Phenetic studies in Nuphar Sm. (Nymphaeaceae):variation in sect. Nuphar

Previous taxonomic assessments of the hydrophytic genus Nuphar Sm. (Nymphaeaceae) have inadequately considered the range of morphological variation existing in the genus. A comprehensive statistical analysis of morphological features among the recognized taxa of Nuphar is presented here, first using 10 fruit characters to delimit the separation of two infrageneric groups of taxa, and secondly using 31 characters to quantify the morphological variation found within sect. Nuphar. Results from combined phenetic analyses provided empirical support for recognition of two infrageneric groups of species in the genus (largely by fruit, stigmatic disk margin, neck, and stigmatic disk size) and for separation of taxa within sect. Nuphar (by leaf size, and fruit disk and neck size). Statistical analyses demonstrate that extensive variation in ranges of character states exists among sect. Nuphar taxa. However, a suite of qualitative and quantitative characters can be used to recognize five species and three subspecies within this predominantly Old World assemblage.     

Molecular phylogeny of the genus Pieris (Ericaceae) with special reference to phylogenetic relationships of insular plants on the Ryukyu Islands

Phylogenetic relationships within the genus Pieris (Ericaceae) were investigated based on the rbcL and matK genes along with five spacer sequences of chloroplast DNA to address questions regarding the phylogeography of the genus in association with insular plants on the Ryukyu Islands. The most parsimonious trees indicated that P. floribunda from eastern North America is a sister taxon to the remaining taxa examined, and suggested that the East Asian taxa examined are monophyletic. A morphologically cohesive group, section Pieris, was revealed to be paraphyletic. Within the East Asian clade, insular endemics from the Ryukyu Islands, Taiwan, and mainland Japan formed a sister group to P. formosa from the Himalayas and southern China. Our data suggest that the insular endemics of the Ryukyu Islands and Taiwan arose via allopatric divergence as a result of a paleogeographical land configuration of a landbridge during the early–middle Pleistocene in the Quaternary Period.     

On Sea Turtle‐associated Craspedostauros (Bacillariophyta), with Description of Three Novel Species

The current study focuses on four species from the primarily marine diatom genus Craspedostauros that were observed growing attached to numerous sea turtles and sea turtle‐associated barnacles from Croatia and South Africa. Three of the examined taxa, C. danayanus sp. nov., C. legouvelloanus sp. nov., and C. macewanii sp. nov., are described based on morphological and, whenever possible, molecular characteristics. The new taxa exhibit characters not previously observed in other members of the genus, such as the presence of more than two rows of cribrate areolae on the girdle bands, shallow perforated septa, and a complete reduction of the stauros. The fourth species, C. alatus, itself recently described from museum sea turtle specimens, is reported for the first time from loggerhead sea turtles rescued in Europe. A 3‐gene phylogenetic analysis including DNA sequence data for three sea turtle‐associated Craspedostauros species and other marine and epizoic diatom taxa indicated that Craspedostauros is monophyletic and sister to Achnanthes. This study, being based on a large number of samples and animal specimens analyzed and using different preservation and processing methods, provides new insights into the ecology and biogeography of the genus and sheds light on the level of intimacy and permanency in the host–epibiont interaction within the epizoic Craspedostauros species.     

PHYLOGENY OF CARTERIA (CHLOROPHYCEAE) INFERRED FROM MOLECULAR AND ORGANISMAL DATA1

Comparative ultrastructural data have shown that at least two distinct groups exist within Carteria. Similarly, interpretations of variation in gross morphological features have led to the discovery of morphologically distinct groups within the genus. Partial sequences from the nuclear-encoded small- and large-subunit ribosomal RNA molecules of selected Carteria taxa were studied as a means of 1) testing hypotheses that distinct groups of species exist within the genus and 2) assessing monophyly of the genus. Parsimony analysis of the sequence data suggests that three Carteria species, C. lunzensis, C. crucifera, and C. olivieri, form a monophyletic group that is the basal sister group to all other ingroup flagellate taxa (including species of Chlamydomonas, Haematococcus, Stephanosphaera, Volvox, and Eudorina). Two other Carteria taxa, C. radiosa and Carteria sp. (UTEX isolate LB 762), form a clade that is the sister group to a clade that includes Haematococcus spp., Chlamydomonas spp., and Stephanosphaera. Thus, the sequence data support the interpretations of ultrastructural evidence that described two distinct Carteria lineages. Moreover, the sequence data suggest that these two Carteria groups do not form a monophyletic assemblage. Parsimony analysis of a suite of organismal (morphological, ultra-structural, life history, and biochemical) character data also suggest two distinct lineages among the five Carteria taxa; however, the organismal data are ambiguous regarding monophyly of these Carteria taxa. When the two independent data sets are pooled, monophyly of Carteria is not supported; therefore, the weight of available evidence, both molecular and organismal, fails to support the concept of Carteria as a natural genus.     

Phylogenetic relationships in Nuphar (Nymphaeaceae): evidence from morphology,chloroplast DNA,and nuclear ribosomal DNA

The genus Nuphar consists of yellow-flowered waterlilies and is widely distributed in north-temperate bodies of water. Despite regular taxonomic evaluation of these plants, no explicit phylogenetic hypotheses have been proposed for the genus. We investigated phylogenetic relationships in Nuphar using morphology and sequences of the chloroplast gene matK and of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions of nuclear ribosomal DNA. Two major lineages within Nuphar are consistently resolved with the morphological and molecular data sets. One lineage comprises New World taxa and the other represents a primarily Old World lineage. Relationships within the major lineages were poorly resolved by morphology and ITS, yet certain relationships were elucidated by all analyses. Most notable is the strong support for a monophyletic lineage of dwarf taxa and the alliance of the North American N. microphylla with the Eurasian taxa. Minor discordance between the independent cladograms is accounted for by hybridization. The common taxonomic practice of uniting all North American and Eurasian taxa under one species is not supported phylogenetically.     

Biogeographical and evolutionary insights onErigeron and allies (Asteraceae) from ITS sequence data

Complex geographical distribution patterns and agamospermy have united to obscure systematic relationships in the genusErigeron (400+ species). Sequence data were analyzed from the internal transcribed spacer region of nrDNA (ITS) and 5.8S cistron for 77 taxa including 63Erigeron species. Results support the North American origin ofErigeron and document thatAphanostephus, Conyza, and three small genera restricted to South America (Apopyros, Hysterionica, Neja) are all derived from withinErigeron. Phylogenetic data indicate that agamospermy has arisen at least three times inErigeron and that autogamy has evolved independently inConyza and inE. sect.Trimorpha.     

An electrophoretic characterisation of three paratypes of Arion fagophilus De Winter, 1986, with notes on the subgeneric division of the genus Arion Férussac, 1819 (Mollusca, Pulmonata)

Three paratypes of Arion fagophilus were electrophoretically compared with nine other West European species of the genus Arion. Esterases, glutamate-oxaloacetate-transaminase, a-amylase, superoxide dismutase, phosphoglucomutase, fumarase, α-glycerophosphate dehydrogenase and phosphogluconate dehydrogenase were screened in the hepatopancreas and general proteins in the albumen gland. A. fagophilus appears to be a very well defined species, which may be assigned to the subgenus Kobeltia. The subgeneric division of the genus Arion is preliminary discussed with respect to electrophoretic and chromosomal data. It is concluded to retain four subgenera, which may be grouped two by two: Mesarion and Arion s. s. on one hand, and Kobeltia and Carinarion on the other. It is remarked that the electrophoretic differences between Norwegian and Belgian A. ater suggest a separation into two taxa.     

North American black-fruited hawthorns. II. Floral development of 10- and 20-stamen morphotypes in Crataegus section Douglasii (Rosaceae: Maloideae)

Crataegus section Douglasii exhibits variation in stamen number per flower typical for the genus throughout North America. To understand the developmental basis for this variation we studied the early floral ontogeny of the three taxa in section Douglasii: C. douglasii (both Pacific northwest and the upper Great Lakes basin), C. rivularis, and C. suksdorfii. Crataegus suksdorfii, like all known diploid Crataegus, has ≈20 stamens; the two other taxa have ≈10 stamens, a condition associated only with polyploidy. In all taxa petal primordia and a whorl of five pairs of stamen primordia develop from five common primordia. The 10-stamen∗∗∗ condition results from loss of two whorls of five stamens that are subsequently formed in C. suksdorfii. Loss of these two whorls in the 10-stamen taxa is the result of neither a smaller floral apex at initiation, nor a smaller flower at anthesis. Stamen number variability, particularly in C. douglasii and C. rivularis, is the result predominantly of fewer than two stamen primordia developing between adjacent petal primordia. Pollen production in C. douglasii is half that in C. suksdorfii because of the reduction in stamen number. The results are presented and discussed in terms of morphogenetic explanations of meristic variation.     

Inverse dispersal patterns in a group of ant parasitoids (Hymenoptera: Eucharitidae: Oraseminae) and their ant hosts

When postulating evolutionary hypotheses for diverse groups of taxa using molecular data, there is a tradeoff between sampling large numbers of taxa with a few Sanger-sequenced genes or sampling fewer taxa with hundreds to thousands of next-generation-sequenced genes. High taxon sampling enables the testing of evolutionary hypotheses that are sensitive to sampling bias (i.e. dating, biogeography and diversification analyses), whereas high character sampling improves resolution of critical nodes. In a group of ant parasitoids (Hymenoptera: Eucharitidae: Oraseminae), we analyse both of these types of datasets independently (203 taxa with five Sanger loci, 92 taxa with 348 anchored hybrid enrichment loci) and in combination (229 taxa, 353 loci) to explore divergence dating, biogeography, host relationships and differential rates of diversification. Oraseminae specialize as parasitoids of the immature stages of ants in the subfamily Myrmicinae (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), with ants in the genus Pheidole being their most common and presumed ancestral host. A general assumption is that the distribution of the parasite must be limited by any range contraction or expansion of its host. Recent studies support a single New World to Old World dispersal pattern for Pheidole at c. 11–27 Ma. Using multiple phylogenetic inference methods (parsimony, maximum likelihood, dated Bayesian and coalescent analyses), we provide a robust phylogeny showing that Oraseminae dispersed in the opposite direction, from Old World to New World, c. 24–33 Ma, which implies that they existed in the Old World before their presumed ancestral hosts. Their dispersal into the New World appears to have promoted an increased diversification rate. Both the host and parasitoid show single unidirectional dispersals in accordance with the presence of the Beringian Land Bridge during the Oligocene, a time when the changing northern climate probably limited the dispersal ability of such tropically adapted groups.     

Phylogenetic relationship and germplasm evaluation of different taxa of the genus Cucurbita using seed storage protein profiling

Seed protein profiling of 34 lines of Cucurbita pepo L. from different geographic regions of the world were evaluated for their polypeptide patterns and their phylogenetic relationship with other taxa of the genus Cucurbita. Considerable variations were observed in the polypeptide patterns of various lines on the SDS-polyacrylamide gels under reduced conditions, i.e. seed protein extract with 2-mercaptoethanol. The variations were observed in five different molecular weight regions, i.e. in the range 64–70, 53–60, 30–41, 20–26 and 18–20 kDa. Cluster analysis showed 100% genetic similarity between C. pepo and C. pepo var. pepo whereas it is quite distinct from C. pepo var. texana and C. pepo var. fraterna. On the basis of electrophoretic profiling C. pepo var. texana and C. pepo var. fraterna should be considered as different species and also supports the origin of C. pepo from C. texana.     

Akrosida floribunda (Malvaceae), a new arborescent mallow from the Dominican Republic

A new species,Akrosida floribunda, is described from the Dominican Republic. This arborescent genus is now known from two species, the other beingAkrosida macrophylla, from Brazil. Both have very limited distributions.

---

Resumen  Se describe la especie nuevaAkrosida floribunda de la República Dominicana. Este género arborescente actualmente se conoce de dos especies, la otraAkrosida macrophylla de Brasil. Las dos tienen distribuciones que son bien restringidas.

     

8-Oxo-α-selinen und neue scopoletin-derivate aus Conyza-arten

The investigation of three South African and a North American Conyza species afforded, in addition to known compounds, a new eudesmane ketone and five new scopoletin derivatives. The structures are elucidated by spectroscopic methods and by some chemical transformations. Two of the scopoletin enol ethers have very unusual structures. While most of the Conyza species investigated so far contain typical C₁₀-acetylenes, also present in related genera, there are some with different chemistry. The relationship of the genus to Aster and Erigeron, however, is clearly indicated.     

Molecular phylogeny and biogeography of Honey‐buzzards (genera Pernis and Henicopernis)

A partial sequence of the cytb gene (382 bp) was amplified and sequenced from 35 individuals (mainly museum specimens) of the genus Pernis representing all valid taxa (10) and two taxa (P. p. gurneyi, P. p. japonicus) with questionable validity as well as representatives of the Old World Perninae, namely Henicopernis and Aviceda, to assess their relationships to the genus Pernis. Furthermore, Gypaetus barbatus, Neophron percnopterus, and Buteo buteo were included as outgroup taxa. In the trees derived from the sequence data, Aviceda represents the sister group of the genus Pernis. The genus Henicopernis and the Old World vultures Gypaetus andNeophron appear rather distantly related to Pernis. Within the genus Pernis, two of the described species (Pernis apivorus, Pernis ptilorhyncus) form monophyletic groups, whereas the relationships of the two clades representing three subspecies of Pernis celebensis are still uncertain. Although this study is based on comparatively short DNA‐sections, the trees deduced from these sequences can be considered as a first approach for inferring the phylogenetic relationships of the genus Pernis and related genera and for addressing questions concerning the evolutionary history, biogeography, and systematics of this group.     

TWO NEW GENERA OF BRAZILIAN BAMBOOS RELATED TO GUADUA (POACEAE: BAMBUSOIDEAE: BAMBUSEAE)

Of all the genera of woody bamboos described from America, only three have pseudospikelets—Atractantha, Elytrostachys, and Guadua. The former two have pseudospikelets with an elongated rachilla internode that precedes the floret, making it pedicellate; they also share a type of leaf anatomy that separates them from the latter. The two new genera herein described, Criciuma and Eremocaulon, show most similarity to species of Guadua, both in spikelet morphology and in leaf anatomy. The study of these new taxa has helped to clarify the limits of New World genera with pseudospikelets and strengthened the case for maintaining Guadua as a genus distinct from its Old World counterpart, Bambusa. We are now able to discern a New World line of bamboos that includes Criciuma, Eremocaulon, and Guadua, separate from an Old World line that includes Bambusa, Dendrocalamus, and several other genera.     

Conyza sumatrensis (Retz.) E. H. Walker: A new record from Pakistan

Conyza sumatrensis (Retz.) E. H. Walker (Astereae: Asteraceae) has been recorded in Pakistan for the first time. The species is closely associated with C. bonariensis and C. canadensis. It differs from C. bonariensis in its smaller capitula with a small series of marginal and disc florets that lack a purplish-pink apex, but resembles it in disciform capitula. C. sumatrensis differs from C. canadensis in having five-lobed disc florets and lacking well-developed ray florets. The species is widely distributed in the Potohar region, particularly in Rawalpindi and Islamabad.     

Phylogenetic relationships in the genus Cheracebus (Callicebinae,Pitheciidae)

Cheracebus is a new genus of New World primate of the family Pitheciidae, subfamily Callicebinae. Until recently, Cheracebus was classified as the torquatus species group of the genus Callicebus. The genus Cheracebus has six species: C. lucifer, C. lugens, C. regulus, C. medemi, C. torquatus, and C. purinus, which are all endemic to the Amazon biome. Before the present study, there had been no conclusive interpretation of the phylogenetic relationships among most of the Cheracebus species. The present study tests the monophyly of the genus and investigates the relationships among the different Cheracebus species, based on DNA sequencing of 16 mitochondrial and nuclear markers. The phylogenetic analyses were based on Maximum Likelihood, Bayesian Inference, and multispecies coalescent approaches. The divergence times and genetic distances between the Cheracebus taxa were also estimated. The analyses confirmed the monophyly of the genus and a well-supported topology, with the following arrangement: ((C. torquatus, C. lugens), (C. lucifer (C. purinus, C. regulus))). A well-differentiated clade was also identified within part of the geographic range of C. lugens, which warrants further investigation to confirm its taxonomic status.     

Chemical Composition and Antimicrobial and Allelopathic Activity of Tunisian Conyza sumatrensis (Retz.) E.Walker Essential Oils

Conyza sumatrensis (Retz.) E.Walker (Asteraceae) is a spontaneous annual herb, fairly widespread throughout Tunisia, which has rarely been studied or valued in any sector. Essential oils were obtained by hydrodistillation of different parts (flower heads, leaves, stems, and roots) of C. sumatrensis plants, which were collected in autumn (November 2007) at the flowering stage in the area of Monastir, Tunisia. In total, 98 compounds, representing 88.1–99.3% of the oil composition, were identified by GC‐FID and GC/MS analyses. The root essential oil was distinguished by its high content in acetylenes (matricaria ester, 4 ; 74.3%), while those from flower heads and leaves were dominated by oxygenated sesquiterpenes (61.1 and 50.3%, resp.). The oils of C. sumatrensis from Tunisia belonged to a matricaria ester/caryophyllene oxide chemotype. All the oils were evaluated for antibacterial, antifungal, and allelopathic activities. The results indicate that the leaf oil exhibited significant in vitro antibacterial activity against Enterococcus faecalis, Staphylococcus aureus, and Proteus mirabilis and that the C. sumatrensis oils isolated from the aerial parts presented high mycelia‐growth inhibition of Candida albicans and the filamentous fungi tested. Moreover, the essential oils of the different plant parts inhibited the shoot and root growth of Raphanus sativus (radish) seedlings. Indeed, the inhibition of the hypocotyl growth varied from 28.6 to 90.1% and that of the radicle from 42.3 to 96.2%.     

a molecular phylogeny of apiaceae subfamily Apioideae: evidence from nuclear ribosomal DNA internal transcribed spacer sequences

Phylogenetic relationships among 40 New World and Old World members of Apiaceae subfamily Apioideae, representing seven of the eight tribes and eight of the ten subtribes commonly recognized in the subfamily, were inferred from nucleotide sequence variation in the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions of 18-26S nuclear ribosomal DNA. Although the sequences are alignable, with only 11% of sites excluded from the analyses because of alignment ambiguity, divergence values in pairwise comparisons of unambiguous positions among all taxa were high and ranged from 0.5 to 33.2% of nucleotides in ITS 1 and from 0 to 33.2% of nucleotides in ITS 2. Average sequence divergence across both spacer regions was 18.4% of nucleotides. Phylogenies derived from ITS sequences estimated using neighbor-joining analysis of substitution rates, and maximum likelihood and parsimony methods give trees of essentially similar topology and indicate that: (1) there is little support for any existing system of classification of the subfamily that is based largely on morphological and anatomical features of the mericarp; (2) there is a major phylogenetic division within the subfamily, with one clade comprising the genus Smyrnium and those taxa belonging to Drude's tribes Dauceae, Scandiceae, and Laserpitieae and the other clade comprising all other examined taxa; and (3) the genera Arracacia, Coaxana, Coulterophytum, Enantiophylla, Myrrhidendron, Prionosciadium, and Rhodosciadium, all endemic to Mexico and Central America, comprise a clade but their relationships to other New World taxa are equivocal. A phylogeny derived from parsimony analysis of chloroplast DNA rpoC1 intron sequences is consistent with, but considerably less resolved than, relationships derived from these ITS regions. This study affirms that ITS sequences are useful for phylogenetic inference among closely related members of Apioideae but, owing to high rates of nucleotide substitution, are less useful in resolving relationships among the more ancestral nodes of the phylogeny.     

Chloroplast DNA variation in the cultivated and wild olive taxa of the genus Olea L.

Polymorphism in the lengths of restriction fragments of the whole cpDNA molecule were studied in 15 taxa (species or subspecies) of the genus Olea. From restriction analysis using nine endonucleases, 28 site mutations and five length polymorphisms were identified, corresponding to 12 distinct chlorotypes. From a phenetic analysis based on a Nei’s dissimilarity matrix and a Dollo parsimony cladistic analysis using, as an outgroup, a species of the genus Phillyrea close to Olea, the ten taxa of section Olea were distinguished clearly from the five taxa of section Ligustroides which appear to posses more ancestral cpDNA variants. Within the section Ligustroides, the tropical species from central-western Africa, Olea hochtetteri, showed a chlorotype which differed substantially from those of the other four Olea taxa growing in southern Africa, supporting a previous assessment according to which O. hochtetteri may have been subjected to a long period of geographical isolation from the other Olea taxa. Within the Olea section, three phyla were identified corresponding to South and East Africa taxa, Asiatic taxa, and a group including Saharan, Macaronesian and Mediteranean taxa, respectively. On the basis of cpDNA variation, the closest Olea taxa to the single Mediterranean species, Olea europaea, represented by its very predominant chlorotype, observed in both wild and cultivated olive, were found to be Olea laperrinei (from the Sahara), Olea maroccana (from Maroccan High Atlas) and Olea cerasiformis (from Macaronesia). These three taxa, which all share the same chlorotype, may have a common maternal origin. Received: 5 December 1999 / Accepted: 30 December 1999