Species and Genetic Diversity of Draba : Phylogeny and Phylogeography

Diese Arbeit fasst meine Arbeit auf dem Phylogeographie und Phylogenie der größte Gattung in der Brassicaceae, Draba. Es gibt über 370 Draba Arten, weltweit verteilt sind (mit Ausnahme von Australien, alle Tiefland südlichen Asien, Afrika und alle abzüglich der Atlas-Gebirge) in Ökosystemen, die extremen Höhen und Breiten sind. Draba ist ein hervorragendes Modell für die Erforschung der globalen Migration von Arten im alpinen/sauren Lebensräume, die derzeit oder in der Vergangenheit relativ stetigen Pfaden der großen Bergregionen und Polarregionen auftreten. Artenreichtum Daten erhoben und Arten Verteilungsmuster verglichen wurden. Hier präsentieren Ich die erste geograsche Verteilung Zusammenstellung der gesamten Gattung auf globaler Ebene mit einer Anwesenheit/Abwesenheit Matrix und Karten mit ArcView 9 generiert. Chloroplast und nukleare Sequenzen wurden für 580 Proben aus Blattmaterial von Herbaria gesammelt werden. Molekulare evolutionären Methoden zur Ableitung Stammbäume und Gen-Stammbäume verwendet wurden. Diese Arbeit liefert die erste erfolgreiche Gattung - große Phylogenie der Draba, und konnte drei wichtige Kerne Draba, die geographischen Regionen entsprechen, zu identizieren. Ich habe auch festgestellt Arten, die historisch gesehen haben Draba, sind nicht Teil der Kern und vorschlagen, aber sie umbenannt werden. Ich habe unter welchen Arten von Umständen eine Art entwickelt, erforscht, mit der Diskussion der Auswirkungen von Umweltfaktoren auf die Migrationspolitik der Linien Muster im Laufe der Zeit. Ich untersucht, warum die Gattung Draba zu sein scheint mehr artenreicher als andere, und festgestellt, dass seine bevorzugte Lebensraum der Höhenlage und Breite ihrer Fähigkeit zur Anpassung beeinusst haben, und die betroffenen Speziation und Polyploidisierung bewerten. Die Speziation Preise berechnet wurden, und die genetische Mutation Preise wurden korreliert mit der Zeit, in der ich in der Lage, eine Schätzung des Alters der Kern Draba Arten machen zu 2,3 Millionen Jahre alt sein und zuletzt wichen von ihren engsten Vorfahren zwischen 11 und 18 mya. Die Wanderrouten sind zahlreiche globale Muster gefolgt, aber speziell kann mit Eiszeit-Zyklen korreliert während des Pleistozän. Draba angepasst hat, um am Rande dieser Ökosysteme durch die Entwicklung solcher reproduktiven Verhalten als asexuell Saatgut Entwicklung (Apomixis), Polyploidisierung, Selbstbefruchtung zu überleben, und Hybridisierung. Darüber hinaus ist eine langjährige Hypothese über die Entstehung einer Gattung, die die Position der höchsten Vielfalt, sowohl bei der Zahl der Arten in einem Gebiet und in den entsprechenden genetischen Vielfalt, auch ist die gleiche wie ihre Herkunft. Im Falle von Draba, habe ich festgestellt, dass der Bereich der höchsten genetischen Vielfalt mit den Herkunftsregionen, die hier festgestellt hat, zwischen dem Kaukasus und in Zentralasien Berge werden korreliert ist, aber nicht den Bereich der höchsten Arten (alpha) Vielfalt oder den Reichtum, die als den zentralen Rocky Mountains identiziert wurde. Dies steht im Widerspruch zu den anerkannten Theorie, dass die Identizierung der Vielfalt 'hot-spots' in die Bemühungen um die Erhaltung anzu greifen, ist durch die Artenzahlen, wenn hier zeigen wir die genetische Vielfalt ist auch entscheidend für die Erhaltung von Arten

A Morphological Analysis of a Hybrid Swarm of Native \u3ci\u3eUlmus rubra\u3c/i\u3e and Introduced \u3ci\u3eU. pumila\u3c/i\u3e (Ulmaceae) in Southeastern Nebraska

The parental species and hybrid swarm of native Ulmus rubra Muhl. and the introduced, naturalized and weedy U. pumila L. were investigated in a 65-km transect in Lancaster, Saunders, and Butler counties in Nebraska. Thirty-two trees of U. rubra, 32 of U. pumila, and 50 of the hybrid swarm were sampled for leaves and buds and subsampled for flowers and fruits. Leaves were measured for petiole length, blade length, width, primary and secondary teeth per cm, number of secondary teeth per primary tooth, and texture. Buds were scored for color and distribution of trichomes. Flowers were sampled for stamen counts and pollen size. Fruits were measured for length, width, and color and distribution of trichomes. Statistically significant differences (PUlmus × intermedia Elowsky

Evidence of Rock Kangaroo Seed Dispersal via Faecal Seed Storage in a Tropical Monsoon Community

While some of the plant species of the ‘Sandstone Country’ along the escarpment of western Arnhem Land produce fleshy fruits and appear to rely on biotic methods of seed dispersal, little is known about the methods by which this is achieved – and few potential dispersers co-occur in the sandstone outcrop communities. For the present study, scat collections were made on outcrops in the northeastern area of Kakadu National Park with the hope of uncovering relationships between local frugivores and fruit-producers, and providing evidence for seasonal storage of mammal-dispersed seeds in scat prior to germination. The goals of the present project were to collect and identify sandstone community macropod scat, determine the identity of seeds present in the scat, and provide support for the role of browser/grazer macropods as effective seed dispersers via faecal seed storage in an otherwise disperser-poor local fauna. Scat containing seeds was identified as belonging to the Black Wallaroo (Macropus bernardus), a rare and locally-endemic macropod considered an intermediate browser/ grazer. These seeds were successfully germinated and the seedlings identified using molecular phylogenetic techniques as Gardenia fucata (Rubiaceae), an endemic rock-specialist species – thus establishing the first confirmation of effective seed dispersal by a ‘rock kangaroo’ in this region and the first identification of a seed disperser for this uncommon Gardenia species. The results provide support for the role of browser/grazer macropods as occasional effective seed dispersers of rock-specialist plant species in the northern monsoon tropics of Australia via faecal seed storage

Integrated pest management in the academic small greenhouse setting: A case study using Solanum spp. (Solanaceae).

Premise Botanical faculty and staff at academic institutions are often tasked with establishing and/or caring for plant collections held in small greenhouse facilities. Once plants are in place, an especially acute challenge is managing plant pest/pathogen populations. Integrated pest management (IPM) approaches are an excellent option, but few examples exist in the literature of successful programs that have been developed in academic small greenhouse settings. Methods and Results Over several years, we developed an IPM program for two small research greenhouses on the campus of a primarily undergraduate institution where hundreds of plants have been grown for studies in the genus Solanum. We here present a synopsis of the cultural, mechanical, physical, and biological controls used as part of our successful IPM strategy—including details on the efficacy of multiple predatory insects—with the hope of providing a model for sustainable pest management in the higher education environment. Conclusions IPM can be an effective strategy for maintaining healthy plant populations in small research greenhouses, but it requires a consistent investment of time and funding. A well‐cared‐for plant collection might help support numerous positive outcomes, including advances in faculty scholarship and opportunities for student learning and/or training

A Foundational Population Genetics Investigation of the Sexual Systems of Solanum (Solanaceae) in the Australian Monsoon Tropics Suggests Dioecious Taxa May Benefit from Increased Genetic Admixture via Obligate Outcrossing

Solanum section Leptostemonum is an ideal lineage to test the theoretical framework regarding proposed evolutionary benefits of outcrossing sexual systems in comparison to cosexuality. Theoretically, non-cosexual taxa should support more genetic diversity within populations, experience less inbreeding, and have less genetic structure due to a restricted ability to self-fertilize. However, many confounding factors present challenges for a confident inference that inherent differences in sexual systems influence observed genetic patterns among populations. This study provides a foundational baseline of the population genetics of several species of different sexual systems with the aim of generating hypotheses of any factor—including sexual system—that influences genetic patterns. Importantly, results indicate that dioecious S. asymmetriphyllum maintains less genetic structure and greater admixture among populations than cosexual S. raphiotes at the same three locations where they co-occur. This suggests that when certain conditions are met, the evolution of dioecy may have proceeded as a means to avoid genetic consequences of self-compatibility and may support hypotheses of benefits gained through differential resource allocation partitioned across sexes. Arguably, the most significant finding of this study is that all taxa are strongly inbred, possibly reflective of a shared response to recent climate shifts, such as the increased frequency and intensity of the region’s fire regime

MarkerMiner 1.0: a new application for phylogenetic marker development using angiosperm transcriptomes

Premise of the study: Targeted sequencing using next-generation sequencing (NGS) platforms offers enormous potential for plant systematics by enabling economical acquisition of multilocus data sets that can resolve difficult phylogenetic problems. However, because discovery of single-copy nuclear (SCN) loci from NGS data requires both bioinformatics skills and access to high-performance computing resources, the application of NGS data has been limited. Methods and Results: We developed MarkerMiner 1.0, a fully automated, open-access bioinformatic workflow and application for discovery of SCN loci in angiosperms. Our new tool identified as many as 1993 SCN loci from transcriptomic data sampled as part of four independent test cases representing marker development projects at different phylogenetic scales. Conclusions: MarkerMiner is an easy-to-use and effective tool for discovery of putative SCN loci. It can be run locally or via the Web, and its tabular and alignment outputs facilitate efficient downstream assessments of phylogenetic utility, locus selection, intron-exon boundary prediction, and primer or probe development

A Basic ddRADseq Two‐Enzyme Protocol Performs Well with Herbarium and Silica‐Dried Tissues across Four Genera

PREMISE: The ability to sequence genome-scale data from herbarium specimens would allow for the economical development of data sets with broad taxonomic and geographic sampling that would otherwise not be possible. Here, we evaluate the utility of a basic double-digest restriction site–associated DNA sequencing (ddRADseq) protocol using DNAs from four genera extracted from both silica-dried and herbarium tissue. METHODS: DNAs from Draba, Boechera, Solidago, and Ilex were processed with a ddRADseq protocol. The effects of DNA degradation, taxon, and specimen age were assessed. RESULTS: Although taxon, preservation method, and specimen age affected data recovery, large phylogenetically informative data sets were obtained from the majority of samples. DISCUSSION: These results suggest that herbarium samples can be incorporated into ddRADseq project designs, and that specimen age can be used as a rapid on-site guide for sample choice. The detailed protocol we provide will allow users to pursue herbariumbased ddRADseq projects that minimize the expenses associated with fieldwork and sample evaluation

A Basic ddRADseq Two‐Enzyme Protocol Performs Well with Herbarium and Silica‐Dried Tissues across Four Genera

PREMISE: The ability to sequence genome-scale data from herbarium specimens would allow for the economical development of data sets with broad taxonomic and geographic sampling that would otherwise not be possible. Here, we evaluate the utility of a basic double-digest restriction site–associated DNA sequencing (ddRADseq) protocol using DNAs from four genera extracted from both silica-dried and herbarium tissue. METHODS: DNAs from Draba, Boechera, Solidago, and Ilex were processed with a ddRADseq protocol. The effects of DNA degradation, taxon, and specimen age were assessed. RESULTS: Although taxon, preservation method, and specimen age affected data recovery, large phylogenetically informative data sets were obtained from the majority of samples. DISCUSSION: These results suggest that herbarium samples can be incorporated into ddRADseq project designs, and that specimen age can be used as a rapid on-site guide for sample choice. The detailed protocol we provide will allow users to pursue herbariumbased ddRADseq projects that minimize the expenses associated with fieldwork and sample evaluation

Effects of Elsholtzia splendens and Cirsium japonicum on premenstrual syndrome

Premenstrual syndrome is a common chronic disorder in most women of reproductive age. The main symptoms are depression, anxiety, tension, feeling out of control, and mastalgia. In premenstrual syndrome, the effects of aromatic edible Elsholtzia splendens and Cirsium japonicum were investigated for over 3 months in 30 women participants in their twenties. In the Elsholtzia splendens capsule treated group, scores of depression and anxiety were significantly lower than those in the Cirsium japonicum capsule treated group. Moreover, instability of the premenstrual assessment form was significantly decreased in the Elsholtzia splendens capsule treated group. Our results suggest that Elsholtzia splendens could be an effective plant material in relieving symptoms of premenstrual syndrome

Phylogeny of the Australian Solanum dioicum group using seven nuclear genes: Testing Symon’s fruit and seed dispersal hypotheses.

The dioecious and andromonoecious Solanum taxa (the “S. dioicum group”) of the Australian Monsoon Tropics have been the subject of phylogenetic and taxonomic study for decades, yet much of their basic biology is still unknown. This is especially true for plant-animal interactions, including the influence of fruit form and calyx morphology on seed dispersal. We combine field/greenhouse observations and specimen-based study with phylogenetic analysis of seven nuclear regions obtained via a microfluidic PCR-based enrichment strategy and high-throughput sequencing, and present the first species-tree hypothesis for the S. dioicum group. Our results suggest that epizoochorous trample burr seed dispersal (strongly linked to calyx accrescence) is far more common among Australian Solanum than previously thought and support the hypothesis that the combination of large fleshy fruits and endozoochorous dispersal represents a reversal in this study group. The general lack of direct evidence related to biotic dispersal (epizoochorous or endozoochorous) may be a function of declines and/or extinctions of vertebrate dispersers. Because of this, some taxa might now rely on secondary dispersal mechanisms (e.g. shakers, tumbleweeds, rafting) as a means to maintain current populations and establish new ones