Phylogenetic relationship ofDiospyros kaki(persimmon) toDiospyrosspp. (Ebenaceae) of Thailand and four temperate zoneDiospyrosspp. from an analysis of RFLP variation in amplified cpDNA

The relationships among 17 Diospyros species from Thailand, with particular emphasis on the relationship of these species to temperate Diospyros species, including Diospyros kaki, were studied, using 81 cpDNA restriction site mutations detected in the 3.2- and 2.1-kb regions of amplified cpDNA and six different length mutations detected in the 2.1-kb region of amplified cpDNA. Parsimony and neighbor-joining analyses were conducted to identify relationships among species. Three temperate zone species, D. kaki, Diospyros lotus, and Diospyros virginiana, were monophyletic with one subtropical species, Diospyros ehretioides, suggesting a close evolutionary relationship among them. An immediate common progenitor for D. kaki and D. virginiana is suggested from cpDNA homology and the polyploidized karyotypes of both species. Our results did not support Ng's hypothesis that Diospyros glandulosa (synonym Diospyros roxburghii) is the progenitor of D. kaki. Two species, Diospyros rhodocalyx and Diospyros confertiflora, were so distant from the remaining species that additional study is needed to determine whether they should be placed in the same genus.Key words: cpDNA, Diospyros, PCR, phylogeny, persimmon, RFLP, taxonomy.