Grafals Nieves, Karlyn

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    DNA barcoding of Adiantum (Pteridaceae: Vittarioideae) in Puerto Rico
    (2022-05-20) Grafals Nieves, Karlyn; van Ee, Benjamin; College of Arts and Sciences - Sciences; Siritunga, Dimuth; Vélez-Gavilán, Jeanine; Department of Biology; Colón-Ramírez, Silvestre
    Adiantum L. (Pteridaceae), commonly known as the “maidenhair ferns,” is one of the more readily recognized genera of ferns. It includes species that are native to the Caribbean islands, with 15 species reported from Puerto Rico. The objective of this study was to use DNA sequence data to test the taxonomic hypotheses regarding the species of Adiantum reported for Puerto Rico. For this study, field sampling was focused on the western part of the island, and a total of 112 specimens representing ten different taxa were collected. The chloroplast markers trnL-F and rbcL were used to construct a library of DNA barcode sequences of Adiantum from western Puerto Rico. By conducting BLAST searches, the trnL-F marker was able to successfully determine specimens of six out of ten taxa for which data were generated, and was inconclusive for four. For the nine taxa for which rbcL sequences were obtained, the BLAST search method was successful for three, partially successful for three, and inconclusive for three. Using newly-generated sequences combined with available accessions in GenBank, Bayesian phylogenetic analyses were conducted for both markers. Phylogenies were able to resolve and distinguish all sampled taxa, with the exception that sequences of A. latifolium and A. ×variopinnatum were recovered as an unresolved polytomy with A. petiolatum nested within it. The presence of A. ×variopinnatum on Puerto Rico is reported for the first time. The molecular data indicate that what has previously been determined as A. pyramidale in Jamaica, Cuba, Hispaniola, and Puerto Rico likely represents at least two distinct species, based on data from Cuba and Puerto Rico. This work reports preliminary findings that review the taxonomy and hybridization of Adiantum in the Caribbean.