Electrophoretic seed albumin patterns and species relationships inVicia sect.Faba (Fabaceae)

Electrophoretic analysis of seed albumins (PAGE) covered 173 accessions representing nine species ofVicia sect.Faba. The number of albumin bands recorded in particular species varied from three inV. eristaloides to 23 inV. faba; in total, 38 bands were distinguished in the investigated material. The examined species, exceptV. eristalioides, showed intraspecific variation with respect to the number and relative staining intensity of albumin bands; individual variation was especially marked inV. faba and inV. narbonensis. Hierarchical clustering of the investigated taxa was based onBhattacharyya distances calculated from the electrophoretic data. The taxa grouped in three main clusters.Vicia faba and the rather remotely relatedV. kalakhensis formed one cluster. The second cluster was composed ofV. narbonensis distantly related toV. hyaeniscyamus. The third cluster comprised three subgroups: 1.V. johannis, V. galilaea andV. serratifolia, 2.V. eristalioides, and 3.V. bithynica. The obtained results are discussed with reference to taxonomic relationships inVicia sect.Faba.     

Speciation inVirgilia (Fabaceae): Allopatric divergence followed by introgression?

Levels of variation revealed by starch gel-electrophoresis were compared with morphological and chemical variation within and among the species and subspecies ofVirgilia:V. oroboides subsp.oroboides, V. oroboides subsp.ferruginea andV. divaricata. The data sets exhibited concordance in that all point to a very close relationship between the taxa. Differences are mostly quantitative and an overlapping east-west gradient of character variation is indicated. Analysis of morphological and chemical characters showed thatV. oroboides subsp.ferruginea andV. divaricata are relatively distinct, whereas allozyme analysis indicated a high degree of genetic similarity among populations of these two taxa. The observed pattern of variation suggests relatively recent speciation with subsequent introgressive hybridisation resulting in a geographical and ecological gradient.     

TheTy1-copia group retrotransposons inVicia species: copy number, sequence heterogeneity and chromosomal localisation

We present an in-depth study of theTy1-copia group of retrotransposons within the plant genusVicia, which contains species with widely differing genome sizes. We have compared the numbers and sequence heterogeneities of these genetic elements in three diploidVicia species chosen to represent large (V. faba, 1C=13.3 pg), medium (V. melanops, 1C=11.5 pg) and small (V. sativa, 1C=2.3 pg) genomes within the genus. The copy numbers of the retrotransposons are all high but vary greatly, withV. faba containing approximately 10⁶ copies,V. melanops about 1000 copies andV. sativa 5000 copies. The degree of sequence heterogeneity ofTy1-copia group elements correlates with their copy number within each genome, but neither heterogeneity nor copy number are related to the genome size of the host. In situ hybridization to metaphase chromosomes shows that the retrotransposons inV. faba are distributed throughout all chromosomes but are much less abundant in certain heterochromatic regions. These results are discussed in the context of plant retrotransposon evolution.     

Isoenzyme variation in the wild relatives ofVicia faba (Fabaceae)

Electrophoretic analysis of five enzyme systems, LAP, PGI, SKDH, SOD and 6-PGDH, among 102Vicia accessions representingV. bithynica and seven species of theV. narbonensis complex, namelyV. eristalioides, V. kalakhensis, V. johannis, V. galilaea, V. serratifolia, V. narbonensis andV. hyaeniscyamus, has been performed. The recorded variation was tentatively assigned to 41 allelic genes at eight loci; intraspecific variation was observed in all species except forV. eristalioides. The results obtained were compared with the corresponding data reported earlier forV. faba. Hierarchical grouping of the investigated taxa, includingV. faba, was based onNei's genetic identities calculated from the allozyme frequency data.Vicia faba andV. bithynica were shown to be most distantly related to one another and to the remaining species investigated.Vicia serratifolia appeared to be a peripheral member of theV. narbonensis complex. The results are discussed with reference to genetic diversity and taxonomic relationships of the species under study.     

A biosystematic study ofValeriana officinalis (Valerianaceae) distributed in Bulgaria

Valeriana officinalis L. is an extremely polymorphic polyploid complex. On the basis of morphological, cytological, and phytochemical investigations of Bulgarian populations ofV. officinalis the two subspeciesV. officinalis subsp.officinalis (2n = 14, 28) andV. officinalis subsp.collina (2n = 14, 28) were each subdivided into diploid and tetraploid cytotypes.     

Phylogenetic relationships betweenVicia faba (Fabaceae) and related species inferred from chloroplasttrnL sequences

The chloroplasttrnL intron from 46 differentVicia accessions, representing five of the nine sections of the genusVicia subg.Vicia sensuMaxted (1991a) were amplified by the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) using oligonucleotide primers homologous to conserved regions intrnL. The products fell into two distinct groups; those of approximately 250 nt and those of around 450 nt in length. Of these, products from 17 differentVicia species were cloned and their nucleotide sequences determined. Multiple alignments were assembled and phylogenetic trees constructed by the weighted least-squares distance method. ALathyrus latifolius trnL intron sequence was used as an outgroup. The resulting trees clearly group and separate the sectt.Narbonensis, Bithynica andFaba species but were less able to distinguish species from sectt.Hypechusa andPeregrinae. Based on these sequence data,V. faba appears to be more distant from sect.Narbonensis than sectt.Hypechusa andPeregrinae. The results are in general agreement with a recent treatment ofVicia subg.Vicia (Maxted 1993) and lend further support to placingV. faba in the monospecific sect.Faba.     

Cytology ofCrocus sativus and its allies (Iridaceae)

Populations ofC. cartwrightianus, C. hadriaticus andC. thomasii from the Balkans have 2n = 16 as has the Middle EasternC. pallasii subsp.haussknechtii. C. dispathaceus andC. pallasii subsp.pallasii have 2n = 14 whileC. pallasii subsp.turcicus has 2n = 12.C. niveus has 2n = 28 andC. sativus is an autotriploid with 2n = 24. Karyotype variation was found between populations ofC. pallasii subsp.pallasii in Central Turkey and also inC. pallasii subsp.turcicus.     

Seed protein electrophoresis in sectionFoenum-graecum ofTrigonella (Fabaceae)

The seed proteins ofTrigonella foenum-graecum, T. berythaea, T. macrorrhyncha andT. gladiata were fractionated on polyacrylamide gels in anodic and cathodic systems. Similarity indices between the profiles of any two species indicated close affinity betweenT. gladiata andT. macrorrhyncha and betweenT. foenum-graecum andT. berythaea. It has been pointed out that according to morphological resemblance and similarity index of the seed protein profileT. berythaea is closer to the cultigen than any other species of sectionFoenum-graecum, but these two species are strongly isolated from one another by the albino seedlings of their F₁ hybrids.     

Relationships between five species ofLolium (Poaceae)

Morphological analysis and electrophoresis of seed proteins of fiveLolium species disclosed that they form two distinct groups corresponding to those recognized from compatibility data.Lolium temulentum andL. remotum of the self-pollinated group were shown to be distinct but closely related species. Morphological intergradation and high similarities between protein profiles ofL. perenne, L. multiflorum andL. rigidum (cross-pollinated species) suggest little genetic differentiation between these taxa. This implies that treatment at the infraspecific level might better accomodate the data.     

Morphological and cytological evidence for polyphyletic allopolyploidy inArctostaphylos mewukka (Ericaceae)

The central Sierran tetraploidArctostaphylos mewukka Merriam has been reported to be an allopolyploid originating from the diploid species,A. patula Greene and eitherA. viscida subsp.viscida Parry orA. viscida subsp.mariposa (Dudley)P. V. Wells, although without conclusive evidence. Morphometrics and the verification and determination of chromosome numbers were used to substantiate the evolutionary relationships among these species. A closely related species,Arctostaphylos truei Knight, was also examined using these methods to determine its separability fromA. mewukka. The morphometric analyses support a hypothesis for a polyphyletic origin ofA. mewukka from different races ofA. viscida andA. patula. The chromosomal data, although inclusive, also support this hypothesis. The data do not support the recognition ofA. truei as a taxonomic entity separate fromA. mewukka at the species level.     

Electrophoretic seed albumin patterns inVicia species of sectt.Hypechusa andPeregrinae (Fabaceae)

This work is a continuation of electrophoretic investigations aimed at revealing a wild relative ofVicia faba. Electrophoretic analysis (PAGE) of seed albumins covered 52 accessions representing eightVicia species of sect.Hypechusa and two species of sect.Peregrinae. Most of the examined species showed an intraspecific variation due to differences between accessions and/or individual variation within accessions. In spite of the intraspecific variation, marked interspecific differences were recorded. However, none of the investigated species displayed electrophoretic seed albumin patterns similar to those reported earlier forV. faba. Contribution of the obtained results to characterization of the examined taxa is discussed.     

Standard karyotypes ofAegilops uniaristata,Ae. mutica,Ae. comosa subspeciescomosa andheldreichii (Poaceae)

C-banding patterns and polymorphisms were analyzed in several accessions of the diploidAegilops speciesAe. uniaristata, Ae. mutica, andAe. comosa subsp.comosa and subsp.heldreichii, and standard karyotypes of these species were established. Variation in C-band size and location was observed between different accessions, but did not prevent chromosome identification. One accession ofAe. uniaristata was homozygous for whole-arm translocations involving chromosomes 1N and 5N. The homoeologous relationships of these chromosomes were established by comparison of chromosome morphologies and C-banding patterns to other diploidAegilops species with known chromosome homoeology. In addition, in situ hybridization analysis with a 5S rDNA probe was used to identify homoeologous groups 1 and 5 chromosomes. The present analysis permitted the assignment of allAe. mutica, comosa subsp.comosa, andAe. comosa subsp.heldreichii chromosomes, and three of the sevenAe. uniaristata chromosomes according to their homoeologous groups. The data presented will be useful analyzing genome differentiation in polyploidAegilops species.     

Pollen limitation in three sympatric species ofVaccinium (Ericaceae) in the Upper Ardennes, Belgium

The reproductive success of three co-flowering species ofVaccinium (V. myrtillus, V. vitis-idaea andV. uliginosum) was studied in one heathland of the Upper Ardennes, Belgium, during three years (1988–1990). The purpose was to examine whether pollen limitation, flower position and flowering phenology may influence patterns of fruit set in these three sympatric species. I quantified fruit and seed set following supplementary hand-pollinations and compared this to natural fruit set. On the same plants, I also quantified fruit and seed set in relation to the spatial position of the flowers on the ramet and their temporal sequence of blooming. Hand-pollination had no significant effect on fruit set inV. vitis-idaea andV. uliginosum, but significantly increased seed number per fruit in 1989. InV. myrtillus both fruit and seed set were increased by supplementary pollination, but significantly in only one year. Analyses of position effects revealed that the fruits in the lower positions in the ramet did not mature preferentially and did not contain more seeds inV. uliginosum and inV. vitis-idaea. Flowering phenology also had no significant effect for these species. InV. myrtillus hand-pollinated flowers showed a seasonal decline in seed number, and control (naturally pollinated) flowers showed a seasonal increase in fruit set. Fruit and seed set appear to be pollen-limited rather than resource-limited inV. uliginosum. In the two other species, unfavorable weather (frosts) could be a more important cause of low fruit and seed set.     

Ovule and seed anatomy ofCistaceae and relatedMalvanae

Ovule and especially seed anatomy of eight species ofCochlospermaceae, Bixaceae, Cistaceae, Monotoideae, Pakaraimaeoideae (two subfamilies ofDipterocarpaceae), andSarcolaenaceae were investigated. All representatives show a bixoid chalazal region in the seed as probable exclusive synapomorphy among angiosperms. The palisade layer of the exotegmen is curved inwards at its proximal end and forms a dome-shaped structure. A plug of hypostase tissue with an annulus/core structure fits into this dome. Moreover, two additional tissue types in the hypostase can be found in some representatives of the group. These and other micromorphological, wood anatomical, and floral morphological characters, indicate that the taxa form a monophyletic group close toMalvales s. str. The form of the starch grains in the endosperm is compared and is described for the first time forPakaraimaea (Dipterocarpaceae) andLeptolaena (Sarcolaenaceae). The position ofDiegodendron close toBixa and the presumably more distant positions ofMuntingia andNeuradaceae are discussed.     

DNA characterization in host-specificViscum album subspecies (Viscaceae)

The nuclear DNA content and composition with respect to base composition and the proportion of repetitive DNA was studied in the host-specific mistletoe subspecies,Viscum album subsp.album, V. a. subsp.abietis andV. a. subsp.laxum, using DNA ofLoranthus europaeus as a standard. Small but not significant differences were found between the 2C DNA contents and the base composition but significant differences were detected in the patterns of sequence organization. This infraspecific variation is briefly discussed in the light of differences known to occur in the patterns of lectins and viscotoxins, immunostimulating and cancerostatic effects.     

Frontiers in mycoplasma pathogenicity

Four different strains ofLactobacillus delbrueckii subsp.bulgaricus (Ss₁ and Yop₁₂) andStreptococcus salivarius subsp.thermophilus (Ss₂ and Yop₉) were isolated from two different yogurt sources in Argentina. In medium containing different carbon sources: lactose, fructose, sucrose or glucose plus fructose, the growth of a mixed culture (Yop₁₂+Ss₂) shows stimulation ofS. thermophilus and inhibition ofL. bulgaricus with respect to pure cultures. Both microorganisms in mixed culture grew less well on glucose plus galactose. However, in medium with glucose or galactose, both microorganisms were stimulated.     

Phenetic analysis shows conspecificity between Hispaniolan Viola domingensis Urban and North American Viola macloskeyi sensu lato (Violaceae)

Phenetic investigations were undertaken to evaluate differences between the cloud forest endemicViola domingensis of the Dominican Republic and the morphologically similarV. macloskeyi of continental North America. Cluster, principal components (PCA), and canonical variates analyses (CVA) of leaf characters and of ratios derived from them consistently separateV. macloskeyi subsp.macloskeyi of the Pacific states fromV. domingensis and transcontinentalV. macloskeyi subsp.pallens. However, all analyses portray the latter two as extensively intergradient extremes of a continuum, withV. domingensis plants tending to be smaller. Phenetic analyses of capsule and seed features, which are often divergent among other species of subsect.Stolonosae, showV. domingensis to be nested within a broaderV. macloskeyi subsp.pallens. Similarly, floral morphology does not provide observable differences between the pair. Results support the synonymy ofV. domingensis underV. macloskeyi subsp.pallens and reveal that it represents a disjunct outlier of an otherwise continental North American violet.     

Taxonomic relationships between V. faba and its relatives based on nuclear and mitochondrial RFLPs and PCR analysis

Summary The taxonomic relationships between 52 accessions of 12 Vicia species and three accessions of Lathyrus were examined using nuclear RFLP- and PCR-generated data. Two hundred and sixty informative restriction fragments or amplification products were analysed by single linkage analysis, average cluster analysis, and the Wagner parsimony method. Dendrograms constructed from each type of analysis showed similar overall topologies and could be divided into three parts corresponding respectively to the Lathyrus outgroup, the species grouped in the section Faba/narbonemis complex, and the species belonging to the sections Hypechusa and Peregrinae. With few exceptions, the majority of accessions belonging to one species grouped together before branching to other species. An analysis of mitochondrial DNA phenotypes was both consistent with and complemented the results from the nuclear data. Overall, the species relationships show a good correlation with the classification of Maxted et al. but suggest that V. faba is more closely aligned to species from the sections Hypechusa and Peregrinae than to those in the narbonensis complex. In addition, the position of two new species, V. kalakhensis and V. eristaloides, as members of the narbonensis complex was supported by the molecular data, which also allowed a preliminary classification for recently collected Vicia accessions.     

Über die weite Verbreitung lichenisierter Sippen vonDictyochloropsis und die systematische Stellung vonMyrmecia reticulata (Chlorophyta)

Catinaria grossa is lichenized withDictyochloropsis splendida var.gelatinosa, var. nova. When cultured isolated from the fungus the cells of this variety are covered individually by thick gelatinous envelopes. The phycobionts ofMegalospora gompholoma subsp.gompholoma andM. atrorubicans subsp.australis belong to a new variety ofD. symbiontica, i.e. var.pauciautosporica, which preferentially reproduces by zoo- and aplanospores. The phycobiont ofPseudocyphellaria aurata does not belong toMyrmecia reticulata as formerly thought, but toDictyochloropsis symbiontica. Specimens from one locality in Tenerife and from New Zealand are lichenized with a strain ofD. symbiontica var.symbiontica, those from another locality in Tenerife with a strain ofD. symbiontica var.pauciautosporica. These strains differ in certain characters from other lichenized strains of these varieties.