Guess who? Taxonomic problems in the genus Eiseniella revisited by integrated approach

Eiseniella neapolitana is a semi-aquatic, diploid earthworm that for many years was related to the cosmopolitan species Eiseniella tetraedra and even considered a subspecies of it. Norealidys andaluciana was described in Spain and is usually synonymized with E. neapolitana. We collected 69 specimens from Italy, Spain, and Cyprus and studied fve molecular markers (COI, 16S, 28S, 12S, and ND1) and their morphology to solve this taxonomic problem. Phylogenetic analyses reveal the possible existence of two separate genera confounded under the name Eiseniella, but the study of more molecular markers and species of the genus would be necessary to confrm this. Therefore, the synonymy between Eiseniella and Norealidys is maintained. Various genetic analyses, including species delimitation, confrm the separation between E. neapolitana and E. andaluciana (=N. andaluciana) and excluded that E. neapolitana is a subspecies of E. tetraedra. The resemblance in external appearance despite clear genetic diferences of the three species could be explained by convergent adaptation to the aquatic habitat. Despite the expected low haplotype diversity based on the 28S gene, we found a surprisingly high variability in the E. andaluciana (=N. andaluciana) population in Spain. However, its stable predicted secondary structure and its high content of G+C reject the presence of a pseudogene

A phylogeographic split in Buxus balearica (Buxaceae) as evidenced by nuclear ribosomal markers: When ITS paralogues are welcome

Sequences from the ribosomal nuclear internal transcribed spacers (ITS) have been widely used to infer evolutionary hypotheses across a broad range of living organisms. Intraspecific sequence variation is assumed to be absent or negliable in most species, but few detailed studies have been conducted to assess the apportionment of ITS sequence variation within and between plant populations. Buxus balearica was chosen as a model species to assess the levels of infraspecific and intragenomic ITS variation in rare and endangered species occurring in disjunct populations around the Mediterranean basin. Intragenomic polymorphic sites were detected for western and eastern accessions of B. balearica and in two accessions of the sister species B. sempervirens. Overall, 19 different ribotypes were found in B. balearica after sequencing 48 clones, whereas 15 ribotypes were detected in 19 clones of B. sempervirens. The integrity and secondary structure stability of the ribosomal sequences suggest that they are not pseudogenes. The high number of ribotypes recovered through cloning suggested that some sequences could be chimeric or generated in vivo by partial homogenization through gene conversion or unequal crossing-over. Average sequence divergence among B. balearica clones was 0.768%, and the most divergent sequences differed by 1.62%. Available evidence does not suggest that B. balearica paralogues have been obtained from other extant Buxus species through interspecific hybridization. The presence of several ribosomal sequences in box implies that the molecular forces driving the concerted evolution of this multigene family are not fully operational in this genus. Phylogenetic analyses of cloned ITS sequences from B. balearica displayed very poor resolution and only two clades received moderate bootstrap support. Despite the marked intragenomic sequence divergence found, ribosomal data suggest a clear phylogeographic split in B. balearica between western and eastern accessions. The distinct, nonchimeric sequences that are postulated as being present in each biogeographic group suggest that box populations from Anatolia (eastern Mediterranean) are relict. © 2007 Springer Science+Business Media, Inc.This work was partially funded by projects BOS2001-0610, REN2011-3506-C02-01, and MMA 034/2002. A.L. was supported by a FPU fellowship (Spanish Ministry of Education, MECD)Peer Reviewe

Mapping earthworm communities in Europe

Existing data sets on earthworm communities in Europe were collected, harmonized, modelled and depicted on a soil biodiversity map of Europe. Digital Soil Mapping was applied using multiple regressions relating relatively low density earthworm community data to soil characteristics, land use, vegetation and climate factors (covariables) with a greater spatial resolution. Statistically significant relationships were used to build habitat-response models for constructing earthworm maps with abundance, species richness, and diversity data. While a good number of environmental predictors were significant in our multiple regressions, geographical factors alone seem to be less relevant than climatic factors. Despite differing sampling protocols, land use and geological history were the most relevant factors determining the demography and diversity of the earthworms across Europe. Case studies from country-specific data sets (France, Germany, Ireland and The Netherlands) demonstrated the importance and efficiency of large databases for the detection of large spatial patterns that could be subsequently applied at smaller (local) scales.JRC.H.5-Land Resources Managemen