Rapid immuno‐monitoring of inoculant plant growth‐promoting microorganisms

Rapid, specific techniques are essential to monitor the quality of inoculant plant growth‐promoting strains at all stages of manufacture from starter culture to the final product in its carrier medium. In this study, colony immunoblotting was evaluated for the specific detection and enumeration of Citrobacter freundii, one component of a Vietnamese commercial inoculant plant growth‐promoting product used to improve the yield and nutrient efficiency of paddy rice. For quality control of either sterilised or unsterilised carrier media in commercial products colony immunoblotting proved to be a promising tool. Furthermore, it was possible using this technique to measure the survival of this strain in soil and the rhizosphere.     

Molecular phylogeny of the fern genus Elaphoglossum (Elaphoglossaceae) based on chloroplast non-coding DNA sequences: contributions of species from the Indian Ocean area

We performed a phylogenetic analysis of the fern genus Elaphoglossum using two non-coding chloroplast spacers: trnL-trnF and rps4-trnS. The sampling includes 123 species, of which 80 have not been previously sequenced, and for the first time includes species from Africa and the Indian Ocean area. The results of this expanded study largely agree with an earlier molecular study based on a smaller group of neotropical species and with the morphology-based classification of Mickel and Atehortua. We found, however, that some infrageneric groups such as section Elaphoglossum are not monophyletic. Besides section Elaphoglossum pro parte, we recognize six sections: two new monospecific, unnamed sections, and the previously established sections Lepidoglossa, Squamipedia, Amygdalifolia, and "Subulate-scaled clade." We divide the subulate-scaled clade into subsection Setosa (hydathodes present) and Polytrichia (hydathodes absent), and section Elaphoglossum is divided into subsections Platyglossa and Pachyglossa, two groups that do not appear to be supported by any single morphological character. In general, however, the main clades are supported by morphology. Finally, we discuss the species of the Indian Ocean region and their affinities with the neotropical ones. Out of the 11 species pairs postulated by Moran and Smith on the basis of morphology, two are well supported (E. eximium-E. aubertii; E. piloselloides-E. spatulatum) and three are not supported (E. ciliatum-E. humbertii; E. muscosum-E. poolii; E. paleaceum-E. deckenii), and two remain unresolved (E. erinaceum-E. hybridum; E. glabellum-E. acrostichoides) because our molecular markers were not variable enough. Four species pairs could not be tested because specimens were lacking. Unsupported species pairs are best interpreted as morphological convergences. Two additional species pairs are proposed: E. cuspidatum-E. succisaefolium; E. doanense-E. hornei. Placement of the species from the Indian Ocean suggests that at least 13 long-distance dispersal events occurred between the Neotropics and the Indian Ocean-Africa.     

Use of space and home range characteristics of Lepilemur mittermeieri,an endangered sportive lemur endemic to the Ampasindava peninsula,north‐west Madagascar

Lepilemur mittermeieri, a little‐studied sportive lemur of north‐west Madagascar, endemic to the Ampasindava Peninsula, faces habitat loss through forest degradation and rapid fragmentation. Understanding its habitat requirement is the first step toward preservation of this threatened forest‐dependent species. In this study, we gathered data on the use of space and home range characteristics of L. mittermeieri. We studied individuals from early March to the end of June 2015 and 2016, in three sites of the Ampasindava peninsula. We radio‐tracked 15 individuals to obtain detailed information on the size and location of home ranges (around 450 hr of tracking). Direct observation and morphometric measurements provided additional data sets. Both kernel density estimation (KDE) and minimum convex polygon (MCP) methods yielded similar home range sizes (an average of 2.01 ha with KDE method and 1.96 ha with MCP method). We did not find differences in home range size between males and females, with respect to forest type or proximity to the forest edge. Home ranges overlapped and individuals showed low levels of territoriality. We highlighted a sexually‐dimorphic trait: males have longer upper canine than females. Our results constitute the first set of ecological information on Lepilemur mittermeieri and could be the basis for a conservation strategy for this endangered species with a very small distribution area.     

Neoendemism in Madagascan scaly tree ferns results from recent, coincident diversification bursts

More than 80% of Madagascar's 12,000 plant species are endemic with the degree of endemism reaching as much as 95% in the scaly tree ferns, an important species rich component of Madagascar's evergreen rainforests. Predominantly African or Asian ancestry and divergence times usually postdating the separation of Madagascar from the Gondwanan landmasses have been demonstrated for several Madagascan animal and angiosperm groups. However, evolutionary studies of rainforest-specific lineages are scarce and the ecological context of radiation events has rarely been investigated. Here, we examine the evolution of Madagascan tree ferns as a rainforest-specific model family, integrate results from bioclimatic niche analysis with a dated phylogenetic framework, and propose an evolutionary scenario casting new light on our knowledge of the evolution of large island endemic clades. We show that Madagascar's extant tree fern diversity springs from three distinct ancestors independently colonizing Madagascar in the Miocene and that these three monophyletic clades diversified in three coincident radiation bursts during the Pliocene, reaching exceptionally high diversification rates and most likely responding to a common climatic trigger. Recent diversification bursts may thus have played a major role in the evolution of the extant Madagascan rainforest biome, which hence contains a significant number of young, neoendemic taxa.