A new species of Cheilolejeunea (Spruce) Schiffn. from Panama

Abstract

Cheilolejeunea (subgen. Strepsilejeunea) norisiae G. Dauphin & Gradst. sp. nov. is described and illustrated. The new species differs from other members of the genus Cheilolejeunea by the laciniate leaf margins and the large pre-apical tooth.     

Two new species of Cololejeunea (Spruce) Schiffn. from Western Ghats,India

Introduction. During a recent floristic survey of liverworts from Western Ghats, India, two interesting liverworts of genus Cololejeunea were collected from forests in Mahabaleshwar in the state of Maharashtra.

Methods. After critical investigation, they have been described as new to science and both species, C. ghatensis G.Asthana & A.Srivastava sp. nov. and C. mehrana G.Asthana & A.Srivastava sp. nov. are illustrated and described here.

Key results. Cololejeunea ghatensis is an epiphyllous species growing on angiosperm leaves and has been collected near Chinaman Waterfall, Robbers Cave, Connaught Peak and Polo Ground area. Cololejeunea mehrana has been collected near Monkey point and the latter has an interesting habitat as it was found growing on moss leaves. Cololejeunea ghatensis is monoicous and C. mehrana is dioicous.     

Tortula brevissima Schiffn. (Pottiaceae) found in Italy

Tortula brevissima is recorded for the first time in Italy, where it was collected in S Calabria on badlands; it was previously known from some territories of Middle East and Western Europe. Ecological, phytosociological, chorological remarks are reported.     

potamolejeunea Holtii (Spruce) nov.comb.

Abstract

Bryophytes usually have anti-feeding properties to defend against microbial and herbivore attack; however, the consumption of Haplocladium microphyllum (Hedw.) Broth. capsules by Agrotis sp. larvae is rather common in Shanghai in the spring. To test whether H. microphyllum is the only moss eaten, and why the gametophytes of H. microphyllum are not eaten, a series of quantitative experiments were carried out to understand the feeding habits of Agrotis larvae on the given moss materials at three growth stages of larval life. The results show that the larvae can feed on the capsules of six moss species to different degrees: Funaria hygrometrica Hedw., H. microphyllum, Physcomitrium sphaericum (C.F.Ludw. ex Schkuhr) Brid., Trematodon longicollis Michx., Ditrichum pallidum (Hedw.) Hampe, and Pogonatum inflexum (Lindb.) Sande Lac. The capsules of the first four species were grazed heavily by the larvae, compared with limited consumption of the latter two (D. pallidum and P. inflexum), which even induced a high mortality rate among the larvae. With the growth of the larval instar, the daily demand for moss capsules by the larvae increases gradually. The lipid content of the capsules may play an important role when the larva selects its feeding target.     

Cephaloziella tahora Bever. & Glenny,a new species of Cephaloziella (Jungermanniopsida,Cephaloziellaceae) from eastern Taranaki,New Zealand

Cephaloziella tahora, a new species of Cephaloziella is described and illustrated from a lowland forest habitat in eastern Taranaki in the North Island of New Zealand. It has similarities to six other New Zealand species of Cephaloziella, and appears closest in New Zealand to Cephaloziella aenigmatica R.M.Schust. It is defined by a unique combination of features and distinguished from C. aenigmatica and other New Zealand species by having entire, distant leaves that reach the dorsal stem mid-line, and have large conspicuous hemispherical and hemi-ellipsoidal papillae, underleaves on gemmiparous and gynoecial shoots, and by its dioecy. The addition brings the number of New Zealand species of Cephaloziella to 18, 12 of which are endemic to New Zealand.     

Bryophytes of St Helena,South Atlantic Ocean. 6. Cheilolejeunea (Spruce) Schiffn. (Jungermanniales: Lejeuneaceae), including C. microscypha (Hook.f. & Taylor) M.Wigginton,comb. nov. and C. rotalis (Hook.f. & Taylor) M.Wigginton,comb. nov.

Abstract

Two little known species of Cheilolejeunea, C. microscypha (Hook.f. & Taylor) M.Wigginton, comb. nov. (a reinstated St Helena liverwort), and C. rotalis (Hook.f. & Taylor) M.Wigginton comb. nov., endemic to St Helena, South Atlantic Ocean, are described and illustrated, and oil bodies of C. ascensionis (Hook.f. & Taylor) Grolle are newly described and illustrated.     

Highly Informative Single-Copy Nuclear Microsatellite DNA Markers Developed Using an AFLP-SSR Approach in Black Spruce (Picea mariana) and Red Spruce (P. rubens)

Background

Microsatellites or simple sequence repeats (SSRs) are highly informative molecular markers for various biological studies in plants. In spruce (Picea) and other conifers, the development of single-copy polymorphic genomic microsatellite markers is quite difficult, owing primarily to the large genome size and predominance of repetitive DNA sequences throughout the genome. We have developed highly informative single-locus genomic microsatellite markers in black spruce (Picea mariana) and red spruce (Picea rubens) using a simple but efficient method based on a combination of AFLP and microsatellite technologies.

Principal Findings

A microsatellite-enriched library was constructed from genomic AFLP DNA fragments of black spruce. Sequencing of the 108 putative SSR-containing clones provided 94 unique sequences with microsatellites. Twenty-two of the designed 34 primer pairs yielded scorable amplicons, with single-locus patterns. Fourteen of these microsatellite markers were characterized in 30 black spruce and 30 red spruce individuals drawn from many populations. The number of alleles at a polymorphic locus ranged from 2 to 18, with a mean of 9.3 in black spruce, and from 3 to 15, with a mean of 6.2 alleles in red spruce. The polymorphic information content or expected heterozygosity ranged from 0.340 to 0.909 (mean = 0.67) in black spruce and from 0.161 to 0.851 (mean = 0.62) in red spruce. Ten SSR markers showing inter-parental polymorphism inherited in a single-locus Mendelian mode, with two cases of distorted segregation. Primer pairs for almost all polymorphic SSR loci resolved microsatellites of comparable size in Picea glauca, P. engelmannii, P. sitchensis, and P. abies.

Significance

The AFLP-based microsatellite-enriched library appears to be a rapid, cost-effective approach for isolating and developing single-locus informative genomic microsatellite markers in black spruce. The markers developed should be useful in black spruce, red spruce and other Picea species for various genetics, genomics, breeding, forensics, conservation studies and applications.     

Gibberellin-like Substances from Norway Spruce (Picea abies)

By use of methanol extraction, two different consecutive partition procedures, repeated polyvinylpyrrolidone column chromatography, silicic acid partition column chromatography and the dwarf rice, lettuce, and barley half-seed bioassays, several gibberellin-like substances were detected in elongating shoots of Picea abies (L.) Karst. No significant differences in the content of gibberellin-like substances could be detected between juvenile and mature trees. The shoot axes were found to contain fewer gibberellin-like substances than the needles.