Relationships of the Wollemi Pine (Wollemia nobilis) and a molecular phylogeny of the Araucariaceae

Abstract

Sequences were obtained for the rbcL gene from chloroplast DNA of the newly discovered Australian conifer Wollemia nobilis (Araucariaceae), 5 species of Araucaria and 4 species of Agathis. Phylogenetic analysis of our new data and other available sequences indicate that 1) Araucariaceae is monophyletic; 2) Agathis and Araucaria are both monophyletic; 3) Wollemia is the sister group to Agathis; 4) the Pinaceae are the sister group to all other conifers, although the monophyly of the conifers is not unequivocally demonstrated. The utility of rbcL for deriving a robust phylogeny of the Araucariaceae and of the conifers is discussed.