Six independent losses of the chloroplast DNA rpl2 intron in dicotyledons: molecular and phylogenetic implications

Abstract

Previous studies have shown that in several angiosperms the chloroplast gene rpl2, encoding ribosomal protein L2, is interrupted by an intron, but that in spinach Spinacia oleracea (Caryophyllales) this intron has been lost. The authors have determined the distribution of the rpl2 intron for 390 species representing 116 angiosperm families. -from Authors