Objective To establish the phylogeny of longli, Dimocarpus confinis, based on its nuclear encoded internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequences.
Method The ITS sequences of 27 genera and 62 species of Sapindaceae were collected to examine the relationship among longli, longan (Dimocarpus longan) and litchi (Litchi chinensis).
Result The genera in Sapindaceae family could be clearly classified by ITS sequence. The homology among the genera was(91.0±4.4)%, and among the species (96.3±2.8)%. The ITS sequence homology between longli and longan or litchi was 92%, which was lower than that between longan and litchi at 93% but higher than that between longli and rambutan (Nephelium lappaceum L.) at 91%. Four and half percent of the longli ITS sequence differed from those of longan and litchi. The differences were mainly changing between T and C or A and G that accounted for 56.5% of the total. Based on the phylogenetic tree of rambutan as the outgroup, the evolution of longli was shown to be the earliest to branch out, followed by litchi and longan.
Conclusion The result suggested classifying longli as a separate genus in the family.
DownLoad: