Phylogenetic relationships among the ciliate arthrodontous mosses: evidence from chloroplast and nuclear DNA sequences

Parsimony and maximum likelihood analyses of combined trnL (UAA) 5 t exon - trnF (GAA) and rps4 exon cpDNA, and 18S nrDNA sequences of 60 arthrodontous moss taxa indicate strong support for the monophyly of a clade containing the Splachnineae, Orthotrichineae, and diplolepideous alternate sub-orders. A clade including the Splachnineae, Meesiaceae and Leptobryum (Bryaceae) is similarly well supported and forms the sister group to a clade comprising the Orthotrichineae and the other diplolepideous alternate mosses. Within this latter clade a number of weil supported lineages are identified, but relationships among these remain poorly resolved. These analyses indicate that the Splachnaceous and Orthotrichaceous peristomes have been independently derived from an ancestral 'perfect' bryoid peristome