Molecular Phylogeny and Genome Size in European Lilies (Genus Lilium, Liliaceae)

Several European lilies populations representing 10 species belonging to section Liriotypus and section Martagon were studied for molecular phylogeny (27 populations) and DNA amount (24 populations) Different Lilium sections were easily differentiated by ITS and rpS4-trnT-trnL sequences and genome size assessments, while an extremely low genetic differentiation was detected at a subsectional level Most of the variability concentrates on polymorphic sites that have not reached fixation, which considerably complicates the selection of an adequate analysis method Geographical and ecological variations of genome size and ITS sequences within species were noticeable for several Lilium representatives