Molecular and morphological evidence for an origin of the aberrant genus Milula within himalayan species of Allium (Alliacae)

Phylogenetic relationships between Allium and the monotypic Himalayan genus Milula were analyzed using sequences of the nuclear ribosomal DNA internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region and of the intergenic spacers from the chloroplast trnD(GUC)-trnT(GGU) region. Both marker systems unambiguously placed Milula spicata within Allium subgenus Rhizirideum, close to A. cyathophorum. Morphologically, the main difference between Allium and Milula is the conspicuous spicate inflorescence of Milula vs the mostly capitate or umbellate inflorescences in Allium. Anatomical investigations of leaf characters support a close relationship of Milula with A. cyathophorum and A. mairei, whereas root characters are distinctive from other species of section Cyathophora. To maintain Allium as monophyletic, Milula has been included as A. spicatum in Allium subgenus Rhizirideum.     

Development of ovule, embryo sac, and endosperm in Triteleia (Themidaceae) relative to taxonomy

Six of 14 species of Triteleia were studied. All possess septal nectaries, raphides in the ovary wall, an anatropous and crassinucellate ovule with a micropyle formed by the inner integument only, and parietal cells. A short and thick nucellus, which is not penetrated by the embryo sac, has a one-layered apical epidermis and thickens from its subepidermal layer. The permanently two-layered inner integument is made up of normal, i.e., not greatly enlarged, cells. The embryo sac is of the Polygonum type, and the endosperm is of the helobial type. Embryo development is of the Asterad type in Triteleia laxa and T. ixioides. From an embryological point of view, Triteleia is closely related to Muilla maritima because the two taxa are alike in all characteristics, except for the number of layers in the apical nucellar epidermis. Triteleia is only distantly related to Dipterostemon, Dichelostemma, and Brodiaea, judging from the numerous differences in embryology. Both Triteleia and Muilla maritima are embryologically more primitive than the Dipterostemon-Dichelostemma-Brodiaea group. Embryologically, the Themidaceae are more similar to the Hyacinthaceae than to Allium. However, all embryological similarities with Hyacinthaceae are in plesiomorphic characters.     

Evolution of genome size across some cultivated Allium species.

Allium L. (Alliaceae), a genus of major economic importance, exhibits a great diversity in various morphological characters and particularly in life form, with bulbs and rhizomes. Allium species show variation in several cytogenetic characters such as basic chromosome number, ploidy level, and genome size. The purpose of the present investigation was to study the evolution of nuclear DNA amount, GC content, and life form. A phylogenetic approach was used on a sample of 30 Allium species, including major vegetable crops and their wild allies, belonging to the 3 major subgenera Allium, Amerallium, and Rhizirideum and 14 sections. A phylogeny was constructed using internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequences of 43 accessions representing 30 species, and the nuclear DNA amount and the GC content of 24 Allium species were investigated by flow cytometry. For the first time, the nuclear DNA content of Allium cyaneum and Allium vavilovii was measured, and the GC content of 16 species was measured. We addressed the following questions: (i) Is the variation in nuclear DNA amount and GC content linked to the evolutionary history of these edible Allium species and their wild relatives? (ii) How did life form (rhizome or bulb) evolve in edible Allium? Our results revealed significant interspecific variation in the nuclear DNA amount as well as in the GC content. No correlation was found between the GC content and the nuclear DNA amount. The reconstruction of nuclear DNA amount on the phylogeny showed a tendency towards a decrease in genome size within the genus. The reconstruction of life form history showed that rhizomes evolved in the subgenus Rhizirideum from an ancestral bulbous life form and were subsequently lost at least twice independently in this subgenus.     

Pollen morphology of selected species of Allium (Alliaceae) distributed in Iran

Pollen morphology of 19 species of Allium representing six subgenera and 12 sections, were studied. The following characters were recognized as important for separating taxa at different taxonomic ranks: the sulcus, presence or absence of perforations on the pollen surface, density of perforations, size of perforations and size of the pollen grains. Rugulate, rugulate–striate, and simple–perforate exine ornamentation were distinguished. The type of sulcus is very characteristic in A. subgen. Allium sect. Allium . The extended sulcus was not observed in any species the other sections of subgen. Allium studied here, such as sect. Caerulea ( A. capitellatum ), sect. Codonprasum ( A. lenkoranicum and A. stamineum ) and sect. Avulsea ( A. rubellum and A. umblicatum ). Imperforated pollen grains were observed in representatives of A. subgen. Reticulatobulbosa and subgen. Polyprason .     

Taxonomic data supporting differences between Allium elmaliense and Allium cyrilli

The first specimens of Allium elmaliense were collected in Elmal? (Antalya/Turkey) in 2001 and were described as new species in 2004. However, Allium elmaliense was claimed as synonym of Allium cyrilli in 2006. This study was undertaken to reveal the differences between these taxa utilizing morphological, palynological, and chromosome characters and genomic differences based on the DNA analyses along with the ecological preference studies conducted during 2006 and 2011. The results clearly indicated differences between these two taxa in terms of morphological characters, pollen, seed surfaces and niche preferences. Chromosome morphology and Td-DAMD-PCR fingerprinting studies revealed that Allium elmaliense Deniz & Sümbül is a distinct species and not a synonym of A. cyrilli Ten.     

NUMBERS AND DISTRIBUTIONS OF VASCULAR BUNDLES IN SCAPES OF THREE ALLIANCES OF THE GENUS ALLIUM L. (LILIACEAE)

The arrangement and numbers of vascular bundles were documented for the species of the Allium cernuum Roth, Allium validum Wats., and Allium kunthii G. Don alliances. These characters proved consistent and diagnostically useful in the A. cernuum and A. validum alliances, but inconsistent in the A. kunthii alliance.     

A Study on Karyotype Differentiation of Allium fasciculatum (Liliaceae)

Karyotypes of three local populations of Allium fasciculatum Rendle were analyzed. The karyotype of the population from Dagze of Xizang was 2n=2x＝20=4m+10sm +4T+2t(2SAT), the one from Xiangcheng of Sichuan was 2n=2x＝20＝10sm+6t(2SAT)+4T, and the one from Lixian of Siehuan was 2n＝2x=20＝6m+10sm+2t (2SAT)+2T. Although there were differences in karyotypes among the three populations, they were very similar in morphological characters, except that plants in the Dagze population were lower. The karyotype of the Lixian population is considered to be a primitive one that has evolved into the more asymmetrical karyotypes of the Dagze population and Xiangcheng population by structural aberration. In the genus Allium, only four species, A. fasciculaturn, A. decipiens Fisch., A. kujukense Vved. and A. cheloturm Wendelbo. have so far been found to have the basic chromosome number of x＝10. According to karyotype characters and the distribution pattern of these four species, the basic number x = 10 may have different origins. At least that of A. fasciculatum is different from that of the other three species and might have originated the latest. A. fasciculatum was similar to A. hookeri Thwaites (the latter has x＝11) in karyotypical and morphological characters. Therefore, they are considered to have originated from a common extinct ancestor that had the basic number of x = 10.ey words Allium;A．fasciculatum Rendle;Karyotype differentiation     

Embryology and its character evolution in Staphyleaceae

The family Staphyleaceae, which was recently reorganized into the two genera Staphylea and Dalrympelea based on molecular phylogenetic analyses, is sister to a clade of Crossosomataceae, Guamatelaceae, and Stachyuraceae in the order Crossosomatales. In contrast to Crossosomataceae and Stachyuraceae, the embryology of Staphyleaceae has been scarcely studied. We carried out a literature survey and examined three additional species of each genus in order to better understand the evolution of the embryological characters in the family. Characters were nearly identical across examined species. Staphyleaceae shared most characters of nucellus, megagametophyte, and integuments with Stachyuraceae with the exception of several embryological characters. The presence of a nucellar cap was found to be informative and supports the close relationship between Staphyleaceae and Stachyuraceae. We also investigated the evolution of variable characters among Crossosomataceae, Stachyuraceae, and Staphyleaceae. Staphyleaceae species share the presence of a single archesporial cell and absence of an aril as symplesiomorphies. The presence of less than five parietal cells in the nucellus is a possible synapomorphy for the genus Staphylea, while presence of vascular bundles in the testa is a possible synapomorphy for Staphyleaceae. Our observations support the identification of the seed coat as mesotestal. Several variant embryological characters within the family are discussed.     

Systematic Position of Allium macrostemon Based on nrDNA ITS and cpDNA trnL-F Sequence Data

Allium macrostemon is an important medicinal and edible plant. Its systematic position and taxonmical classification remain controversial to date. To explore this issue, we reconstructed phylogenetic relationships among Amacrostemon and other related taxa using nrDNA ITS and cpDNA trnL F markers. The phylogenetic trees derived from Bayesian inference and maximum parsimony analysis showed that Amacrostemon is monophyletic, and has a close relationship with some species of polyphyletic sections Caerulea and Pallasia instead of sections Codonoprasum and Allium. The including of Amacrostemon within section Allium was not supported by both molecular data and morphological characters of spathe, filaments and ovary. Allium macrostemon should be included in a new section, however further studies using additional samples (especially those from Central Asia) is necessary. In addition, we also provided a discussion on the phylogenetic relationships among four original plants (Amacrostemon, Achinense, Acaeruleum and Aneriniflorum) of Allii Macrostemonis Bulbus and systematic position of partial species of section Pallasia.     

拟双形藻属——中国淡水绿球藻目新记录

1959年,饶钦止根据W.B.Crow对费氏双形藻(D im orphococcus fritschiiCrow)的描述及模式图,认为其集结体结构为复合原始集结体,与双形藻属的其他种类不同,应另建立一新属,命名为拟双形藻属(D im orphococcopsisJao),但该属的模式种当时在中国并未发现。2004年,作者在深圳清林径水库采集到了费氏拟双形藻[D im orpho-coccopsis fritschii(Crow)Jao]。这一物种在中国为第一次报道。     

粗根韭的核型分化研究

对葱属粗根韭的3个地方居群的核型分析结果表明,3个居群的核型表现出很大的差异。西藏 达孜居群为2n=2x=20=4m+10sm+2t(2SAT)+4T;四川乡城居群为2n=2x=20=10sm+6t (2SAT)+4T;四川理县居群为2n=2x=20=6m+1Osm+2t(2SAT)+2T。虽然它们之间在核型上存 在差异,但除达孜居群的植株较矮小外,3个居群的植物在形态上却非常一致。理县居群的核型被认为 是原始类型,由它通过染色体结构变异,分别演化出更不对称的达孜居群和乡城居群。葱属中,目前只 发现4个种的染色体基数为10,除本种外其余3种分别是A．decipiens Fisch．;A．kujukense Vved．和 A．chelotum Wendelbo。根据这4个种的核型特征和分布格局,基数10可能有不同的起源,至少粗根韭 的起源与其余3种不同,而且起源最晚。粗根韭的核型特征及它与染色体基数为11的宽叶韭A．hook- eri Thwaites在核型上的相似性,表明它们很可能共同起源于基数为10但现已绝灭的祖先种。此外,还探讨了该祖先种的起源问题。     

Restriction enzyme analysis of the chloroplast and nuclear 45s ribosomal DNA ofAllium sectionsCepa andPhyllodolon (Alliaceae)

Estimates of the phylogenetic relationships among cultivated and wildAllium species would benefit from identification of molecular characters. Restriction enzyme analysis of the chloroplast DNA (cpDNA) of the bulb onion (Allium cepa), Japanese bunching onion (A. fistulosum), wildAllium species in sect.Cepa andPhyllodolon, and the outgroupsA. ampeloprasum andA. tuberosum detected 39 polymorphisms.Allium cepa andA. vavilovii were identical for all characters. Cladistic analysis generated three most-parsimoniousWagner trees of 44 steps differing only in a zero-length branch.Allium fistulosum andA. altaicum (sect.Phyllodolon) comprised a monophyletic lineage separated from theA. cepa andA. vavilovii of sect.Cepa. The unresolved node was composed ofA. galanthum, A. roylei, and the lineage containingA. cepa, A. vavilovii, A. fistulosum, andA. altaicum. The clade containingA. altaicum, A. cepa, A. fistulosum, A. galanthum, A. roylei, andA. vavilovii remained resolved for strict consensus ofWagner trees of 48 steps or less.Allium pskemense andA. oschaninii were increasingly distant.Allium oschaninii has been proposed as the progenitor of the bulb onion, but was more closely related to the common progenitor of all species in sect.Cepa andPhyllodolon. Phylogenies estimated from cpDNA characters usingDollo parsimony resulted in a single most-parsimonious tree of 46 steps and agreed with phylogenies based onWagner parsimony. Polymorphic restriction enzyme sites in the 45s ribosomal DNA were not used to estimate phylogenies because of uncertain homologies, but are useful for identifying interspecific hybrids. The maternal phylogenies estimated in this study help to distinguish wildAllium species closely related to the bulb onion. Although not in agreement with classifications based on morphology, the phylogenies closely reflected crossability among species in sect.Cepa andPhyllodolon.     

单叶蔓荆(唇形科)的横生胚珠和葱型胚囊

利用常规石蜡制片技术研究了单叶蔓荆胚珠和胚囊的发育以丰富牡荆亚科的胚胎学资料。单叶蔓荆的胚珠横生、单珠被、薄珠心、具珠被绒毡层、珠孔狭长。胚囊发育类型为葱型,可能由蓼型胚囊演变而来。葱型胚囊在牡荆亚科及整个唇形科属首次报道。     

Insertion sequence IS2 in the cyanobacterium Chlorogloeopsis fritschii

A cloned DNA fragment, previously demonstrated to encode ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (RuBisCO) of Chlorogloeopsis fritschii strain CCAP1411/1b, is shown also to include the entire transposable element, IS2, normally a resident in the Escherichia coli genome. Southern-blot hybridisation experiments confirm the presence of IS2 in the C. fritschii genome. This finding adds a new and unrelated species to the known host range of this element and provides evidence of genetic transfer between the Gram-negative E. coli and cyanobacteria. This may also have significance in relation to the nucleotide sequence rearrangements known to occur adjacent to RuBisCO and nif genes in other nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria.     

Allium purpureoviride sp. nov. (Alliaceae) from east Anatolia,Turkey

Allium purpureoviride M. Koyuncu & ?. Genç (sect. Melanocrommyum) is described as a new species from east Anatolia, Turkey. The new species is closely related to A. rothii Zucc. from Israel and some characters of the new taxon show similarity with A. cyrilli Ten. and A. asclepiadeum Bornm. The morphological characters of the related taxa are discussed and the distribution of the taxa is mapped. The diploid chromosome number is 2n = 16.     

小玉竹的胚胎学研究

小玉竹Polygonatum humile Fisch．ex Maxim．的花药四室．绒毡层腺质型,发育后期出现双核至多核。小孢子四分体左右对称型,偶见四面体型,胞质分裂连续型。成熟花粉具2细胞。子房3室,中轴胎座。胚珠倒生,双珠被,厚珠心,珠孔由内珠被形成。胚囊发育为葱型。受精后,子房壁和外珠被细胞中含有草酸钙针晶。胚发育类似于紫菀型,基细胞有时纵裂形成两个子细胞。胚乳核型。根据实验结果,并结合前人的资料,本文提出了黄精属的胚胎学特征,并在此基础上对黄精族的概念以及属间系统关系进行了探讨。     

12种中国葱属植物的核型分析

采用细胞压片法,对采自中国西部的12种葱属植物的根尖有丝分裂中期进行了观察,其巾天蓝韭(A.cyaneum)、梭沙韭(Aforrestii)、昌都韭(A.changduense)、西川非(A.xichuanense)、野黄韭(A.rude)、野葱(A.chrysanthum)和真籽韭(A.eusperma)等7种植物的核型为首次报道.供试类群中,峨眉韭(A.omeiense)和多星韭(A.wallichii)的染色体基数分别为11和7,其余类群的染色体基数均为8.观察发现,随体杂合和多侪性现象在供试类群中很普遍.分析推测:(1)随体和倍性的变异在葱属某些类群的进化中可能起重要作用,随体的类型在葱属具有重要的分类意义;(2)多倍化和地下走茎的无性繁殖方式可能是天蓝韭(A.cyaneum)的进化策略;(3)西川韭(A.xichuanense)、野黄非(A.rude)和野葱(A.chrysanthum)有密切的亲缘关系;(4)真籽韭(A.eusperma)与多籽组在核型上有密切的亲缘关系.