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Novel DNA sequences of the endangered Florida Semaphore cactus

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Date Issued:
1996
Summary:
The population decline in the Florida Semaphore cactus, Opuntia corallicola, due to grazing by the moth, Cactoblastus cactorum, has placed this plant species on the verge of extinction in the Florida Keys. Although this semaphore cactus is endemic to Florida, it was mis-named as an almost uncommon Jamaican species (Opuntia spinosissima) in the 1970s. Our goal was to provide genetic data to distinguish these cacti with nuclear and chloropast genes previously used in other plant phylogenetic analyses. Phylogenetic relationships were inferred from nucleotide sequence variation in both the Leucine-Phenylalanine transfer RNA intergenic spacer (trnL-trnF) and ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase-oxygenase (rbcL) genes of cactus chloropast DNA. While the trnL-trnF gene sequence data could only group cacti at the genus level, it was the data from the rbcL gene which show speciation and differences between the Florida Semaphore cactus, Opuntia corallicola, and the Jamaican species, Opuntia spinosissima. Sequence data from the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions of nuclear DNA were not available due to the divergence of the cactus ITS region from the universal primers sequences used to initiate the polymerase chain reaction (PCR).
Title: Novel DNA sequences of the endangered Florida Semaphore cactus.
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Name(s): Dougherty, Christopher James.
Florida Atlantic University, Degree grantor
Binninger, David, Thesis advisor
Type of Resource: text
Genre: Electronic Thesis Or Dissertation
Issuance: monographic
Date Issued: 1996
Publisher: Florida Atlantic University
Place of Publication: Boca Raton, Fla.
Physical Form: application/pdf
Extent: 108 p.
Language(s): English
Summary: The population decline in the Florida Semaphore cactus, Opuntia corallicola, due to grazing by the moth, Cactoblastus cactorum, has placed this plant species on the verge of extinction in the Florida Keys. Although this semaphore cactus is endemic to Florida, it was mis-named as an almost uncommon Jamaican species (Opuntia spinosissima) in the 1970s. Our goal was to provide genetic data to distinguish these cacti with nuclear and chloropast genes previously used in other plant phylogenetic analyses. Phylogenetic relationships were inferred from nucleotide sequence variation in both the Leucine-Phenylalanine transfer RNA intergenic spacer (trnL-trnF) and ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase-oxygenase (rbcL) genes of cactus chloropast DNA. While the trnL-trnF gene sequence data could only group cacti at the genus level, it was the data from the rbcL gene which show speciation and differences between the Florida Semaphore cactus, Opuntia corallicola, and the Jamaican species, Opuntia spinosissima. Sequence data from the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions of nuclear DNA were not available due to the divergence of the cactus ITS region from the universal primers sequences used to initiate the polymerase chain reaction (PCR).
Identifier: 9780591159929 (isbn), 15335 (digitool), FADT15335 (IID), fau:12103 (fedora)
Collection: FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection
Note(s): Thesis (M.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 1996.
Charles E. Schmidt College of Science
Subject(s): Cactus--Classification
Plant cytotaxonomy
Opuntia
Held by: Florida Atlantic University Libraries
Persistent Link to This Record: http://purl.flvc.org/fcla/dt/15335
Sublocation: Digital Library
Use and Reproduction: Copyright © is held by the author with permission granted to Florida Atlantic University to digitize, archive and distribute this item for non-profit research and educational purposes. Any reuse of this item in excess of fair use or other copyright exemptions requires permission of the copyright holder.
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Host Institution: FAU
Is Part of Series: Florida Atlantic University Digital Library Collections.