Phylogeography of halophytes from European coastal and inland habitats

The repeated advance and retreat of glaciers during the Pleistocene ice ages have played a major role in shaping the present patterns of genetic variation within and among plant and animal populations of the temperate zone. In Europe, the geographic ranges of many species were confined to a few, mostly southern refugia during periods of full glaciation. Distribution ranges then reexpanded, and uninhabited northern areas were recolonized during the interglacials. These contraction–expansion cycles were repeated at least four times. Paleontological and molecular phylogeographic studies during the last decade have greatly increased our knowledge of refugial areas and postglacial recolonization patterns of European trees, shrubs and Alpine plants since the last glacial maximum about 20,000 years ago. Much less is known yet about non-Alpine herbaceous plants. In the present review, we summarize recent phylogeographic work on halophytic (salt-adapted) plants from coastal and inland habitats in Europe. Major refugial areas for these plants have been identified along the Mediterranean coasts, but some species could also have survived in saline inland localities. In general, recolonization of N and NW Europe occurred in a stepwise fashion along the Atlantic coastline. For a number of species, molecular studies revealed concordant genetic discontinuities on the background of an essentially continuous geographic distribution. Such congruency could be explained by the preferential seed dispersal through sea currents. However, phylogeographic patterns of halophytes also proved to be influenced by other factors like sea-level fluctuations during the Pleistocene, secondary contact between divergent lineages, long-distance dispersal, clonal growth, and special habitat and temperature requirements.     

Phylogeography and population structure of the endangered Tehuantepec jackrabbit <Emphasis Type="Italic">Lepus flavigularis</Emphasis>: implications for conservation

The Tehuantepec jackrabbit (Lepus flavigularis) is an endangered species restricted to a small area in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, Oaxaca, Mexico. To evaluate its phylogeographic structure, population genetics, and demographic history we sequenced the mitochondrial Control Region hypervariable domain (CR-1) for 42 individuals representing the entire species range. Phylogenetic patterns indicated that this species is subdivided into two highly divergent clades, with an average nucleotide genetic distance of 3.7% (TrN) between them. Clades A and B are geographically distributed in non-overlapping areas to the west and to the east of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, respectively. Genetic diversity indices showed reduced genetic variability in L. flavigularis when compared to other species of Lepus within main clades and within populations. This low genetic diversity coupled with the restricted distribution to very small areas of occurrence and limited gene flow suggest that genetic drift has played an important role in the evolution of this species. Historical demographic analysis also pointed out that these two clades underwent a recent population expansion that started about 9,000 years ago for clade A and 3,200 years ago for clade B during the Holocene. Consequently, from the conservation perspective our results suggest that populations included in clades A and B should be regarded as distinct evolutionary lineages.     

秋浦河源国家湿地公园溪流鱼类群落的时空格局

确定溪流鱼类群落的时空格局及其形成机制是开展鱼类物种多样性保护和管理的科学基础。该文于2012年5月和10月两次对秋浦河源国家湿地公园境内的24个可涉水河段取样,共采集鱼类29种,隶属10科4目。研究了溪流鱼类群落结构及其多样性的时空格局,并解析了局域栖息地条件与支流空间位置变量对鱼类群落的影响。鱼类多样性的时空变化显著,鱼类多样性总体上为二级溪流高于一级溪流,10月份高于5月份。流量量级、底质粗糙度及异质性、水温和水深等对鱼类多样性及群落结构的空间变化影响显著。鱼类群落结构符合嵌套格局,季节动态不显著,上游鱼类群落呈现为下游群落的嵌套子集。一、二级溪流间的群落结构尽管存在部分重叠但差异显著,且这种差异主要源于稀有花鳅(Cobitis rarus)、吻虾虎鱼(Ctenogobius spp.)、宽鳍鱲(Zacco platypus)、尖头鱥(Phoxinus oxycephalus)、高体鰟鲏(Rhodeus ocellatus)和原缨口鳅(Vanmanenia stenosoma)等鱼类相对多度的空间变化,其中,除尖头鱥的多度在一级溪流中更高外,其他5种鱼类均在在二级溪流更高。     

Patterns of nuclear and mitochondrial DNA variation in Iberian populations of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Emys orbicularis</Emphasis> (Emydidae): conservation implications

The European pond turtle (Emys orbicularis) is threatened and in decline in several regions of its natural range, due to habitat loss combined with population fragmentation. In this work, we have focused our efforts on studying the genetic diversity and structure of Iberian populations with a fine-scale sampling (254 turtles in 10 populations) and a representation from North Africa and Balearic island populations. Using both nuclear and mitochondrial markers (seven microsatellites, ∼1048 bp nDNA and ∼1500 bp mtDNA) we have carried out phylogenetic and demographic analyses. Our results show low values of genetic diversity at the mitochondrial level although our microsatellite dataset revealed relatively high levels of genetic variability with a latitudinal genetic trend decreasing from southern to northern populations. A moderate degree of genetic differentiation was estimated for Iberian populations (genetic distances, F _ST values and clusters in the Bayesian analysis). The results in this study combining mtDNA and nDNA, provide the most comprehensive population genetic data for E. orbicularis in the Iberian Peninsula. Our results suggest that Iberian populations within the Iberian–Moroccan lineage should be considered as a single subspecies with five management units, and emphasize the importance of habitat management rather than population reinforcement (i.e. captive breeding and reintroduction) in this long-lived species.     

Synthetic, structural and solution speciation studies on binary Al(III)–(carboxy)phosphonate systems. Relevance to the neurotoxic potential of Al(III)

Efforts to delineate the interactions of neurotoxic Al(III) with low molecular mass substrates relevant to neurodegenerative processes, led to the investigation of the pH-specific synthetic chemistry of the binary Al(III)-[N-(phosphonomethyl) iminodiacetic acid] (Al-NTAP), Al(III)-[nitrilo-tris(methylene-phosphonic acid)] (Al-NTA3P), and Al(III)-[1-hydroxy ethylidene-1,1-diphosphonic acid] (Al-HEDP) systems, in correlation with solution speciation studies. Reaction of Al(NO₃)₃·9H₂O with NTAP at pH 7.0 and 4.0 afforded the new species (CH₆N₃)₄[Al₂(C₅H₆NPO₇)₂(OH)₂]·8H₂O (1) and (NH₄)₂[Al₂(C₅H₆NPO₇)₂(H₂O)₂]·4H₂O (2), while reaction of Al(NO₃)₃·9H₂O with NTA3P led to K₈[Al₂(C₃H₆NP₃O₉)₂(OH)₂]·20H₂O (3). Complexes 1–3 were characterized by elemental analysis, FT-IR, ¹³C, ³¹P, ¹H NMR (for 1–2 solid state and solution NMR where feasible), and X-ray crystallography. The structures of 1–3 reveal the presence of uniquely defined dinuclear complexes of octahedral Al(III) bound to fully deprotonated phosphonate ligands, water and hydroxo moieties. The aqueous solution speciation studies on the aforementioned binary systems project a clear picture of the binary Al(III)–(carboxy)phosphonate interactions and species under variable pH-conditions and specific Al(III):ligand stoichiometry. The concurrent solid state and solution work (a) exemplifies essential structural and chemical attributes of soluble aqueous species, reflecting well-defined interactions of Al(III) with phosphosubstrates and (b) strengthens the potential linkage of neurotoxic Al(III) chemical reactivity toward O,N-containing (carboxy)phosphate-rich cellular targets.