Chloroplast DNA diversity in brinjal eggplant (Solanum melongena L.) and related species

Chloroplast DNA (cpDNA) samples of brinjal eggplant (S. melongena) and representative related species including S. incanum sensu lato (or S. campylacanthum sensu stricto), S. lichtensteinii, S. marginatum, S. macrocarpon, S. anguivi and S. aethiopicum and also S. nigrum as an outgroup taxon, were digested by 14 restriction enzymes and analyzed by using electrophoresis and a cpDNA probe. All the species used here were clearly separated in the cpDNA analysis, except the pair S. anguivi and S. aethiopicum. From the dendrogram constructed by the unweighted pair-group method, it is suggested that S. incanum is the closest to S. melongena and the next closest species is S. macrocarpon followed by S. aethiopicum (and S. anguivi), S. lichtensteinii, S. marginatum and finally the outgroup taxon S. nigrum. The tree derived by the neighbour-joining method suggests phyletic relationships that agree with those indicated by crossability and seed coat anatomy, but conflict with conventional classifications based on morphology. In particular, members of sections Oliganthes and Melongena are not separated and no cpDNA variation was found within either of the morphologically diverse cultigens, S. aethiopicum and S. melongena. Paradoxically, the morphologically similar species S. incanum, S. lichtensteinii and S. marginatum have diverged greatly in their cpDNA. The significance of these results is discussed. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.