Molecular Insight on Phylogeny and Systematics of the Narrowly Endemic Centaurea bingoelensis (Asteraceae)

Centaurea L. is a genus that is systematically discussed and whose taxonomic issues need to be clarified in the light of molecular techniques developed in recent years. This study aims to contribute taxonomically in molecular terms by studying the morphological and phylogenetic relationships of Centaurea bingoelensis. This limited, endemic species grows naturally in the Bingöl province of Türkiye. A phylogenetic analysis based on the molecular marker ITS, which is the most preferred in evolutionary studies and found in nuclear DNA, has been proposed as a molecular marker of C. bingoelensis , an endemic plant in Türkiye, and has not yet been molecularly identified. For this purpose, PCR amplification of the fragment mentioned above was performed, followed by direct sequencing, analysis of nucleotide variation, and phylogenetic analysis with different species. The Centaurea species identified so far have been shown to have three main distinct major clades and the specific phylogenetic methods used (NJ, ML, MP) and the ITS nucleotide sequences analyzed revealed a close phylogenetic relationship between C. bingoelensis and C. spectabilis. For a more accurate phylogenetic classification of this species within the Asteraceae family, their close relationships were probed using similar sequences from the GenBank Database. Phylogenetic analysis of C. bingoelensis specimens using ITS sequences reveals their position in the Asteraceae family and molecular support for these specimens being new species as proposed. Although morphologically similar to C. fenzlii and C. obtusifolia, the remarkable point of our study is that C. bingoelensis is phylogenetically closer to C. spectabilis. This work has exciting implications for understanding the evolution and diversification of the genus Centaurea. In addition, the results of this study show that the samples identified as Centaurea species in Türkiye are still not entirely determined genetically.