We performed a molecular phylogenetic study based on the nuclear ribosomal internal and external transcribed spacer (ITS and ETS). Thirty-one annual Medicago species were included in the study, representing more than half of the genus and 85% of the annuals of the genus. Major incongruences were found between phylogenetic relationships and morphological classification of the genus. Morphological and cytological traits were mapped onto the phylogeny. The most parsimonious reconstruction suggested an ancestral spiny state and a recurrent transition from spiny to spineless state. From the ancestral state of 2n=16, three loss events of chromosomes must have occurred leading to the same specific number of 14 chromosomes whereas species having 30 chromosomes form a monophyletic clade.
Copyright 1998 Academic Press.