Phylogenetic and biosystematic relationships in four highly disjunct polyploid complexes in the subgenera Ceterach and Phyllitis in Asplenium (Aspleniaceae)

Phylogenetic studies using DNA sequences of two chloroplast regions, rbcL and trnL-F, demonstrate that the proposed genus Ceterach is a small clade within the large genus Asplenium, and sister to the Phyllitis clade. The Ceterach clade is characterised by irregular anastomosing veins and often densely scaled leaf blades. Its taxonomic status as a group nested within Asplenium is confirmed, and it is accepted here as a subgenus with seven species. The Ceterach clade comprises four lineages that correspond to disjunct polyploid complexes: the A. aureum clade forming a polyploid complex (4×, 6×, 8×) in Macaronesia, the A. ceterach clade forming a polyploid complex (2×, 4×, 6×) in the Mediterranean Basin, the A. paucivenosum clade (4×, 6×) in central Asia, and the A. dalhousiae clade (2×) with a disjunct distribution in the Himalaya, Yemen and Eritrea, and southwestern North America. Asplenium paucivenosum is sister to all other members of the Ceterach clade, whereas A. dalhousiae is sister to the A. aureum clade that includes tetraploid A. aureum, hexaploid A. lolegnamense, and octoploid A. parvifolium. Asplenium ceterach and its variations – including the hexaploid A. ceterach subsp. mediterraneum subsp. nov. first described below – form a monophyletic unit, sister to a clade consisting of A. aureum and A. dalhousiae. Asplenium cordatum from Africa and A. haugthonii from the isolated atlantic island of St. Helena are not members of the Ceterach clade, which suggests that leaf blades with dense indumenta have evolved at least twice within asplenioid ferns. The allotetraploid species A. hybridum has the chloroplast DNA from A. ceterach, and therefore the latter species is the maternal ancestor of the former. The other parent of this hybrid species is A. sagittatum that is nested within the sister clade of Ceterach, the Phyllitis clade comprising A. sagittatum and A. scolopendrium. The findings suggest that the current distribution of Ceterach is either the result of long-distance dispersal or represents fragmented relicts of a previously more widely distributed species.     

Ascomycetes on Polytrichadelphus aristatus (Musci)

Fourteen herbarium specimens of Polytrichadelphus aristatus (Polytrichaceae, Musci) from the northern Andes were found to be colonized by ascomycetes. Thirty fungal specimens are indicated representing nine species and six genera. They belong to the first records of bryophilous fungi of northern South America. Five taxa are proposed as new: the genus Aphanotria, and the species A. paradoxa, Bryochiton macrosporus, Bryorella imitans, and Massarina polytrichadelphi. Most frequently found were Rogellia triseptata with six and Bryochiton macrosporus with five records. Four species develop their ascomata between the photosynthetic leaf lamellae, three are immersed within the abaxial side of the leaf nerve and two grow below the adaxial cuticle. The hypocrealean A. paradoxa, which has huge but almost invisible ascomata, merits special attention. Apart from a pronounced rostrum, these are completely immersed within the leaf nerve but longitudinally orientated occupying a type of microniche hitherto unknown. Hyphae of several species attack the thick-walled stereids of the leaf nerve and strongly contribute to leaf decomposition. Polytrichadelphus aristatus has an assemblage of parasitic ascomycetes quite different from that of P. magellanicus from southern South America.     

Revision of the genus Noculacia Mayer, 1903 (Crustacea: Amphipoda: Caprellidea) with the description of two new species

The genus Noculacia Mayer, 1903 is reviewed. Two new species, N. africana n. sp. and N. australiensis n. sp., are described based on material collected from southeast Africa and western-southern Australia, respectively. Noculacia bullata Mayer, 1903, the type species of the genus, is redescribed. Noculacia bogisa Mayer, 1903 is transferred to the genus Pseudoprotella Mayer, 1890 mainly on the basis of the presence of a well developed molar, the structure of pereopods 3 and 4, and the setal formula of the mandibular palp being 2-x-1. The genus Noculacia is presently composed of three species: N. africana n. sp., N. australiensis n. sp, and N. bullata Mayer, 1903. The genus Pseudoprotella is composed of P. bogisa (Mayer, 1903), P. inermis Chevreux, 1927, and P. phasma (Montagu, 1804).     

Biochemical systematics of Allodontichthys: A genus of goodeid fishes

Allodontichthys Hubbs and Turner 1939 of the family Goodeidae is comprised of three species: A. tamazulae and A. hubbsi from the Rio Coahuayana and A. zonistius from the Rio Armeria in Estados Jalisco and Colima, Mexico. These fish are found throughout the shallow riffles of small streams. Their systematics has been based on morphological and karyological traits. An alloenzymic study of the genus produced results which agree well with the previous morphological studies. Moreover, a dendrogram of Nei genetic identities agrees well with the zoogeography of the species. The data indicate a high degree of congruence between alloenzymic and morphological systematic inferences in this group of fishes.     

四川乌头属二新种

描述了自四川西部发现的毛茛科乌头属二新种，细盔乌头和疏叶乌头，并给出其等与近缘种的区别特征。     

Experimental hybridization of Angiostrongylus mackerrasae, Bhaibulaya, 1968 and Angiostrongylus cantonensis (Chen, 1935)

Angiostrongylus mackerrasae and A. cantonensis are closely related and their status as distinct species was tested by experimental hybridization. Hybridization between A. mackerrasae and A. cantonensis was observed and the morphology of the F₁ hybrids was found to be intermediate between that of the parental species which suggests strongly that A. mackerrasae and A. cantonensis are both valid species. However, male F₁ hybrids were sterile, whereas females were fertile; no evidence of parthenogenesis or other form of asexual reproduction were observed in either species. It is suggested that A. mackerrasae and A. cantonensis may cross breed in nature.     

中国马兜铃属和关木通属(马兜铃科)概览

马兜铃属(广义) (Aristolochia sensu lato)具有花单被、花萼管状、合蕊柱、子房下位、中轴胎座、胚珠多数、蒴果等主要特征, 广布于全世界的热带、亚热带和温带地区, 约有600种, 是马兜铃科中种类最多的属。依据Flora of China, 我国有本属植物45种, 其中33种为中国特有。近些年, 国内大量的新类群被相继报道, 特别是云南、广西两地, 而另一些类群则得到了确认、恢复、重新发表或修订。最近, 基于形态和分子证据, 关木通属(Isotrema)因其花萼管急剧弯曲; 合蕊柱3裂; 雄蕊6, 成对与合蕊柱裂片对生; 蒴果由上而下开裂等区别特征而从广义马兜铃属中被分出独立成属。本文基于大量的野外调查、标本鉴定、数码照片考证和相关文献的仔细研究, 重新梳理了中国马兜铃属和关木通属的种类及分布情况, 确认现阶段中国马兜铃属17种和关木通属58种1亚种, 并一一记述同时编制了最新的检索表。其中, 柔叶关木通(I. mollis)、线叶关木通(I. neolongifolia)的种级地位得到重新确认, 并提供了图版。探讨了优贵马兜铃(A. gentilis)、川滇马兜铃(A. chuandianensis)和纤细马兜铃(A. gracillima)的关系, 昆明关木通(I. kunmingense)与波氏关木通(A. bonatii)的关系, 以及卵叶关木通(I. ovatifolium)、葫芦叶关木通(I. cucurbitoides)、西藏关木通(I. griffithii)、过石珠(I. versicolor)、大别山关木通(I. dabieshanensis)等复合群和袋形关木通(I. saccata)等物种存在的问题。     

高茎紫菀(菊科)形态描述补充及细胞学和分子系统学研究北大核心CSCD

结合在模式产地采集的高茎紫菀(Aster procerus Hemsley)以及查阅文献资料,发现原始文献对其形态描述不充分且缺乏细胞学和分子系统学方面的报道。本研究对高茎紫菀的形态特征进行了补充描述以及核型特征和系统位置分析,为紫菀属的修订提供资料。结果表明:(1)依据观察结果,补充了高茎紫菀新的形态特征:基生叶羽状分裂,成熟的基生叶较大,长可达26 cm,宽可达8 cm;花序托圆锥状。(2)高茎紫菀的染色体数目为2n=18;核型公式为2n=2x=16 m+2 M,核型属于1 A。(3)基于ITS和ETS标记的分子系统发育树分析表明,高茎紫菀不同居群的2个个体在同一进化支上(LP=100,PP=1.00),且位于核心紫菀属(LP=100,PP=1.00),与女菀[Turczaninovia fastigiata(Fischer)Candolle]构成姐妹类群(LP=52,PP=0.99)。研究认为,高茎紫菀基生叶和花序托的特征可为紫菀属的分类提供新的证据,支持高茎紫菀位于紫菀属(Aster L.)内,建议将女菀并入紫菀属。     

Ammotheidae (Arthropoda: Pycnogonidae) collected during the Victoria Land Transect cruise 2004 (Ross Sea, Antarctica), with a description of a new species of Ammothea

Specimens belonging to the pycnogonid family Ammotheidae collected during the Victoria Land Transect 2004 cruise (Ross Sea, Antarctica) were studied. Five species are recognized in this collection, three species of Ammothea, one of Achelia and one of Austroraptus. Some information about the variability of the propodal armature of Ammothea glacialis is discussed. The rare species Ammothea meridionalis is reported for the fifth time, enlarging its known bathymetric range. A new species in the genus Ammothea is described, Ammothea victoriae. The new taxon is compared with its closest congeners, especially with A. armentis, A. gordonae and A. carolinensis. Both morphotypes of Achelia spicata are reported, some additional morphological differences having been detected between them. Austroraptus calcaratus is reported for the third time, and with our specimens 14 individuals are now known. Present and previous data show a restricted geographical and bathymetric distribution.     

Questa (Annelida, Polychaeta, Orbiniidae) from Pacific regions — new species and reassessment of the genus Periquesta

On the basis of new material from various Pacific regions we critically evaluate the characters for the taxonomy of the genus Questa and the former Questidae, a taxon now concluded to be a lineage within the family Orbiniidae. Two new species, Questa retrospermatica sp. n. from Hawaii (with similar forms also from New Caledonia and China), and Questa fijiensis sp. n. from Fiji, are described, and the morphological character patterns and phylogeny of the genus are revisited on the basis of a cladistic analysis. The finding of Hawaiian material of a new species, Levinsenia hawaiiensis sp. n., similar to Periquesta canariensis Brito & Nunez, 2002 (=Levinsenia canariensis comb. n.), challenges the view that Periquesta Brito & Nunez, 2002 is closely related to Questa; rather, it belongs to Paraonidae as a junior synonym of Levinsenia Mesnil, 1897.     

Molecular phylogenetic studies show Omphalina giovanellae represents a new section of Clitopilus (Agaricomycetes)

After reconsidering the specific characters of Omphalia giovanellae and applying data from the sequences of the D1–D2 domain of the 28S rRNA gene and the ITS region of material collected in Italy and Spain, the species is ascribed to the genus Clitopilus. Considering the rather peculiar characters, especially the smooth spores, C. giovanellae is ascribed to the new section Omphaloidei sect. nov. The species is illustrated with drawings of fresh basidiomata observed in situ, as well as with SEM micrographs of the spores. Also based on DNA sequence data, O. farinolens, recently described from Spain, is shown to be a synonym of C. giovanellae.     

Aplanochytrium stocchinoi: a new Labyrinthulomycota from the southern ocean (Ross Sea, Antarctica)

Aplanochytrium stocchinoi, a new species of Labyrinthulomycota, is described from samples collected in Antarctica. Ultrastructural, life cycle and molecular data characterizing the new taxon are provided and compared with the features of other species included in the genus Aplanochytrium. The phylogenetic position of A. stocchinoi is investigated using the 18S rDNA as molecular marker and applying maximum parsimony, minimum evolution and maximum likelihood methods.     

Historical biogeography of the lineage Atopochara trivolvis PECK 1941 (Cretaceous Charophyta)

The evolutionary species Atopochara trivolvis represents a unique case of a charophyte with a well-documented, long-lasting fossil record of biostratigraphical interest and a worldwide distribution. This provides an excellent basis for analysing the historical biogeography of this important species. The origin of the lineage is recorded in the Early Berriasian of Western Europe, where an archipelago-like palaeogeography would have favoured allopatric speciation and small-sized original biogeographic ranges. The species first reached Eastern Europe during the Valanginian and expanded to China during the Hauterivian. It expanded worldwide during the Barremian–Aptian, first colonizing North Africa and South America through the Guinea Corridor and subsequently reaching North America. The Barremian–Aptian worldwide expansion was probably facilitated by the monoecious nature of A. trivolvis, which allowed for long-distance animal dispersal, as is the case with extant Chara. An initial fragmentation in the biogeographic range of A. trivolvis can be detected in the Albian–Cenomanian, when the species displayed up to 5 different morphotypes in scattered localities of Eurasia and North America. During the Turonian sea-level highstand A. trivolvis became extinct also from most of these localities, while, in the Latest Cretaceous plesiomorphic populations of A. trivolvis ulanensis survived in Mongolia and Northern China. The species became completely extinct near the K/T boundary.     

Massaliatrema misgurni n. sp. (Trematoda: Heterophyidae) whose metacercariae encyst in loaches (Misgurnus anguillicaudatus)

Hitherto unknown metacercariae were found encysted in loaches (Misgurnus anguillicaudatus) from China. They were experimentally fed to golden hamsters, and gravid adults were recovered 1 week post-infection from their small intestines. A new species, Massaliatrema misgurni n. sp. (Heterophyidae), is described from the adults. This new species is different from M. gyrinicola Dollfus and Timon-David, 1960, in having a smaller acetabulum/oral sucker ratio, less branched vitellaria widely entering the intercecal anteroacetabular area and an almost median seminal receptacle; and from M. yamashitai Kamiya and Ohbayashi, 1975, in having a larger acetabulum/oral sucker ratio, with the seminal vesicle situated in the uterine loop and the vitellaria entering the intercecal anteroacetabular area. This report is the first record of M. anguillicaudatus as a second intermediate host of the genus Massaliatrema Dollfus and Timon-David, 1960.     

The dinoflagellate Alexandrium minutum in Cape Town harbour (South Africa): Bloom characteristics, phylogenetic analysis and toxin composition

A novel bloom of Alexandrium minutum occurred in an inner basin of the Cape Town harbour from November 2003 to February 2004. Cellular concentrations reached a maximum of 1.4 × 10⁸ cells l⁻¹ during the mid-December period with corresponding chlorophyll a concentrations of 243 mg m⁻³. Primary productivity measurements conducted during the latter part of the bloom revealed a maximum assimilation number of 11.17 mg C mg Chl a⁻¹ h⁻¹ during the middle of the day. Productivity during this post-peak period was sustained largely by the reduced nitrogen species NH₄ and urea (96%) as measured using ¹⁵N tracer techniques. The large subunit ribosomal DNA sequence of A. minutum isolates from Cape Town harbour was identical to conspecifics collected in Western Europe and in Australia. The composition of tetrahydropurine neurotoxins associated with paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) was limited to gonyautoxins (GTX1-GTX4). This profile combined with evidence of a low toxin cell quota (1.5 fmol GTX cell⁻¹) supports a close association of this taxon with other members of the A. minutum species complex, particularly from Europe. Toxin analysis from black mussels collected during this bloom indicated that the accumulated PSP toxins originated from A. minutum and not from Alexandrium catenella as is most often the case along the South African coast.     

The Aspergillus niger carbon catabolite repressor encoding gene, creA

In order to undertake a comparative analysis of carbon catabolite repression in two Aspergillus species, the creA gene has been isolated from A. niger by cross hybridization, using the cloned A. nidulans gene. The A. niger gene has been shown to be functional in A. nidulans by heterologous complementation of the creA204 mutation of A. nidulans. Overall, the genes show 90% sequence similarity (82% identity) at the amino acid (aa) level. There were some striking similarities between the aa sequences encoded by the two fungal creA genes and two genes involved in carbon catabolite repression in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The zinc-finger regions showed 96% similarity (84% identity) with the zinc-finger region of the MIG1 gene of S. cerevisiae. The CREA protein contains a stretch of 42 aa that is identical in A. niger and A. nidulans, and these show 81% similarity (33% identity) with a region of the S. cerevisiae RGR1 gene.     

Subunit polypeptide composition of rubisco and the origin of allopolyploid Arabidopsis suecica (Brassicaceae)

The polypeptide composition of the large and small subunits of Rubisco (ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase) from Arabidopsis thaliana, A. suecica and Cardaminopsis arenosa have been studied by IEF (isoelectric focusing) analysis. The putative recent alopolyploid origin of A. suecica is supported. The chloroplast encoded large subunits served to identify solely A. thaliana as the maternal parent whereas the nuclear encoded small subunits indicate C. arenosa as the paternal species.     

Genetic diversity of an amphicarpic species, Amphicarpaea edgeworthii Benth. (Leguminosae) based on RAPD markers

Amphicarpaea edgeworthii Benth. is an amphicarpic legume widespread in China. Amphicarpy describes the phenomenon that a plant produces aerial as well as subterranean fruits. A. edgeworthii can reproduce via three kinds of flowers: aerial chasmogamous flowers, aerial cleistogamous flowers, and subterranean cleistogamous flowers. Although there are some studies on the population genetic structure of species with both chasmogamous and cleistogamous flowers, none has been done for that of an amphicarpic species so far. The present study uses random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) to assess level and pattern of genetic variation in 15 natural populations of A. edgeworthii. A total of 131 stable and clearly scored RAPD bands were achieved from 13 primers. The average genetic diversity within populations estimated by Shannon's information index was 0.218 at the population level, but ranged from 0.119 to 0.302, which was significantly different (P < 0.01). Different statistical analyses revealed a high level of genetic differentiation among populations (G_ST = 0.473–0.527). Thus, the pattern of genetic structure of A. edgeworthii is consistent with that of an inbreeding species.