Inferring species relationships among Camellia chrysanthoides and its closely related species for developing conservation strategies

Abstract Accurate species classification is important for developing conservation strategies for endangered species. Camellia chrysanthoides and its closely related species are currently threatened. However, the taxonomy of these species is complex and contentious. A total of 87 individuals from nine populations of C. chrysanthoides and its close relatives were collected and analyzed using two nuclear genes ( PAL and waxy ) and a chloroplast DNA fragment. Molecular and morphological evidence demonstrates that C. chrysanthoides and C. micrantha share floral traits and nuclear and chloroplast haplotypes, suggesting that they should be treated as a single species. Our nuclear results indicated that C. parvipetala is genetically close to C. chrysanthoides and C. micrantha . A barrier to gene flow between C. chrysanthoides and C. micrantha populations and the high number of private nuclear haplotypes in C. parvipetala suggest that C. chrysanthoides , C. micrantha and C. parvipetala should be recognized as three independent conservation units.