Université de Montréal
M.Sc. candidate
Supervisor: Luc Brouillet
Michel Labrecque
Start: 2010-09-01
End: 2013-08-01

Project

Molecular phylogeny of Salix L. (Salicaceae) in North America
Fast growing willows (Salix sp.) are increasingly used in Europe and North America for biomass production and other environmental applications. However, the development of molecular tools is recent. The phylogeny of willows is incomplete, which slows down the selection of suitable native species and the development of improvement programs. The genus Salix includes approximately 500 species worldwide, and these are mainly located in temperate and cold regions of the Northern Hemisphere. We gathered leaf material from all 121 willows of North America (species native and introduced). We developed three molecular tools-.‐methods: DNA extraction, SSR markers, and nuclear genes. We sequenced two chloroplast genes matK and rbcL and the ITS region. Phylogenetic analyses were carried out using parsimony, maximum likelihood and Bayesian approaches. The species tree provides strong support for a division of the genus into two subgenera, Salix and Vetrix. Sixteen species have ambiguous positions. A complete molecular phylogeny of American willows has been established. It needs to be confirmed and further resolved using other molecular data. Nonetheless, the genus clearly has two clades.

Keywords

Salix, phylogénie moléculaire, classification, Salicaceae, Amérique du Nord, systématique, biogéographie

Publications

1- Phylogenetic Relationships of American Willows (Salix L., Salicaceae)
Aurélien Lauron-Moreau, Frédéric E. Pitre, George W. Argus, Michel Labrecque, Luc Brouillet
2015 PLOS ONE

2- Microsatellite Markers of Willow Species and Characterization of 11 Polymorphic Microsatellites for Salix eriocephala (Salicaceae), a Potential Native Species for Biomass Production in Canada
Lauron-Moreau, Aurélien, Frédéric Pitre, Luc Brouillet, Michel Labrecque
2013 Plants