Migratory moths as dispersal vectors of an introduced plant-pathogenic fungus in Japan

The plant-pathogenic fungus Claviceps paspali infects florets of the dallisgrass Paspalum dilatatum and induces the plant to produce honeydew (containing massive amounts of conidia), which in turn attracts insects for dispersal of the fungal spores. In Japan, the association between C. paspali and its host plant is common, although both P. dilatatum and C. paspali are introduced species. To determine the dispersal agents of the introduced C. paspali, we examined which insects sapped the P. dilatatum honeydew produced by C. paspali. The study was conducted from September to October 2003 in central Japan. Adults of 48 moth species and two lacewing species visited infected spikelets of P. dilatatum and sapped the honeydew at night. The dominant moths, which carried C. paspali conidia on their proboscises, migrate long distances every year. Therefore, migratory moths may transmit C. paspali spores from diseased to healthy host plants and may have spread C. paspali to other areas in Japan where C. paspali did not previously exist.     

Multigene analysis suggests ecological speciation in the fungal pathogen Claviceps purpurea

Claviceps purpurea is an important pathogen of grasses and source of novel chemical compounds. Three groups within this species (G1, G2 and G3) have been recognized based on habitat association, sclerotia and conidia morphology, as well as alkaloid production. These groups have further been supported by Random Amplification of Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) and amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) markers, suggesting this species may be more accurately described as a species complex. However, all divergent ecotypes can coexist in sympatric populations with no obvious physical barriers to prevent gene flow. In this study, we used both phylogenetic and population genetic analyses to test for speciation within C. purpurea using DNA sequences from ITS, a RAS-like locus, and a portion of beta-tubulin. The G1 types are significantly divergent from the G2/G3 types based on each of the three loci and the combined dataset, whereas the G2/G3 types are more integrated with one another. Although the G2 and G3 lineages have not diverged as much as the G1 lineage based on DNA sequence data, the use of three DNA loci does reliably separate the G2 and G3 lineages. However, the population genetic analyses strongly suggest little to no gene flow occurring between the different ecotypes, and we argue that this process is driven by adaptations to ecological habitats; G1 isolates are associated with terrestrial grasses, G2 isolates are found in wet and shady environments, and G3 isolates are found in salt marsh habitats.     

Identification of fatty acids in submerged cultures of Claviceps species

Abstract Fatty acids were identified in the submerged mycelium of Claviceps purpurea, Claviceps paspali, Claviceps fusiformis and Claviceps sp. SD-58 by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and used for a chemotaxonomical study. A close relatedness was found between Claviceps sp. SD-58 and C. fusiformis . The composition of fatty acids in high-production mutants differed substantially from that of the parent strains. Fatty acid analysis is thus probably only applicable in the taxonomy of non-mutated isolates of Claviceps cultured under standard conditions.     

A NEW EARLY ORDOVICIAN CONODONT GENUS FROM THE SOUTHERN MONTAGNE NOIRE, FRANCE

Abstract:  Two species of a new Tremadocian (Early Ordovician) conodont genus from the Saint Chinian Formation of the southern Montagne Noire, France, are erected: Hammannodus sarae gen. et sp. nov. and Hammannodus juliae gen. et sp. nov. They were found within a single storm-induced limestone nodule interbedded with offshore shales belonging to the regional Shumardia ( C .) pusilla (trilobite) Biozone, and to the Paltodus deltifer deltifer (conodont) Subzone. This conodont record is associated with the episodic development of carbonate productivity in temperate waters of the Montagne Noire platform, a process absent in neighbouring platforms of north-west Gondwana. The apparatus is composed of five coniform pyramidal elements occupying P and S positions and one bicostate element in the M position, having three or two sharp costae, respectively, with a subtriangular basal outline.     

A conservation assessment of the freshwater crabs of southern Africa (Brachyura: Potamonautidae)

Recent taxonomic revisions of the freshwater crabs of southern Africa (Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe) allow accurate depictions of their diversity, distribution patterns and conservation status. The southern African region is home to nineteen species of freshwater crabs all belonging to the genus Potamonautes (family Potamonautidae). These crabs show high levels of species endemism (84%) to the southern African region and to the country of South Africa (74%). The conservation status of each species is assessed using the IUCN (2003) Red List criteria, based on detailed compilations of the majority of known specimens. The results indicate that one species should be considered vulnerable, fifteen species least concern and three species data deficient. The results have been utilized by the IUCN for Red Lists, and may prove useful when developing a conservation strategy for southern Africa’s endemic freshwater crab fauna.     

Phylogeny and biogeography of Crinum L. (Amaryllidaceae) inferred from nuclear and limited plastid non-coding DNA sequences

The genus Crinum L. is the only pantropical genus of the Amaryllidaceae. Phylogenetic and biogeographical analyses of nrDNA ITS and plastid trnL-F sequences for all continental groups of the genus Crinum and related African genera are presented, with the genus Amaryllis used as outgroup. ITS indicates that C. baumii is more closely related to Ammocharis and Cybistetes than to Crinum sensu stricto . Three clades are resolved in Crinum s.s. One unites a monophyletic American group with tropical and North African species. The second includes all southern African species and the Australian endemic C. flaccidum . The third includes monophyletic Madagascar, Australasian and Sino-Himalayan clades, with southern African species. The trnL-F phylogeny resolves an American and an Asian/Madagscar clade, and confirms the relationship of C. flaccidum with species endemic to southern Africa. The salverform, actinomorphic perianths of subg. Crinum appear to have evolved several times in the genus from ancestors with zygomorphic perianths (subg. Codonocrinum ), thus neither subgenus is monophyletic. Biogeographical analyses place the origin of Crinum in southern Africa, as the region is optimized at all ancestral nodes in the tree topology, and in basal interior nodes of all but one of the major clades. The genus underwent three major waves of radiation corresponding to the three main clades resolved in our trees. Two entries into Australia for the genus are indicated, as are separate Sino-Himalayan and Australasian dispersal events.  © 2003 The Linnean Society of London, Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society , 2003, 141 , 349–363.     

On the evolution of Gomphocythere (Crustacea,Ostracoda) in Lake Nyassa/ Malawi (East Africa), with the description of 5 new species

Five new species of the ostracod genus Gomphocythere are described from Lake Nyassa/ Malawi (East Africa). The morphology of the hemipenis in this genus is redescribed and the different parts are homologised with those of the Limnocytherinae and of other Timiraseviinae. The female abdominal structures are re-examined and a new terminology is proposed. Based on both valve and soft part morphology, the five new species are assumed to belong to a monophyletic cluster, which to all probability evolved within the lake itself. Indications for speciation by both natural and sexual selection are found. Natural selection could have been parapatric along a bathymetric cline; sexual selection involves at least characters related to the copulatory complex of the hemipenis. Closest congeners to the present species flock are the non-Tanganyikan, East African species, rather than those belonging to the southern African G. capensis complex.     

Calliandra (Leguminosae) in continental Africa

The mainly neotropical genus Calliandra Benth. (Leguminosae–Mimosoideae–Ingeae) is reported for the first time as native in continental Africa. There are two species known, C. gilbertii Thulin & Hunde sp. nov. in E Kenya and Somalia and C. redacta (J. H. Ross) Thulin & Hunde comb. nov. in South Africa near the Namibia border. On pollen morphological grounds they are supposed to be most related to certain neotropical species but the pollen does not agree entirely with any previously known group of the genus. The distribution of C gilbertii and C. redacta stresses the phytogeographical link between the arid zones of northern and southern Africa.     

Liberomyces gen. nov. with two new species of endophytic coelomycetes from broadleaf trees

During a study of endophytic and saprotrophic fungi in the sapwood and phloem of broadleaf trees (Salix alba, Quercus robur, Ulmus laevis, Alnus glutinosa, Betula pendula) fungi belonging to an anamorphic coelomycetous genus not attributable to a described taxon were detected and isolated in pure culture. The new genus, Liberomyces, with two species, L. saliciphilus and L. macrosporus, is described. Both species have subglobose conidiomata containing holoblastic sympodial conidiogenous cells. The conidiomata dehisce irregularly or by ostiole and secrete a slimy suspension of conidia. The conidia are hyaline, narrowly allantoid with a typically curved distal end. In L. macrosporus simultaneous production of synanamorph with thin filamentous conidia was observed occasionally. The genus has no known teleomorph. Related sequences in the public databases belong to endophytes of angiosperms. Phylogenetic analysis revealed a position close to the Xylariales (Sordariomycetes), but family and order affiliation remained unclear.     

Phylogenetics and diversification of Cotyledon (Crassulaceae) inferred from nuclear and chloroplast DNA sequence data

Crassulaceae includes approximately 35 genera and 1500 species of leaf and stem succulent flowering plants. The family is nearly cosmopolitan in distribution, but is particularly diverse in southern Africa, where five genera comprising approximately 325 species are found. One of these genera, Cotyledon, includes 10 species that are largely confined to South Africa, where they are commonly found on rocky hillsides, coastal flats, and cliff faces. Species of Cotyledon are characterized by five-parted, pendulous, sympetalous flowers, but the genus is highly diverse in growth form, flower color and size, and leaf morphology. One particularly variable species, C. orbiculata, has been divided into five varieties based on leaf morphology and biogeography; however, the monophyly of this species as well as the relationships among the varieties have not previously been investigated. Parsimony analyses of a combined data set of DNA sequences from chloroplast and nuclear genome provided the first estimate of phylogeny for Cotyledon, and resulted in two minimum-length trees and a fully resolved phylogeny for the genus. Results indicate that C. orbiculata is not monophyletic and suggest the need for additional studies and a revised classification within the genus.     

麦角菌和雀稗麦角菌原生质体的形成与再生

本文报道了快速制备麦角菌(Claviceps purpurea)和雀稗麦角菌(Claviceps paspali)原生质体的方法及影响原生质体形成的若干因素。用适当方法培养菌丝体,利用商品溶壁酶制剂(10mg/ml),以0.7mol/l KCl为原生质体高渗液,28℃为酶解温度,处理时间仅需1—2h,菌丝体细胞壁即被彻底消化而释放出大量原生质体。在适当的固体再生培养基上,两种麦角菌原生质体的再生频率分别为7.7%和13.2%左右。培养基中添加25mg/l脱氧胆酸钠有利于形成易于计数和分离的小菌落。本文还就CaCl_2,MgCl_2及低温保藏(3—4℃,30天)对于原生质体稳定性与再生的影响作了初步探讨,并证实溶壁酶对原生质体有明显的破坏作用。     

The pennatulacean genus Cavernularia Valenciennes (Octocorallia: Veretillidae)

Two new species of sea pens referable to the genus Cavernularia Valenciennes are described from Natal and Transkei, east coast of southern Africa, at depths of 24 and 190 to over 300 m. The two new species are distinguished from other members of the genus by unique combinations of features regarding the axis, colonial growth form, autozooid size, as well as the size, shape, and distribution of sclerites. A comparative review of the genus is included. The 13 presently recognized worldwide species are differentiated and a key for their separation, together with a table of comparative characters, is provided. Of these, ten (77%) are Indo-Pacific in distribution whilst the remainder (23%) are presumably restricted to the eastern Atlantic. Four species are presently recorded from southern Africa. The deepest known bathymetric stations for the genus are here recorded from northern Namibia at 274 m, and from northern Natal at 310/320 m. Relationships to members of the related genus Cavernulina Kükenthal & Broch are discussed.     

New England Coelogynoporidae

Eleven species of the proseriate turbellarian family Coelogynoporidae have been encountered between Cape Cod, Mass. and the southern shore-line of New Brunswick, Canada. The distributions of Coelogynopora schultzii, C. biarmata and Cirrifera cirrifera are reported. Four new species belonging to the genus Coelogynopora, one new species of Cirrifera and a species belonging to a new genus are described. Two species remain undescribed. Biological observations on a laboratory-reared colony of C. biarmata maintained since 1978 are reported.     

Generic identity of Camptorrhiza indica (Colchicaceae) based on cytogenetics and molecular phylogenetics

The tribe Iphigenieae (Colchicaceace, Liliales) includes two genera, viz. Camptorrhiza and Iphigenia, which are distributed in Africa, India, and Australasia. Iphigeniais represented by 12 species, of which six occur in India while Camptorrhiza comprises one species each in Africa (C. strumosa) and India (C. indica). The genusCamptorrhiza possesses a knee-shaped tuber attached to the corms, filaments with a thick bulge in the middle and styles with single stigma. Iphigenia on the other hand lacks knee-shaped tuber, bears linear filaments and has styles with three stigmas. Camptorrhiza indica possesses ovoid corms, linear filaments and styles with a single stigma. These characters are intermediate between Iphigenia and Camptorrhiza and hence we studied the cytogenetics and phylogenetic placement of this species to ascertain its generic identity. Somatic chromosome count (2n = 22) and karyotypic features of C. indica are very similar to that of Iphigenia species. Molecular phylogenetic studies based on atpB-rbcL, rps16, trnL, and trnL-F regions showed that C. indica is nested within a lineage of Indian Iphigenia species. Thus, C. indica was reduced to a species of Iphigenia, i.e., I. ratnagirica. Camptorrhiza is now a monotypic genus restricted only to southern Africa. A key to the IndianIphigenia species is provided. In addition, a new combination Wurmbea novae-zelandiae is proposed for Iphigenia novae-zelandiae.     

Plectranthus: A plant for the future?

The genus Plectranthus (Lamiaceae) is a significant, prolific and extensively used genus in southern Africa. It plays a dominant role in both horticulture and traditional medicine. Some 12 species are documented for their use in treating ailments by various indigenous peoples of southern Africa. It is a firm favourite in gardens and Plectranthus has been bred to further utilise the remarkable diversity of indigenous South African wildflowers with amenity horticultural potential. Although previously subjected to both horticultural (Van Jaarsveld, 2006) and ethnobotanical (Lukhoba et al., 2006) review, Plectranthus is a genus with economic potential in various sectors, and this article aims to review this potential of southern African species.     

Southern African skate biodiversity and distribution

The skates (Family Rajidae) have 12 genera and possibly 28 species off southern Africa (southern Angola, Namibia, South Africa and Mozambique). The geographic and bathymetric distribution and the taxonomic composition of the southern African skate fauna are analysed and the distribution mapped. The southern African skate fauna is best known off the temperate west coast of South Africa from the intertidal to approximately 1,200 meters, but poorly known below 1,200 m and sketchily known in warm-temperate and tropical parts of the area. Southern African skates of the temperate continental shelves above 100 m are not diverse and regularly include one species of the genus Dipturus, one species of Leucoraja, two species of Raja (including R. straeleni, the most abundant skate in southern African waters) and the giant skate Rostroraja alba. All of these skates are ‘shelf overlap’ species that range onto the outer shelves and uppermost slopes, and none are confined to inshore environments. Skate diversity increases on the outer shelves and upper slopes. At least half of the skate species are endemic to the southern African region; other species also occur off East or West Africa, a few extend to European waters, and records of one species, Amblyraja taaf, appear to be of strays from nearby sub-Antarctic seas. The genus Bathyraja and softnose skate group (Arhynchobatinae) are surprisingly limited (a single species) in deep-water off southern Africa (unlike other regions including the Antarctic), and almost all of southern African skates are members of the Rajinae. Amongst rajines, the tribes Amblyrajini (Amblyraja, two species, Leucoraja, two species, and Rajella, five species) Rajini (Dipturus, six species, Okamejei, one species, Raja, two species, and Rostroraja, one species), and Anacanthobatini (Anacanthobatis, two species, and Cruriraja, three species) predominate, while Gurgesiellini has a species of Neoraja and possibly two of Malacoraja.