Molecular insights into the diversification of Cheirolophus (Asteraceae) in Macaronesia

Podeu consultar el llibre complet a: http://hdl.handle.net/2445/67430The diversification of Cheirolophus in Macaronesian archipelagos constitutes a paradigmatic example of radiation on oceanic islands. Phylogenetic and molecular dating analyses indicate an extraordinarily fast process, showing one of the highest speciation rates ever found on plants from oceanic islands. Such radiation has been recently studied employing phylogeographic, population genetic and molecular cytogenetic approaches. Here, the main potential patterns and processes involved in the diversification of the genus in the Canary Islands and Madeira are reviewed and discussed as a whole

Genetic structure and seed germination in Portuguese populations of Cheirolophus uliginosus (Asteraceae): Implications for conservation strategies

Cheirolophus uliginosus is a threatened species, endemic to the Atlantic coast of the Iberian Peninsula, where it occupies a few restricted localities. In our study we analysed the patterns of cpDNA haplotypes variation and reproductive success germinability among seven Portuguese populations of varying size. The aim was to examine the reproductive performance of Ch. uliginosus related to genetic structure and population size. The results showed very low within-population variability of cpDNA markers. Our study indicates that the germination rate is significantly reduced in small populations ( 250 individuals) do not show any constraint. In the search for plausible causes explaining the lower germination success in the smallest populations, ecological concerns and genetic isolation must be taken into account. Besides, in large-sized populations of Ch. uliginosus (> 250 plants) a higher incidence of predispersal seed predation was observed, maybe affecting their sexual reproductive response. Finally, smaller populations presenting a reduced reproductive success contain also the most evolutionary distant haplotypes, so their conservation should be a priority

The explosive radiation of Cheirolophus (Asteraceae, Cardueae) in Macaronesia

Considered a biodiversity hotspot, the Canary Islands have been the key subjects of numerous evolutionary studies concerning a large variety of organisms. The genus Cheirolophus (Asteraceae) represents one of the largest plant radiations in the Canarian archipelago. In contrast, only a few species occur in the Mediterranean region, the putative ancestral area of the genus. Here, our main aim was to reconstruct the phylogenetic and biogeographic history of Cheirolophus with special focus on explaining the origin of the large Canarian radiation. Results: We found significant incongruence in phylogenetic relationships between nuclear and plastid markers. Each dataset provided resolution at different levels in Cheirolophus: the nuclear markers resolved the backbone of the phylogeny while the plastid data provided better resolution within the Canarian clade. The origin of Cheirolophus was dated in the Mid-Late Miocene, followed by rapid diversification into the three main Mediterranean lineages and the Macaronesian clade. A decrease in diversification rates was inferred at the end of the Miocene, with a new increase in the Late Pliocene concurrent with the onset of the Mediterranean climate. Diversification within the Macaronesian clade started in the Early-Mid Pleistocene, with unusually high speciation rates giving rise to the extant insular diversity. Conclusions: Climate-driven diversification likely explains the early evolutionary history of Cheirolophus in the Mediterranean region. It appears that the exceptionally high diversification rate in the Canarian clade was mainly driven by allopatric speciation (including intra-and interisland diversification). Several intrinsic (e.g. breeding system, polyploid origin, seed dispersal syndrome) and extrinsic (e.g. fragmented landscape, isolated habitats, climatic and geological changes) factors probably contributed to the progressive differentiation of populations resulting in numerous microendemisms. Finally, hybridization events and emerging ecological adaptation may have also reinforced the diversification process

Key processes for Cheirolophus (Asteraceae) diversification on oceanic islands inferred from AFLP data

The radiation of the genus Cheirolophus (Asteraceae) in Macaronesia constitutes a spectacular case of rapid diversification on oceanic islands. Twenty species - nine of them included in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species - have been described to date inhabiting the Madeiran and Canarian archipelagos. A previous phylogenetic study revealed that the diversification of Cheirolophus in Macaronesia started less than 2 Ma. As a result of such an explosive speciation process, limited phylogenetic resolution was reported, mainly due to the low variability of the employed molecular markers. In the present study, we used highly polymorphic AFLP markers to i) evaluate species' boundaries, ii) infer their evolutionary relationships and iii) investigate the patterns of genetic diversity in relation to the potential processes likely involved in the radiation of Cheirolophus. One hundred and seventy-two individuals representing all Macaronesian Cheirolophus species were analysed using 249 AFLP loci. Our results suggest that geographic isolation played an important role in this radiation process. This was likely driven by the combination of poor gene flow capacity and a good ability for sporadic long-distance colonisations. In addition, we also found some traces of introgression and incipient ecological adaptation, which could have further enhanced the extraordinary diversification of Cheirolophus in Macaronesia. Last, we hypothesize that current threat categories assigned to Macaronesian Cheirolophus species do not reflect their respective evolutionary relevance, so future evaluations of their conservation status should take into account the results presented here

A phylogenetic road map to antimalarial Artemisia species

Ethnopharmacological relevance The discovery of the antimalarial agent artemisinin is considered one of the most significant success stories of ethnopharmacological research in recent times. The isolation of artemisinin was inspired by the use of Artemisia annua in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and was awarded a Nobel Prize in 2015. Antimalarial activity has since been demonstrated for a range of other Artemisia species, suggesting that the genus could provide alternative sources of antimalarial treatments. Given the stunning diversity of the genus (c. 500 species), a prioritisation of taxa to be investigated for their likely antimalarial properties is required. Materials and methods Here we use a phylogenetic approach to explore the potential for identifying species more likely to possess antimalarial properties. Ethnobotanical data from literature reports is recorded for 117 species. Subsequent phylogenetically informed analysis was used to identify lineages in which there is an overrepresentation of species used to treat malarial symptoms, and which could therefore be high priority for further investigation of antimalarial activity. Results We show that these lineages indeed include several species with documented antimalarial activity. To further inform our approach, we use LC-MS/MS analysis to explore artemisinin content in fifteen species from both highlighted and not highlighted lineages. We detected artemisinin in nine species, in eight of them for the first time, doubling the number of Artemisia taxa known to content this molecule. Conclusions Our findings indicate that artemisinin may be widespread across the genus, providing an accessible local resource outside the distribution area of Artemisia annua

Recent updates and developments to plant genome size databases

Two plant genome size databases have been recently updated and/or extended: the Plant DNA C-values database (http://data.kew.org/cvalues), and GSAD, the Genome Size in Asteraceae database (http://www.asteraceaegenomesize.com). While the first provides information on nuclear DNA contents across land plants and some algal groups, the second is focused on one of the largest and most economically important angiosperm families, Asteraceae. Genome size data have numerous applications: they can be used in comparative studies on genome evolution, or as a tool to appraise the cost of whole-genome sequencing programs. The growing interest in genome size and increasing rate of data accumulation has necessitated the continued update of these databases. Currently, the Plant DNA C-values database (Release 6.0, Dec. 2012) contains data for 8510 species, while GSAD has 1219 species (Release 2.0, June 2013), representing increases of 17 and 51%, respectively, in the number of species with genome size data, compared with previous releases. Here we provide overviews of the most recent releases of each database, and outline new features of GSAD. The latter include (i) a tool to visually compare genome size data between species, (ii) the option to export data and (iii) a webpage containing information about flow cytometry protocols

Sistemàtica i filogènia d' "Artemisia" i gèneres relacionats: una aproximació citogenètica i molecular amb especial èmfasi en el subgènere "Dracunculus".

[cat] El gènere "Artemisia és un dels més grans, pel que fa a nombre d'espècies, de la família de les Asteraceae i és àmpliament distribuït, principalment a l'hemisferi nord, on ocupa hàbitats molt diversos. Algunes de les seves espècies tenen una gran importància econòmica pels seus usos medicinals, alimentaris i ornamentals entre d'altres. El gènere és força conegut des del punt de vista de la seva composició química, però la manca d'estudis biològics generals sobre el gènere i les relacions entre les seves espècies ha sigut la raó per la qual hem dut a terme aquesta tesi doctoral.Aquest estudi comprèn treballs de filogènia molecular basats en la seqüenciació de regions del DNA nuclear i cloroplàstic, que delimiten el subgènere Dracunculus respecte dels altres quatre subgèneres d'Artemisia i estableixen les relaciones entre les espècies que el formen. Les reconstruccions filogenètiques han servit com a marc de discussió per a la resta d'aproximacions, que comprenen estudis cariològics, citogenètics i palinològics i han permès d'establir hipòtesis sobre la colonització del continent sud-americà. S'han realitzat nombrosos recomptes cromosòmicos, molts cops nous per als tàxons concernits, entre ells el primer en el nivell de ploïdia més alt conegut fins ara en el gènere, 16x. Cal destacar a més l'estudi de la grandària del genoma, que estableix un comportament de saturació en l'augment de la quantitat de DNA nuclear en els poliploides i un límit superior per a aquest paràmetre en el gènere. Els estudis sobre les regions 5S i 45S del DNA ribosòmic, duts a terme amb la tècnica d'hibridació in situ fluorescent (FISH), han suggerit l'existència d'un possible model ancestral per al gènere Artemisia quant a la distribució de l'rDNA. L'evolució del genoma d'aquestes espècies ha d'entendre's com el resultat de nombroses reorganitzacions cromosòmiques i de processos de poliploïdització i d'hibridació. També s'ha realitzat una caracterització morfomètrica i microestructural del pol·len del gènere Ajania, així com d'altres Artemisiinae relacionades. Hem confirmat la coexistència dels dos tipus pol·línics descrits a la subtribu, Anthemis i Artemisia, essent el primer el que caracteriza el gènere Ajania. Amb aquestes dades, i en el marc d'una filogènia de la subtribu, podem suggerir que probablement hi ha hagut un canvi del tipus Anthemis (ancestral) al tipus Artemisia (derivat), fet que troba el suport del canvi de la síndrome de pol·linització, d'entomòfila a anemòfila.[eng] The genus Artemisia is one of the largest of the Asteraceae family. It is widely distributed, mainly in the northern hemisphere, where it occupies very different habitats. Some of the species have economic importance for their medicinal uses, as well as for food and ornamental purposes among others. The genus is well known from the standpoint of their chemical composition, but the lack of general biological studies and the poor knowledge of the relationships among its species has been the reason why we have conducted the present thesis.The present study includes a molecular phylogeny based on nuclear and chloroplast DNA regions, which circumscribes the subgenus Dracunculus within the genus Artemisia, studying in depth the relationships between the species of the subgenus. Other phylogenetic reconstructions have been used as frameworks for discussion in different approaches, including karyological, cytogenetic and pollen studies, allowing us to establish, among others, hypotheses about the colonization of South America. Many chromosome counts have been carried out, often related to new taxa, including the first report of the highest ploidy level in the genus to date, 16x (2n = 144 chromosomes). The thesis also includes the study of genome size. The results obtained seem to indicate that the increase of nuclear DNA amount across ploidy levels follows a saturation behaviour according to the Michaelis-Menten function, and a theoretical upper limit for this parameter is hypothesized for the genus. Studies on 5S and 45S regions of ribosomal DNA, carried out with the technique of fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) have suggested the existence of different patterns of rDNA distribution in complexes such as the annual representatives of the genus, the subgenus Dracunculus and in the polyploid species on the genus Artemisia. Genome evolution of these species should be understood as the result of numerous chromosomal rearrangements and processes of hybridization and polyploidization. We have also performed a morphometrical and microstructural characterization of the pollen in the genus Ajania and other related Artemisiinae. We have confirmed the coexistence of the two pollen types described in the subtribe, Anthemis and Artemisia, the former being the one that characterizes the genus Ajania. With these data, and in the context of a phylogeny of the subtribe, we suggest that there has probably been a change from the Anthemis type (ancestral) to Artemisia type (derived), a fact which is also supported by the change in the pollination syndrome from entomophily to anemophily

Artemisia (Asteraceae): Understanding its evolution using cytogenetic and molecular systematic tools, with emphasis on subgenus Dracunculus

Podeu consultar el llibre complet a: http://hdl.handle.net/2445/32392The genus Artemisia is one of the largest of the Asteraceae family, with more than 500 species. It is widely distributed mainly across the Northern Hemisphere, being profusely represented in the Old World, with a great centre of diversification in Asia, and also reaching the New World. The evolution of this genus has been deeply studied using different approaches, and polyploidy has been found to perform an important role leading to speciation processes. Karyological, molecular cytogenetic and phylogenetic data have been compiled in the present review to provide a genomic characterization throughout some complexes within the genus

Molecular insights into the diversification of Cheirolophus (Asteraceae) in Macaronesia

The diversification of Cheirolophus in Macaronesian archipelagos constitutes a paradigmatic example of radiation on oceanic islands. Phylogenetic and molecular dating analyses indicate an extraordinarily fast process, showing one of the highest speciation rates ever found on plants from oceanic islands. Such radiation has been recently studied employing phylogeographic, population genetic and molecular cytogenetic approaches. Here, the main potential patterns and processes involved in the diversification of the genus in the Canary Islands and Madeira are reviewed and discussed as a whole.Podeu consultar el llibre complet a: http://hdl.handle.net/2445/6743