Nucleotide diversity and phylogenetic relationships among <Emphasis Type="Italic">Gladiolus</Emphasis> cultivars and related taxa of family Iridaceae

The plastid genome regions of two intergenic spacers, psbA–trnH and trnL–trnF, were sequenced to study the nucleotide diversity and phylogenetic relationships among Gladiolus cultivars. Nucleotide diversity of psbA–trnH region was higher than trnL–trnF region of chloroplast. We employed Bayesian, maximum parsimony (MP) and neighbour-joining (NJ) approaches for phylogenetic analysis of Gladiolus and related taxa using combined datasets from chloroplast genome. The psbA–trnH and trnL–trnF intergenic spacers of Gladiolus and related taxa-like Babiana, Chasmanthe, Crocus, Iris, Moraea, Sisyrinchium, Sparaxis and two out group species (Hymenocallis littoralis and Asphodeline lutea) were used in the present investigation. Results showed that subfamily Iridoideae have sister lineage with subfamily Ixioideae and Crocoideae. H. littoralis and A. lutea were separately attached at the base of tree as the diverging Iridaceae relative’s lineage. Present study revealed that psbA–trnH region are useful in addressing questions of phylogenetic relationships among the Gladiolus cultivars, as these intergenic spacers are more variable and have more phylogenetically informative sites than the trnL–trnF spacer, and therefore, are suitable for phylogenetic comparison on a lower taxonomic level. Gladiolus cultivars are extensively used as an ornamental crop and showed high potential in floriculture trade. Gladiolus cultivation still needs to generate new cultivars with stable phenotypes. Moreover, one of the most popular methods for generating new cultivars is hybridization. Hence, information on phylogenetic relationships among cultivars could be useful for hybridization programmes for further improvement of the crop.     

Trophic level asynchrony in rates of phenological change for marine,freshwater and terrestrial environments

Recent changes in the seasonal timing (phenology) of familiar biological events have been one of the most conspicuous signs of climate change. However, the lack of a standardized approach to analysing change has hampered assessment of consistency in such changes among different taxa and trophic levels and across freshwater, terrestrial and marine environments. We present a standardized assessment of 25 532 rates of phenological change for 726 UK terrestrial, freshwater and marine taxa. The majority of spring and summer events have advanced, and more rapidly than previously documented. Such consistency is indicative of shared large scale drivers. Furthermore, average rates of change have accelerated in a way that is consistent with observed warming trends. Less coherent patterns in some groups of organisms point to the agency of more local scale processes and multiple drivers. For the first time we show a broad scale signal of differential phenological change among trophic levels; across environments advances in timing were slowest for secondary consumers, thus heightening the potential risk of temporal mismatch in key trophic interactions. If current patterns and rates of phenological change are indicative of future trends, future climate warming may exacerbate trophic mismatching, further disrupting the functioning, persistence and resilience of many ecosystems and having a major impact on ecosystem services.     

The influence of elevated CO2 on species phenology, growth and reproduction in a Mediterranean old-field community

We studied the effects on the phenology, growth and reproduction of 19 Mediterranean species, of elevating the atmospheric CO₂ concentration ([CO₂]) to twice-ambient. Intact monoliths were taken from an old-field and put, during a six month growing season, into growth chambers in which external climatic conditions were mimicked and [CO₂] was regulated. Fruit set time was significantly changed in six species under elevated [CO₂] and leaf and branch senescence accelerated in most species. Grasses had fewer leaves and legumes were more branched at peak production under elevated [CO₂] than under ambient. Plant seed number was not significantly changed under elevated [CO₂], whereas the reproductive effort of grasses was significantly depressed. Reproductive and vegetative characteristics showed related responses to [CO₂], as species with enhanced biomass had a hastened fruit set time, a higher number of fruits per plant and a higher reproductive biomass under elevated [CO₂] than under ambient conditions, while species with depressed biomass had a delayed fruit set time, a lower number of fruits per plant and a lower reproductive biomass. Our results also show a high interspecific variability in [CO₂] response, but some trends emerged at the family level: the production of vegetative and reproductive modules were depressed in grasses and slightly stimulated in legumes.     

Arabidopsis AtcwINV3 and 6 are not invertases but are fructan exohydrolases (FEHs) with different substrate specificities

The genome of Arabidopsis thaliana contains six putative cell-wall type invertase genes (AtcwINV1-6). Heterologous expression of AtcwINV1, 3 and 6 cDNAs in Pichia pastoris revealed that the enzymes encoded by AtcwINV3 and 6 did not show invertase activity. Instead, AtcwINV3 is a 6-FEH and AtcwINV6 is a fructan exohydrolase (FEH) that can degrade both inulin and levan-type fructans. For AtcwINV6 it is proposed to use the term (6&1) FEH. In contrast, AtcwINV1 is a typical invertase. FEH activity was also detected in crude extracts of different parts of Arabidopsis. To verify that the FEH activity of AtcwINV3 and 6 were not artefacts of the heterologous expression system, the protein corresponding to AtcwINV3 was isolated from whole Arabidopsis plants and indeed showed only 6-FEH activity and no invertase activity. Although no fructans can be detected in Arabidopsis plants, it is shown that kestoses (trimers) can be synthesized in crude leaf extracts. The putative physiological significance of FEH in so-called non-fructan plants is discussed.     

Development of species-specific primers for the ectoparasitic nematode species Xiphinema brevicolle, X. diffusum, X. elongatum, X. ifacolum and X. longicaudatum (Nematoda: Longidoridae) based on ribosomal DNA sequences

The objective of this study was to develop single‐step PCR species‐specific primers that reliably discriminate four economically important Xiphinema species (X. brevicolle, X. elongatum, X. ifacolum and X. longicaudatum) and X. diffusum that is taxonomically very similar to X. brevicolle. Each species‐specific reverse primer was located in the ITS‐1 rDNA region and was used in combination with a universal forward primer located in the 18S rDNA gene. Primer reliability was confirmed by screening seven and 11 populations, respectively of X. diffusum and X. elongatum. Potential species‐specific primers were also identified for X. brevicolle, X. longicaudatum and X. ifacolum, however too few populations of these species were available to thoroughly assess their reliability. For all species‐specific primers, specificity was demonstrated by the absence of cross‐reactions with 14 non‐target Xiphinema species. Multiplex PCR was effective and reproducible for two (X. longicaudatum and X. ifacolum) or three (X. brevicolle, X. diffusum and X. elongatum) of the target nematode species, thus improving the applicability of the diagnostic primers.     

Fluorimetric Assay of the Activity of Extracellular Lipases of Pseudomonas fluorescens and Serratia marcescens

A fluorimetric assay was carried out on the activity of extracellular lipase concentrations obtained from Serratia marcescens and Pseudomonas fluorescens using as substrates fatty acyl esters of 4-methylumbelliferone (4-methylumbelliferone elaidate, 4-methylumbelliferone nonanoate, 4-methylumbelliferone butyrate, 4-methylumbelliferone palmitate and 4-methylumbelliferone oleate) at pH 4.0, 6.0, 8.0 and 10.0. The Ser. marcescens and Ps. fluorescens were cultured in Pope and Skerman's basal medium (Skerman 1957) supplemented with 0.5% (w/v) of a commercial medium. The extracellular lipases were isolated and purified by ammonium sulphate precipitation. The assay was carried out by relating the fluorescent intensity emitted by two lipase concentrations on five substrates against four standard curves. These standard curves were prepared by estimating the intensity of fluorescence given by varying dilutions of 4-methylumbelliferone at the four pH levels. The results indicated that the oleic ester of 4-methylumbelliferone was a suitable substrate at pH 8.0 and pH 10.0. These pH values were also optimum for fluorescent intensity on substrates of 4-methylumbelliferone elaidate, 4-methylumbelliferone butyrate and 4-methylumbelliferone palmitate. However, on substrate 4-methylumbelliferone nonanoate, the optimum pH was 4.0.