Abstract.–Recent molecular
phylogenetic studies of polyploid plants have successfully clarified
complex patterns of reticulate evolution. In this study of Elymus repens, an allohexaploid
member of the wheat tribe Triticeae, chloroplast and nuclear DNA data
reveal an extreme reticulate pattern, revealing at least five distinct
gene lineages coexisting within the species, acquired through a
possible combination of allohexaploidy and introgression from both
within and beyond the Triticeae. Earlier cytogenetic studies of E. repens suggested that Hordeum (genome H) and Pseudoroegneria (St) were genome donors to E. repens. Chloroplast DNA
data presented here (from the rpoA gene and from the region between
trnT and trnF) identify three potential maternal genome donors (Pseudoroegneria, Thinopyrum, and Dasypyrum), and information from
previous molecular work suggests that, of these, Pseudoroegneria is the most likely
maternal donor. Nuclear starch synthase gene data indicate that
both Hordeum and Pseudoroegneria have contributed to
the nuclear genome of E. repens,
in agreement with cytogenetic data. However, these data also show
unexpected contributions from Taeniatherum,
and from two additional donors of unknown identity. One of the
sequences of unknown origin falls within the Triticeae, but is not
closely associated with any of the sampled diploid genera. The
second falls outside of the clade containing Triticeae and its outgroup
Bromus, suggesting the
acquisition of genetic material from a surprisingly divergent
source. Bias toward the amplification of certain starch synthase
variants has complicated attempts to thoroughly sample from within
individuals, but the data clearly indicate a complex pattern of
reticulate evolution, consistent not only with allohexaploidy, but also
with introgression from unexpectedly divergent sources.