Pseudognaphalium aldunateoides de nuevo bajo Gnaphalium (Compositae: Gnaphalieae)

Generic classification of some members of the tribe Gnaphalieae (Compositae) and in particular the generic delimitation of the old genus Gnaphalium has been long problematic. The genus Pseudognaphalium was first split from Gnaphalium based on morphology and later supported by molecular phylogenies. However, the generic identity of some species remains doubtful. Here we provide a morphological study of Pseudognaphalium aldunateoides, which is compared with the type species of Gnaphalium (Gnaphalium uliginosum) and Pseudognaphalium (Gnaphalium oxyphyllum). We also include the three species in a nuclear ribosomal DNA (nrDNA) and a plastid (cpDNA) molecular phylogeny of the tribe Gnaphalieae. Our results show that P. aldunateoides has a dimorphic pappus, character not present in the genus Pseudognaphalium but characteristic of the genus Gnaphalium. It also shows a stereome with intermediate features between the undivided stereome typical of Gnaphalium and the fenestrated stereome typical of Pseudognaphalium. In the nrDNA and the cpDNA trees, P. aldunateoides is placed within the Gnaphalium s. str. clade, not closely related to Pseudognaphalium. With all these evidence, we conclude that P. aldunateoides is correctly placed in Gnaphalium.La clasificación genérica de varios miembros de la tribu Gnaphalieae (Compositae) y en particular la delimitación genérica del antiguo género Gnaphalium ha sido problemática durante mucho tiempo. El género Pseudognaphalium fue escindido de Gnaphalium por su morfología lo que después fue apoyado por filogenias moleculares. Sin embargo, la identidad genérica de algunas especies todavía es dudosa. Aquí aportamos un estudio morfológico de Pseudognaphalium aldunateoides, que es comparado con las especies tipo de los géneros Gnaphalium (Gnaphalium uliginosum) y Pseudognaphalium (Gnaphalium oxyphyllum). También hemos incluido estas tres especies en filogenias moleculares de la tribu Gnaphalieae basadas en ADN ribosómico nuclear y ADN cloroplástico. Nuestros resultados muestran que P. aldunateoides tiene el vilano dimórfico, carácter que no está presente en el género Pseudognaphalium pero que, sin embargo, es característico del género Gnaphalium. Además, su estereoma muestra características intermedias entre el estereoma no dividido típico del género Gnaphalium y el estereoma fenestrado típico del género Pseudognaphalium. En ambas filogenias, P. aldunateoides se sitúa dentro del clado Gnaphalium s. str., no próximamente emparentado con Pseudognaphalium. Con todas estas evidencias concluimos que P. aldunateoides se clasifica correctamente dentro de Gnaphalium

Dominance rank but not body size influences female reproductive success in mountain gorillas

According to life history theory, natural selection has shaped trade-offs for allocating energy among growth, reproduction and maintenance to maximize individual fitness. In social mammals body size and dominance rank are two key variables believed to influence female reproductive success. However, few studies have examined these variables together, particularly in long-lived species. Previous studies found that female dominance rank correlates with reproductive success in mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei), which is surprising given they have weak dominance relationships and experience seemingly low levels of feeding competition. It is not currently known whether this relationship is primarily driven by a positive correlation between rank and body size. We used the non-invasive parallel laser method to measure two body size variables (back breadth and body length) of 34 wild adult female mountain gorillas, together with long-term dominance and demography data to investigate the interrelationships among body size, dominance rank and two measures of female reproductive success (inter-birth interval N = 29 and infant mortality N = 64). Using linear mixed models, we found no support for body size to be significantly correlated with dominance rank or female reproductive success. Higher-ranking females had significantly shorter inter-birth intervals than lower-ranking ones, but dominance rank was not significantly correlated with infant mortality. Our results suggest that female dominance rank is primarily determined by factors other than linear body dimensions and that high rank provides benefits even in species with weak dominance relationships and abundant year-round food resources. Future studies should focus on the mechanisms behind heterogeneity in female body size in relation to trade-offs in allocating energy to growth, maintenance and lifetime reproductive success

Claves para acreditar una técnica de PCR : caso práctico: Salmonella spp. en leche y productos lácteos

La validación del protocolo para la detección de Salmonella spp por la técnica de la PCR y su posterior comprobación mediante los controles de aseguramiento de la calidad, nos ha permitido obtener la acreditación en una técnica que ofrece la posibilidad a nuestros clientes de obtener resultados en poco tiempo

Claves para acreditar una técnica de PCR : caso práctico: Salmonella spp. en leche y productos lácteos

La validación del protocolo para la detección de Salmonella spp por la técnica de la PCR y su posterior comprobación mediante los controles de aseguramiento de la calidad, nos ha permitido obtener la acreditación en una técnica que ofrece la posibilidad a nuestros clientes de obtener resultados en poco tiempo

Disentangling relationships among eastern Mediterranean Cymbalaria including description of a novel species from the southern Peloponnese (Greece)

The eastern Mediterranean basin hosts a remarkably high plant diversity. Historical connections between currently isolated areas across the Aegean region and long-distance dispersal events have been invoked to explain current distribution patterns of species. According to most recent treatments, at least two Cymbalaria species occur in this area, Cymbalaria microcalyx and C. longipes. The former comprises several intraspecific taxa, treated at different ranks by different authors based on morphological data, evidencing the need of a taxonomic revision. Additionally, some populations of C. microcalyx show exclusive morphological characters that do not match any described taxon. Here, we aim to shed light on the systematics of eastern Mediterranean Cymbalaria and to propose a classification informed by various sources of evidence. We performed molecular phylogenetic analyses using ITS, 3’ETS, ndhF and rpl32-trnL sequences and estimated the ploidy level of some taxa performing relative genome size measures. Molecular data combined with morphology support the division of traditionally delimited C. microcalyx into C. acutiloba, C. microcalyx and C. minor, corresponding to well-delimited nrDNA lineages. Furthermore, we propose to combine C. microcalyx subsp. paradoxa at the species level. A group of specimens previously thought to belong to Cymbalaria microcalyx constitute a well-defined phylogenetic and morphological entity and are described here as a new species, Cymbalaria spetae. Cymbalaria longipes is non-monophyletic, but characterized by being glabrous and diploid, unlike other eastern species. The nrDNA data suggest at least two dispersals from the mainland to the Aegean Islands, potentially facilitated by marine regressions. © 2021, The Author(s)

How many of Cassini anagrams should there be? Molecular systematics and phylogenetic relationships in the Filago group (Asteraceae, Gnaphalieae), with special focus on the genus Filago.

19 p., Fot.col.; Supplementary Material: Figures S1–S4 are available in the free Electronic Supplement to the online version of this article (http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/iapt/tax).[EN] The Filago group (Asteraceae, Gnaphalieae) comprises eleven genera, mainly distributed in Eurasia, northern Africa and northern America: Ancistrocarphus, Bombycilaena, Chamaepus, Cymbolaena, Evacidium, Evax, Filago, Logfia, Micropus, Psilocarphus and Stylocline. The main morphological character that defines the group is that the receptacular paleae subtend, and more or less enclose, the female florets. The aims of this work are, with the use of three chloroplast DNA regions (rpl32-trnL intergenic spacer, trnL intron, and trnL-trnF intergenic spacer) and two nuclear DNA regions (ITS, ETS), to test whether the Filago group is monophyletic; to place its members within Gnaphalieae using a broad sampling of the tribe; and to investigate in detail the phylogenetic relationships among the Old World members of the Filago group and provide some new insight into the generic circumscription and infrageneric classification based on natural entities. Our results do not show statistical support for a monophyletic Filago group. The traditional generic circumscription of most of the genera, as well as the traditional infrageneric classification of the genus Filago, do not correlate with the inferred phylogenetic relationships. A monophyletic circumscription of Filago and a new subgeneric treatment for this genus are proposed, this involving description of a new subgenus (Filago subg. Crocidion Andrés-Sánchez & Galbany, subg. nov.) and four new combinations (Filago subg. Pseudevax (DC.) Andrés-Sánchez & Galbany, comb. et stat. nov.; Filago discolor (DC.) Andrés-Sánchez & Galbany, comb. nov.; Filago gaditana (Pau) Andrés-Sánchez & Galbany, comb. et stat. nov. and Filago griffithii (A. Gray) Andrés-Sánchez & Galbany, comb. nov.). The genera Cymbolaena, Evacidium and Evax are synonymised under Filago. Several incongruences found between chloroplast and nuclear DNA sequence analyses, as well as a notable degree of intraspecific sequence variation in all regions sequenced are documented and discussed.Peer reviewe