复杂多样的花序结构、繁殖系统及传粉综合征，这些特征构成了传统分类学分类的基础。然而，基于形态学的分类与分子系统发育学提出的进化关系存在冲突。本研究构建了一个形态特征矩阵，分别进行分析，并与已有的分子数据结合分析。我们对代表桑科几乎所有属的94个物种的81个营养、繁殖及木材解剖特征进行了评估。采用简约法和贝叶斯方法，结合ndhF叶绿体序列及26S核DNA序列对这些特征进行了评估。拓扑比较检验了对立的分类方案在数据支持度上的差异。结果不支持任何关于桑科的分类……