The Effects of Short-Term Storage on Germination in Meconopsis Vig. (Papaveraceae)

The viability and germination rate of seed of five species and four cultivars of Meconopsis was tested. The seed was stored in both refrigerated (c.4°C) conditions and at ambient temperature (8–17°C) to reflect typical conditions for seed storage in the smaller botanical garden and amateur enthusiast’s collection. Seed that had been stored in each of these conditions was sown sequentially 2, 3, 4 and 5 months after harvest. Seed batches were also treated with 0.25mg/l gibberellic acid (GA) or left untreated. Each of the four combination treatments was associated with an overall reduction in viability and germination rate as time after harvest increased (to a minimum of 66.7% viability and 33.7% germination, except for two species with high viability but no germination in the study period). These reductions were not significantly different between treatments, and use of GA did not significantly increase germination rate. We studied the role of underlying genetic relations on germination by relating our results to the most recent comprehensive phylogeny of the genus, and we suggest that ecology plays a more important role than phylogeny in germination

Investigating biogeographic patterns of Rhizobium leguminosarum symbiovar viciae within the tribe Fabeae

Presentación en diapositivasNodulation is the symbiotic association of plants and diazotrophic bacteria that results in the formation of specialized organs (nodules) and allows fixation of atmospheric nitrogen. Rhizobial nodulation is widespread in Fabaceae with both promiscuous or exclusive hosts and/or rhizobia existing. An ideal group to explore these patterns is tribe Fabeae. Fabeae includes four genera: Ervilia Link, Ervum L., Vicia L., and Lathyrus L., and around 380 species distributed almost globally. They largely nodulate with Rhizobium leguminosarum symbiovar viciae. With the aim of evaluating the biogeographic patterns of rhizobia that colonize Fabeae species using a broader sampling, the genome of 68 strains of R. leguminosarum symbiovar viciae was sequenced. The nodules were collected from Lathyrus and Vicia hosts growing in Argentina, Canada, Chile, Greece (Crete), Japan, Spain, United Kingdom and United States and cultured to single strains. The DNA was extracted and then sent to MicrobesNG for library preparation and sequencing. Reads were trimmed and draft genomes were assembled. From the contigs, three sets of genes were extracted: (1) 120 non-mobile core genes from the chromosome (2) the 16S rRNA sequence, and (3) the nodulation genes nodA, nodC and nodD. The 16S was highly conserved across the accessions and was not informative to distinguish strains or geographical patterns. However, the set of 120 core genes gave a much more resolved picture allowing genospecies identification and revealing geographical patterns. The preliminary results using the core genes indicate a trend for geographical grouping over large areas. Our analysis consistently retrieved a Japanese clade and a South American clade with the remainder (over 50 accessions) belonging to a very widespread group from Europe and North America. Host plants were generally promiscuous and there was no apparent correlation with the evolutionary phylogeny of the hosts and their choice of rhizobial partners.Instituto de Recursos BiológicosFil: Trad, Rafaela. Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, Edinburgo, EscociaFil: Roberts, Sarah. University of California at San Francisco; Estados UnidosFil: Morales, Matias. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Recursos Biológicos; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad de Morón. Facultad de Agronomía y Ciencias Agroalimentarias; ArgentinaFil: James , Euan. Hutton Institute; Reino UnidoFil: Kenicer, Gregory. Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh; Escoci

Establishing Ex Situ Conservation Methods for Dactylorhiza ebudensis and D. traunsteinerioides, a Combination of In Situ Turf Removal and In Vitro Germinations

Orchidaceae is one of the most diverse flowering plant families in the world, occupying a diverse range of habitats from epiphytes to terrestrial forms. It is also one of the most vulnerable to changes in land use because of its complex ecological requirements. In nature, orchid seed will only grow if infected with a compatible fungus which provides all the carbohydrates and nutrients needed for its development. This mycotrophic mode of nourishment can persist underground for years in some orchids, which makes them difficult to observe in the wild. Understanding their behaviour is essential for their successful propagation and conservation. In an investigation looking into conservation and propagation, turves were lifted from wild populations of two rare Scottish orchid species in order to ensure the best possible association between these species and their growing environment. A combined in vitro experiment was set up for the wild harvested seeds under different media to compare their effects. Two different successful ex situ conservation methods for Dactylorhiza ebudensis and D. traunsteinerioides are presented

RADseq as a valuable tool for plants with large genomes-a case study in cycads

Full genome sequencing of organisms with large and complex genomes is intractable and cost ineffective under most research budgets. Cycads (Cycadales) represent one of the oldest lineages of the extant seed plants and, partly due to their age, have incredibly large genomes up to ~60 Gbp. Restriction site-associated DNA sequencing (RADseq) offers an approach to find genome-wide informative markers and has proven to be effective with both model and nonmodel organisms. We tested the application of RADseq using ezRAD across all 10 genera of the Cycadales including an example data set of Cycas calcicola representing 72 samples from natural populations. Using previously available plastid and mitochondrial genomes as references, reads were mapped recovering plastid and mitochondrial genome regions and nuclear markers for all of the genera. De novo assembly generated up to 138,407 high-depth clusters and up to 1,705 phylogenetically informative loci for the genera, and 4,421 loci for the example assembly of C. calcicola. The number of loci recovered by de novo assembly was lower than previous RADseq studies, yet still sufficient for downstream analysis. However, the number of markers could be increased by relaxing our assembly parameters, especially for the C. calcicola data set. Our results demonstrate the successful application of RADseq across the Cycadales to generate a large number of markers for all genomic compartments, despite the large number of plastids present in a typical plant cell. Our modified protocol was adapted to be applied to cycads and other organisms with large genomes to yield many informative genome-wide markers

Systematics, biogeography, and character evolution of the legume tribe Fabeae with special focus on the middle-Atlantic island lineages

Background: Tribe Fabeae comprises about 380 legume species, including some of the most ancient and important crops like lentil, pea, and broad bean. Breeding efforts in legume crops rely on a detailed knowledge of closest wild relatives and geographic origin. Relationships within the tribe, however, are incompletely known and previous molecular results conflicted with the traditional morphology-based classification. Here we analyse the systematics, biogeography, and character evolution in the tribe based on plastid and nuclear DNA sequences. Results: Phylogenetic analyses including c. 70% of the species in the tribe show that the genera Vicia and Lathyrus in their current circumscription are not monophyletic: Pisum and Vavilovia are nested in Lathyrus, the genus Lens is nested in Vicia. A small, well-supported clade including Vicia hirsuta, V. sylvatica, and some Mediterranean endemics, is the sister group to all remaining species in the tribe. Fabeae originated in the East Mediterranean region in the Miocene (23–16 million years ago (Ma)) and spread at least 39 times into Eurasia, seven times to the Americas, twice to tropical Africa and four times to Macaronesia. Broad bean (V. faba) and its sister V. paucijuga originated in Asia and might be sister to V. oroboides. Lentil (Lens culinaris ssp. culinaris) is of Mediterranean origin and together with eight very close relatives forms a clade that is nested in the core Vicia, where it evolved c. 14 Ma. The Pisum clade is nested in Lathyrus in a grade with the Mediterranean L. gloeosperma, L. neurolobus, and L. nissolia. The extinct Azorean endemic V. dennesiana belongs in section Cracca and is nested among Mediterranean species. According to our ancestral character state reconstruction results, ancestors of Fabeae had a basic chromosome number of 2n=14, an annual life form, and evenly hairy, dorsiventrally compressed styles. Conclusions: Fabeae evolved in the Eastern Mediterranean in the middle Miocene and spread from there across Eurasia, into Tropical Africa, and at least seven times to the Americas. The middle-Atlantic islands were colonized four times but apparently did not serve as stepping-stones for Atlantic crossings. Long-distance dispersal events are relatively common in Fabeae (seven per ten million years). Current generic and infrageneric circumscriptions in Fabeae do not reflect monophyletic groups and should be revised. Suggestions for generic level delimitation are offered.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Dostignuća u istraživanju na vaviloviji (Vavilovia formosa (Stev.) Fed.), samoniklom srodniku gajenih mahunarki

Vavilovia (Vavilovia formosa (Stev.) Fed.) belongs to the tribe Fabeae along with peas, vetchlings, vetches and lentils. It prefers high mountain areas in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Russia, Syria and Turkey. A true success in the ex situ conservation has recently been achieved, within the display plot Flora and Vegetation of Armenia in the Yerevan Botanic Garden. The hybridization between vavilovia and other Fabeae was done in the N. I. Vavilov Institute of Plant Industry with F1 seeds and F1 plants that did not produce the next generation. The recent molecular research showed that vavilovia belongs to a Lathyrus-Pisum-Vavilovia clade with a clearly distinct status.Vavilovija (Vavilovia formosa (Stev.) Fed.) pripada tribusu Fabeae, zajedno sa graškovima, grahorima, grahoricama i sočivima. Vavilovija raste u visokoplaninskim oblastima Jermenije, Azerbejdžana, Gruzije, Iraka, Irana, Libana, Rusije, Sirije i Turske. Pravi uspeh u ex situ konzervaciji postignut je nedavno u okviru izložbenog polja 'Flora i vegetacija Jermenije' u botaničkoj bašti u Jerevanu. Hibridizacija između vavilovije i graška izvršena je u institutu Vavilov, sa F1 semenima i F1 biljkama koje nisu uspele da daju sledeće pokoljenje. Skorašnja molekularna istraživanja pokazala su da vavilovija pripada grupi Lathyrus - Pisum - Vavilovia sa jasno izraženim posebnim statusom

Reports on establishing an ex situ site for ‘beautiful’ vavilovia (Vavilovia formosa) in Armenia

Vavilovia (Vavilovia Fed.) is one of the five genera in tribe Fabeae and consists of only one species, ‘beautiful’ vavilovia (Vavilovia formosa (Stev.) Fed.). The main centre of distribution is the Central and Eastern Caucasus, with a disjunct distribution among high alpine areas in the region, extending as far as West Turkey, Lebanon and Iran. In Armenia, in situ studies on Vavilovia started in the late 1930s. In July and August 2009, three expeditions were conducted to two locations: two to the Ughtasar Mountain and one to the Geghama Mountains. The first expedition to Ughtasar resulted in fresh plant collections and soil analysis for one of the sites. The expedition to Geghama established the existence of Vavilovia in the region of Lake Aknalitch. The second expedition to Ughtasar provided immature fruits and seeds. Collected plant material was transplanted into the Flora and Vegetation of Armenia plot of the Yerevan Botanic Garden established in 1940. Today, along with other plants the plot contains more than 200 species of wild relatives of cultural plants from 130 genera, including indiginous species of tribe Fabeae such as Vavilovia. The transplanted plants will continue to be monitored to see if the plants go on to successfully flower and set seed or whether further sites, possibly at higher altitudes might need to be tested to meet the long term conservation requirements of this iconic legume. These co-ordinated efforts provide a good example of an ex situ conservation strategy for Vavilovia formosa, which, if successful will improve access and utility for the whole legume research community

Spatial patterns and intraspecific diversity of the glacial relict legume species Vavilovia formosa (Stev.) Fed. in Eurasia

Vavilovia formosa is one of five genera in tribe Fabeae, (Fabaceae, Leguminosae) with close phylogenetic relationships to Pisum. It grows in subalpine and alpine levels in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Russia and Turkey and is recognized as an endangered and protected plant. This study was conducted to reveal its intraspecific variability, as well as to predict the past, extant and future species distribution range. We analysed 51 accessions with common phylogenetic markers (trnF-trnL, trnS-trnG, matK, rbcL, psbA-trnH and ITS). These represent in total up to 2551 bp of chloroplast and 664 bp of nuclear sequences per sample. Two populations from Turkey and Armenia were analysed for genetic diversity by AFLP

The bicentenary of the research on 'beautiful' vavilovia (Vavilovia formosa), a legume crop wild relative with taxonomic and agronomic potential

Vavilovia formosa is a relict, endangered species from the highlands of the Caucasus and the Near East. Described in 1812, it has had an uncertain status and was finally recognized as a separate genus of tribe Fabeae (Fabaceae). Our informal international group was established in 2007 to revive the interest in this species as it had been seriously neglected for decades. Here, we provide an overview of the accumulated knowledge on V.formosa and present the results of the most recent multidisciplinary research. Three expeditions were made to two locations in Armenia in 2009, providing the material for anatomical, morphological, chemical and molecular analysis. Unlike previous attempts, ex situ conservation in Yerevan and in vitro propagation, important for potential interspecific hybridization, were successful. Molecular tools were used to clarify the taxonomic position of V.formosa, often considered the closest to the extinct ancestor of the whole tribe. The analysis of four informative regions of plastid and nuclear DNA showed that V.formosa belongs to the same clade as Lathyrus and Pisum, with a distinct status. Preservation and maintenance of V.formosa remains the only basis for further development of all other scientific aspects, especially breeding and uses in agronomy.