Phylogeography of a Tertiary relict plant, Meconopsis cambrica (Papaveraceae), implies the existence of northern refugia for a temperate herb

The perennial herb Meconopsis cambrica, a western European endemic, is the only European species of the otherwise Himalayan genus Meconopsis and has been interpreted as a Tertiary relict species. Using rbcL and ITS sequence variation, we date the split between M. cambrica and its sister clade Papaver s.str. to the Middle to Upper Miocene (12.8 Myr, 6.4–19.2 Myr HPD). Within M. cambrica, cpDNA sequence variation reveals the existence of two groups of populations with a comparable level of genetic variation: a northern group from Great Britain, the Massif Central, the western Pyrenees and the Iberian System, and a southern group from the central and eastern Pyrenees. Populations from the Cantabrian Mountains were placed in both groups. Based on ITS sequence variation, the divergence between these two groups can be dated to 1.5 Myr (0.4–2.8 Myr HPD), and the age of the British populations is estimated as 0.37 Myr (0.0–0.9 Myr HPD). Amplified fragment length polymorphism results confirm the distinctive nature of the populations from Britain, the Massif Central and the central and eastern Pyrenees. These patterns of latitudinal variation of M. cambrica differ from patterns of longitudinal differentiation found in many other temperate species and imply glacial survival of the northern populations in northerly refugia. The primary differentiation into northern and southern cpDNA groups dates to near the onset of the Quaternary and suggests that an ancient phylogeographic pattern has survived through several glacial periods. Our data provide evidence that the species has persisted for a long period with a highly fragmented and probably very localized distribution

Scrophularia arguta Aiton en el occidente de la Península Ibérica.

Scrophularia arguta Aiton in Western Iberian PeninsulaPalabras clave. Scrophularia, corología, Cáceres, CW de España.Key words. Scrophularia, chorology, Cáceres, CW Spain

Bird pollination of Canary Island endemic plants

The Canary Islands are home to a guild of endemic, threatened bird pollinated plants. Previous work has suggested that these plants evolved floral traits as adaptations to pollination by flower specialist sunbirds, but subsequently they appear to be have co-opted passerine birds as sub-optimal pollinators. To test this idea we carried out a quantitative study of the pollination biology of three of the bird pollinated plants, Canarina canariensis (Campanulaceae), Isoplexis canariensis (Veronicaceae) and Lotus berthelotii (Fabaceae), on the island of Tenerife. Using colour vision models, we predicted the detectability of flowers to bird and bee pollinators. We measured pollinator visitation rates, nectar standing crops, as well as seed set and pollen removal and deposition. These data showed that the plants are effectively pollinated by non-flower specialist passerine birds that only occasionally visit flowers. The large nectar standing crops and extended flower longevities (>10days) of Canarina and Isoplexis suggests that they have evolved bird pollination system that effectively exploits these low frequency non-specialist pollen vectors and is in no way suboptimal. Seed set in two of the three species was high, and was significantly reduced or zero in flowers where pollinator access was restricted. In L. berthelotii, however, no fruit set was observed, probably because the plants were self incompatible horticultural clones of a single genet. We also show that, while all three species are easily detectable for birds, the orange Canarina and the red Lotus (but less so the yellow-orange Isoplexis) should be difficult to detect for insect pollinators without specialised red receptors, such as bumblebees. Contrary to expectations if we accept that the flowers are primarily adapted to sunbird pollination, the chiffchaff (Phylloscopus canariensis) was an effective pollinator of these species

Actividad física, ejercicio y deporte en la lucha contra la obesidad infantil y juvenil

El propósito del presente documento es proponer desde el grupo de expertos en ejercicio físico y salud de EXERNET (Red Española de Investigación en Ejercicio Físico y Salud) una serie de recomendaciones sobre la práctica de la actividad física y deportiva que a nivel individual, familiar e institucional ayuden a prevenir y tratar la obesidad infantil y juvenil, basadas en la evidencia científi ca actual

Impact of physical activity and cardiovascular fitness on total homocysteine concentrations in European adolescents : The HELENA Study

We examined the association of physical activity (PA), cardiovascular fi tness (CVF) and fatness with total homocysteine (tHcy) concentrations in European adolescents. The present study comprised 713 European adolescents aged 14.81.2 y (females 55.3%) from the multicenter HELENA cross-sectional study. PA was assessed through accelerometry, CVF by the 20-m shuttle run test, and body fat by skinfold thicknesses with the Slaughter equation. Plasma folate, cobalamin, and tHcy concentrations were measured. To examine the association of tHcy with PA, CVF, and fatness after controlling for a set of confounders including age, maturity, folate, cobalamin, creatinine, smoking, supplement use, and methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase 677 genotype (CC 47%, CT 43%, TT 10%), bivariate correlations followed by multiple regression models were performed. In the bivariate correlation analysis, tHcy concentrations were slightly negatively correlated (p0.05) with CVF in females (measured both by stages: r 0.118 and by VO2max: r 0.102) and positively with body mass index (r 0.100). However, daily time spent with moderate and vigorous PA showed a weak positive association with tHcy in females (p0.05). tHcy concentrations showed a tendency to decrease with increasing CVF and increase with increasing BMI in female European adolescents. However, tHcy concentrations were positively associated with moderate and vigorous PA in female European adolescents

Data from: Evolutionary significance of the invasion of introduced populations into the native range of Meconopsis cambrica

The long history of the deliberate or accidental, human-mediated dispersal of flowering plants has led to the introduction of foreign genotypes of many species into areas of Europe hitherto occupied by potentially distinct native populations. Studies of the genetic and evolutionary consequences of such changes are handicapped by the difficulty of identifying the surviving native populations of many species in the absence of clear morphological differences. We investigated the relationship between putative native and introduced populations of the herbaceous perennial Meconopsis cambrica (Papaveraceae), as the isolated native populations of this species can be identified by historical and ecological evidence. In Britain the species is scarce and declining as a native but has become increasingly frequent in recent decades as a garden escape. Native populations from Spain and France were compared to native and introduced British populations using ITS and cpDNA sequences and AFLPs. Ten of the twelve British populations could be unambiguously assigned to native or introduced groups using cpDNA and AFLPs. The introduced plants appear to originate from the central and eastern Pyrenees rather than from native British sites. Two populations (including one previously considered native) cannot be classified unambiguously. There is unequivocal evidence for unidirectional gene-flow from native plants into two of the introduced populations and possible evidence for hybridization in three other sites (two native). The absence of biological barriers to hybridization suggests that the native and introduced gene pools of M. cambrica in Britain might eventually merge

The intriguing case of the Welsh poppy Meconopsis cambrica

The article considers how molecular evidence is starting to reveal the complex history of the Welsh poppy

Megasporogenesis, Megagametogenesis and Ontogeny of the Aril in Cytisus striatus and C. multiflorus (Leguminosae: Papilionoideae)

• Background and Aims There are few embryological reports on wild legumes and even fewer on their seminal appendages. There are no existing studies on the complete ontogeny of these appendages in Cytiseae, a very important Papilionoideae tribe in Mediterranean ecosystems. In this work megasporogenesis, megagametogenesis and aril ontogeny were studied in Cytisus multiflorus and C. striatus, endemics from the western Mediterranean region

Meconopsis_cambrica_AFLP

Meconopsis_cambrica_AFL

M_cambrica_AFLP2

M_cambrica_AFLP