Digest: Linking coordinated shifts in plant resource allocation to a chromosomal inversion

This article corresponds to Lowry, D. B., D. Popovic, D. J. Brennan, and L. M. Holeski. 2019. Mechanisms of a locally adaptive shift in allocation among growth, reproduction, and herbivore resistance in Mimulus guttatus. Evolution. https://doi.org/10.1111/evo.13699.Local adaptation in plants often requires coordinated shifts among resources. Lowry et al. provide evidence for physiological and genomic mechanisms underpinning adaptive shifts in yellow monkeyflower (Mimulus guttatus), such as the transition between annual and perennial life histories. In M. guttatus, differential activity of gibberellins, governed partially by a chromosomal inversion, is responsible for shifts between growth, reproduction, and herbivore defense (secondary compound production)

Digest: Drivers of coral diversification in a major marine biodiversity hotspot*

This article corresponds to Huang, D., E. E. Goldberg, L. M. Chou, and K. Roy. 2018. The origin and evolution of coral species richness in a marine biodiversity hotspot. Evolution.https://doi.org/10.1111/evo.13402

Digest: Shape-shifting in Solanaceae flowers: the influence of pollinators*

This article corresponds to Smith, S. D., and R. Kriebel. 2018. Convergent evolution of floral shape tied to pollinator shifts in Iochrominae (Solanaceae). Evolution. https://doi.org/10.1111/evo.13416

Isolated, neglected, and likely threatened: a new species of Magoniella (Polygonaceae) from the seasonally dry tropical forests of Northern Colombia and Venezuela revealed from nuclear, plastid, and morphological data

Seasonally tropical dry forests (SDTFs) in the American tropics are a highly diverse yet poorly understood and endangered ecosystem scattered from Northern Mexico to Southern Argentina. One floristic element of the STDFs is the genus Magoniella (Polygonaceae), which includes two liana species, M. laurifolia and M. obidensis, which have winged fruits and are distributed from Costa Rica to Southern Brazil. In a field expedition to the SDTFs of the Colombian Caribbean in 2015, morphologically distinctive individuals of Magoniella were found. In this study, we investigated the species boundaries within Magoniella and determined the phylogenetic position of these morphologically distinctive individuals in the tribe Triplaridae. We compiled morphological trait data across 19 specimens of both species and produced newly sequenced nuclear–plastid DNA data for M. obidensis. Morphometric analyses revealed significant differences in fruit length and perianth size among individuals from the Colombian Caribbean compared to M. obidensis and bract length when compared to M. laurifolia. Maximum likelihood analysis of non-conflicting nuclear and plastid datasets placed the Colombian Caribbean individuals as sister to M. obidensis with maximum statistical support. Additionally, pairwise sequence comparisons of the nuclear ribosomal ITS and the lfy2i loci consistently showed 15-point mutations (10 transitions, five transversions) and six 2 bp-long substitutions that differ between M. obidensis and the Colombian Caribbean individuals. Our morphological and molecular evidence thus suggests that the Colombian Caribbean individuals of Magoniella represent a divergent population from M. laurifolia and M. obidensis, which we describe and illustrate as a new species, M. chersina. Additionally, we provide nomenclatural updates for M. laurifolia and M. obidensis. This study highlights the power of combining morphological and molecular evidence in documenting and naming plant diversity

Inventario orquideológico de la Reserva Bosque de Yotoco, Valle del Cauca

En la Reserva Bosque de Yotoco (76° 20' O, 3° 50' N, 1200 - 1700 m.s.n.m.) relicto de selva subandina de aproximadamente 500 ha, durante 3 años (marzo de 2006 y mayo de 2009) se realizaron búsquedas intensivas aleatorias de especies de la familia Orchidaceae. Hasta junio de 2009 se habían reportado 80 especies pertenecientes a 46 géneros, siendo los de mayor riqueza específica Epidendrum L. con 13 y Maxillaria Ruiz y Pav. con seis. Como exclusivas de algunas zonas fueron identificadas Macroclinium oberonia (Schltr.) Dodson y Porroglossum muscosum (Rchb. f.) Schltr.; como abundantes y ampliamente distribuidas Epidendrum porpax Rchb.f., Campylocentrum micranthum (Lindl.) Rolfe y Oncidium adelaidae Königer; y como poco abundantes Cryptocentrum latifolium Schltr. y Specklinia picta (Lindl.) Pridgeon and amp; M.W. Chase

Evolution and development of fruits of Erycina pusilla and other orchid species

Fruits play a crucial role in seed dispersal. They open along dehiscence zones. Fruit dehiscence zone formation has been intensively studied in Arabidopsis thaliana. However, little is known about the mechanisms and genes involved in the formation of fruit dehiscence zones in species outside the Brassicaceae. The dehiscence zone of A. thaliana contains a lignified layer, while dehiscence zone tissues of the emerging orchid model Erycina pusilla include a lipid layer. Here we present an analysis of evolution and development of fruit dehiscence zones in orchids. We performed ancestral state reconstructions across the five orchid subfamilies to study the evolution of selected fruit traits and explored dehiscence zone developmental genes using RNA-seq and qPCR. We found that erect dehiscent fruits with non-lignified dehiscence zones and a short ripening period are ancestral characters in orchids. Lignified dehiscence zones in orchid fruits evolved multiple times from non-lignified zones. Furthermore, we carried out gene expression analysis of tissues from different developmental stages of E. pusilla fruits. We found that fruit dehiscence genes from the MADS-box gene family and other important regulators in E. pusilla differed in their expression pattern from their homologs in A. thaliana. This suggests that the current A. thaliana fruit dehiscence model requires adjustment for orchids. Additionally, we discovered that homologs of A. thaliana genes involved in the development of carpel, gynoecium and ovules, and genes involved in lipid biosynthesis were expressed in the fruit valves of E. pusilla, implying that these genes may play a novel role in formation of dehiscence zone tissues in orchids. Future functional analysis of developmental regulators, lipid identification and quantification can shed more light on lipid-layer based dehiscence of orchid fruits

Recent origin and rapid speciation of Neotropical orchids in the world's richest plant biodiversity hotspot

The Andean mountains of South America are the most species-rich biodiversity hotspot worldwide with c. 15% of the world's plant species, in only 1% of the world's land surface. Orchids are a key element of the Andean flora, and one of the most prominent components of the Neotropical epiphyte diversity, yet very little is known about their origin and diversification. We address this knowledge gap by inferring the biogeographical history and diversification dynamics of the two largest Neotropical orchid groups (Cymbidieae and Pleurothallidinae), using two unparalleled, densely sampled orchid phylogenies (including more than 400 newly generated DNA sequences), comparative phylogenetic methods, geological and biological datasets. We find that the majority of Andean orchid lineages only originated in the last 20–15 million yr. Andean lineages are derived from lowland Amazonian ancestors, with additional contributions from Central America and the Antilles. Species diversification is correlated with Andean orogeny, and multiple migrations and recolonizations across the Andes indicate that mountains do not constrain orchid dispersal over long timescales. Our study sheds new light on the timing and geography of a major Neotropical diversification, and suggests that mountain uplift promotes species diversification across all elevational zones.O.A.P-E. is supported by a Colombian National Science Foundation (COLCIENCIAS) scholarship and G.C. is supported by a German Science Foundation grant (RE 603/20). F.L.C. is supported by a Marie Curie grant (BIOMME project, IOF627684) and has benefited from an ‘Investissements d’Avenir’ grant managed by Agence Nationale de la Recherche (CEBA, ref. ANR-10-LABX-25-01). A.P.K. and D.B. were supported by grants from the Alberta Mennega Foundation. N.J.M. was supported by the National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis, an Institute sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF) through NSF Award no. EFJ0832858, with additional support from The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and is currently supported by a Discovery Early Career Researcher Award DE150101773, funded by the Australian Research Council, and by The Australian National University. D.S. is funded by the Swedish Research Council (2015-04748). A.A. is supported by grants from the Swedish Research Council, the European Research Council under the European Union’s Seventh Framework Program (FP/2007-2013, ERC Grant Agreement no. 331024), the Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research and a Wallenberg Academy Fellowship

Introgression across evolutionary scales suggests reticulation contributes to Amazonian tree diversity

This is the final version. Available from Wiley via the DOI in this record.The data that support the findings of this study are openly available from online repositories. All raw reads generated with the targeted bait capture and ddRADseq methods are available on the NCBI Sequence Read Archive with the Accession nos SAMN13439069‐SAMN13439140 and SAMN13441804‐SAMN13441974, respectively, under the BioProject number PRJNA592723. All full phylogenomic sequence alignments, single‐accession‐per‐species alignments and tree files, bgc input files, Stacks output files and the Detarioideae bait kit sequence file are found on Dryad (https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.k3j9kd53w). Data are under embargo until publication, and any further data required are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.Hybridization has the potential to generate or homogenize biodiversity and is a particularly common phenomenon in plants, with an estimated 25% of plant species undergoing interspecific gene flow. However, hybridization in Amazonia's megadiverse tree flora was assumed to be extremely rare despite extensive sympatry between closely related species, and its role in diversification remains enigmatic because it has not yet been examined empirically. Using members of a dominant Amazonian tree family (Brownea, Fabaceae) as a model to address this knowledge gap, our study recovered extensive evidence of hybridization among multiple lineages across phylogenetic scales. More specifically, using targeted sequence capture our results uncovered several historical introgression events between Brownea lineages and indicated that gene tree incongruence in Brownea is best explained by reticulation, rather than solely by incomplete lineage sorting. Furthermore, investigation of recent hybridization using ~19,000 ddRAD loci recovered a high degree of shared variation between two Brownea species that co-occur in the Ecuadorian Amazon. Our analyses also showed that these sympatric lineages exhibit homogeneous rates of introgression among loci relative to the genome-wide average, implying a lack of selection against hybrid genotypes and persistent hybridization. Our results demonstrate that gene flow between multiple Amazonian tree species has occurred across temporal scales, and contrasts with the prevailing view of hybridization's rarity in Amazonia. Overall, our results provide novel evidence that reticulate evolution influenced diversification in part of the Amazonian tree flora, which is the most diverse on Earth.Natural Environment Research Council (NERC)Genetics Societ

The climatic challenge: which plants will people use in the next century?

More than 31,000 useful plant species have been documented to fulfil needs and services for humans or the animals and environment we depend on. Despite this diversity, humans currently satisfy most requirements with surprisingly few plant species; for example, just three crops – rice, wheat and maize – comprise more than 50% of plant derived calories. Here, we synthesize the projected impact of global climatic change on useful plants across the spectrum of plant domestication. We illustrate the demographic, spatial, ecophysiological, chemical, functional, evolutionary and cultural traits that are likely to characterise useful plants and their resilience in the next century. Using this framework, we consider a range of possible pathways for future human use of plants. These are centred on two trade-offs: i) diversification versus specialization in the range of species we utilize, and ii) substitutionof the species towards those better suited to future climate versus facilitating adaptation in our existing suite of dominant useful plants. In the coming century, major challenges to agriculture and biodiversity will be dominated by increased climatic variation, shifting species ranges, disruption to biotic interactions, nutrient limitation and emerging pests and pathogens. These challenges must be mitigated, whilst enhancing sustainable production to meet the needs of a growing population and a more resource intensive standard of living. With the continued erosion of biodiversity, our future ability to choose among these pathways and trade-offs is likely to be diminished

Viral determination and molecular characterization of Aujeszky’s disease virus in slaughter plants and wild boar, as part as the epidemiological surveillance official program in Argentina

La enfermedad de Aujeszky afecta principalmente a la producción porcina y ocasiona pérdidas económicas importantes. En la Argentina, esta enfermedad es considerada endémica, lo que puede resultar en restricciones de comercialización para la región. Las exigencias del mercado externo obligan a avanzar con los planes de control y erradicación de la enfermedad de Aujezsky. Esta enfermedad limita las posibilidades económicas del sector porcino y la comercialización internacional, lo cual influye negativamente en la rentabilidad de las explotaciones y en la calidad de los productos de origen animal. Las técnicas serológicas utilizadas solo detectan la presencia de anticuerpos específicos y no permiten detectar directamente la presencia del patógeno en el organismo ni una infección latente. La utilización de la biología molecular para la confirmación y diagnóstico de la enfermedad de Aujeszky en los planes de vigilancia puede convertirse en una herramienta eficaz para la detección temprana de animales infectados con el virus, así como también para la identificación de las variantes genotípicas que circulan en el país. Este conocimiento aportaría información para establecer políticas sanitarias enfocadas en el control de la enfermedad de Aujeszky, tendientes a la erradicación del virus Herpesvirus porcino tipo 1 (SuHV-1) circulante en la Argentina.Aujezky´s disease principally affects the porcine production, and it generate important economical lost. Currently, In Argentina, Aujeszky is consider an endemic disease and could result in regional commercial restrictions. International requirements for commercialization oblates to develop plans for control and eradication of Aujezsky´s disease. Serological techniques currently used do not allow to identify if the animal is free of pathogen or if it could be a healthy carrier. In surveillance programs, the implementation of Molecular techniques to confirm the diagnostic of this disease is a necessary tool for obtaining early and rapid results. Furthermore, it is also necessary to achieve the molecular characterization of the circulating strains in Argentina in order to establish sanitary politics for eradication of Aujeszky´s disease. This information could allow establishing sanitary politics based on the control of Aujeszky’s diseases and eradication of the circulating Suid Herpesvirus type 1 (SuHV-1).Facultad de Ciencias Veterinaria