Chloroplast rps16 intron phylogeny of the tribe Sileneae (Caryophyllaceae)

Intron sequences of the chloroplast gene rps16 from 46 species were used to examine phylogenetic relationships indicated by nrDNA ITS sequence variation in the tribe Sileneae (Caryophyllacaeae, Caryophylloideae). This region has previously not been utilized for phylogenetic purposes but the results presented here suggest that it is a consistent and valuable complement to the ITS sequences. The rps16 intron trees are largely congruent with the ITS trees. All the major hypotheses suggested by the ITS data are supported, often at similar bootstrap levels. The joint usage of rps16 intron and ITS sequences provides a powerful tool for resolving many of the difficult taxonomic issues in the tribe Sileneae.