Genetic diversity and population genetic structure of the endangered kazakh endemic Oxytropis almaatensis (fabaceae)

The central Asian narrow endemic species Oxytropis almaatensis is a highly endangered plant with a very restricted distribution in the Tian Shan Mountains. In this study, we present the basic conservation genetic characteristics of this species based on a DNA fingerprinting approach in order to provide yardsticks for official conservation agencies to develop an informed conservation strategy. The three currently known populations with two allopatric subpopulations at each site were sampled in the Trans-Ili Alatau Mountains (S Kazakhstan) and subject to AFLP analysis using four primer combinations. This was supplemented by flow cytometry of plants with remarkably different body sizes to check for possible ploidy differences. The presence or absence of AFLP bands was used in downstream analyses utilising various population genetic approaches. Genetic diversity of O. almaatensis was found to be on the upper end of the spectrum typical for other outcrossing species of similar life-history characteristics. Most of the genetic variation was attributable to within (sub)population variance, and we also found a remarkable gene flow between the populations. However, the geographically closer populations were found to be more close to each other genetically, and population differentiation showed the same pattern with a significant isolation by distance. Similar patterns were not found for subpopulations of the geographically more close populations, and the subpopulations living along the same river valley were found to be genetically more cohesive. Flow cytometry did not reveal any difference in DNA content between the small and large forms of the species. All these results suggest the presence of two separate populations at the three localities of this species. Conservation efforts should focus on these two populations, and, given the relatively high genetic diversity within each population, both ex situ and in situ conservation measures can be effectively carried out based on the currently known populations of this narrow endemic species

Vegetation-based landscape regions of Hungary.

he first version of the map of the Hungarian vegetation-based landscape regions were prepared at the scale of 1 : 200,000 (1 km or higher resolution). The primary goal of the map was to provide an exact background for the presentation and evaluation of the data of theMÉTA database. Secondly, we intended to give an up-to-date and detailed vegetation-based division of Hungary with a comprehensive nomenclature of the regions. Regions were primarily defined on the basis of their present zonal vegetation, or their dominant extrazonal or edaphic vegetation. Where this was not possible, abiotic factors that influence the potential vegetation, the flora were taken into consideration, thus, political and economical factors were ignored. All region borders were defined by local expert botanists, mainly based on their field knowledge. The map differs in many features from the currently used, country- wide, flora- or geography-based divisions in many features. We consider our map to be temporary (i.e. a work map), and we plan to refine and improve it after 5 years of testing

Evolutionary history of the Pasque-flowers (Pulsatilla, Ranunculaceae): Molecular phylogenetics, systematics and rDNA evolution

Pulsatilla (Anemoneae, Ranunculaceae) is sister to Anemone s.s. and contains ca 40 perennial species of considerable horticultural and medical importance. We sequenced 31 of those species, plus nine subspecies, two cultivars and six outgroups, for two nuclear regions (high-copy nrITS and low-copy MLH1) and three plastid regions (rbcL, accD–psaI, trnL intron) in order to generate the first comprehensive species-level phylogeny of the genus. Phylogenetic trees were constructed using both concatenation-based (maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference) and coalescence methods. The better supported among the internal nodes were subjected to molecular clock dating and ancestral area reconstruction, and karyotypic characters identified by us using Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization were mapped across the tree. The preferred species tree from the coalescence analysis formed the basis of a new infrageneric classification based on monophyly plus degree of divergence. The earliest divergent of the three subgenera, Kostyczewianae, is represented by only a single species that is morphologically intermediate between Anemone s.s. and ‘core’ Pulsatilla. Subgenus Pulsatilla is considerably richer in species than its sister subgenus Preonanthus and contains three monophyletic sections. Species possessing nodding flowers and pectinately dissected leaves are phylogenetically derived compared with groups possessing erect flowers and palmately lobed leaves. Pulsatilla separated from Anemone s.s. at ca 25 Ma. Our results indicate a central Asian mountain origin of the genus and an initial diversification correlated with late Tertiary global cooling plus regional mountain uplift, aridification and consequent expansion of grasslands. The more rapid and extensive diversification within subgenus Pulsatilla began at ca 3 Ma and continued throughout the Quaternary, driven not only by major perturbations in global climate but also by well-documented polyploidy. © 2019 Elsevier Inc

Leaf width, nrDNA and cpDNA its sequence variation within central European Bulbocodium vernum and B. versicolor (Colchicaceae) populations: Are there really two taxa?

The taxonomy of the genus Bulbocodium , in which two European species, a smaller eastern (B. versicolor) and a more robust western (B. vernum) are included, has been controversial since the description of the eastern species in 1821. Nuclear encoded ribosomal DNA ITS1 and the entire chloroplast DNA ITS were sequenced from several European populations, from France to the Ukraine, and the leaf width of mature living individuals was measured and analysed by ANOVA and Tukey-test. Although the studied DNA regions proved to be invariable, leaf width shows extreme variability. We found no correlation between the leaf size of the individuals and the geographical position of the populations, and in addition, the sequenced DNA regions showed total uniformity. Thus, our results do not support the division of the genus Bulbocodium into two taxa, at least in the sampled area. The formerly described size variants can be treated taxonomically at the forma level