Sero-systematics ofCytisus sect.Trianthocytisus (Fabaceae)

The serological reaction of seed proteins provides evidence for a partly new systematic arrangement ofCytisus sect.Trianthocytisus and ofCytisus s.l. Proposed modifications agree with recent advances in morphological taxonomy. Sect.Trianthocytisus includes only two species,C. villosus andC. aeolicus. Its position is central within the genus, and this fact agrees with the proposed retypification ofCytisus (type species:C. villosus).C. emeriflorus, formerly included in the same section, constitutes the monospecific sect.Emeroides, which is intermediate towards the genusLembotropis. This is serologically isolated and includes onlyL. nigricans. It is confirmed thatC. sessilifolius should be removed from the genusCytisus as a monospecific genus:Cytisophyllum Lang which is closely allied toHesperolaburnum and toPodocytisus, the most primitive genera ofGenisteae.     

Carbohydrate composition and taxonomy of the genusDipodascus

Carbohydrates released during acid hydrolysis of intact cells ofDipodascus were studied by gas-liquid chromatographic analysis as their trimethylsilyl derivatives. In addition, cells were characterized by pyrolysis gas-liquid chromatography and pyrolysis mass spectrometry. The data obtained support the classification ofDipodascus uninucleatus in a separate genusDipodascopsis. Glucuronic acid is present inD. uninucleatus and, therefore, a possible affinity to fungi classified in the Zygomycetes is considered.Dipodascus aggregatus andDipodascus australiensis were found to be rather different, but very close toGeotrichum candidum and related species.     

Phylogeny of the GenusAgaricusInferred from Restriction Analysis of Enzymatically Amplified Ribosomal DNA

Bunyard, B. A., Nicholson, M. S., and Royse, D. J. 1996. Phylogeny of the genusAgaricusinferred from restriction analysis of enzymatically amplified ribosomal DNA.Fungal Genetics and Biology20,243–253. The 26S and 5S ribosomal RNA genes and the intergenic region between the 26S and the 5S rRNA genes of the ribosomal DNA repeat of 21 species ofAgaricuswere amplified using PCR and then digested with 10 restriction enzymes. Restriction fragment length polymorphisms were found among the 21 putative species ofAgaricusinvestigated and used to develop a phylogenetic tree of the evolutionary history ofA. bisporus.The 5′ end of the 26S gene showed more variability than the 3′ end.A. excellens, A. chionodermus,andA. carolirepresented the species most distantly related toA. bisporus.We present here the first comprehensive attempt at systematically resolving the entire genusAgaricususing modern techniques for molecular genetic analysis. Our data indicate that previous taxonomic schemes, based on morphological characters, are in need of revision.     

New species and combinations in Sabazia (Heliantheae,Galinoginae)

The genusSabazia is expanded to include the genusTricarpha, Calea palmeri, and several newly described taxa,S. tridacoides var.tridacoides and var.latifolia, S. palmeri var.lancifolia, andS. longiradiata. Comparative studies of several morphological features suggest thatSabazia is most clearly related toSelloa andGalinsoga. Karyological data reinforce this observation: inSelloa andGalinsoga x = 8 whereas inSabazia x = 4 andn = 4, 8, 16, or 24. Several species ofCalea are very similar toSabazia in floral features and may be of close phyletic affinity, but most species ofCalea differ conspicuously, suggesting more remote relationships. Other taxa in the Galinsoginae apparently fairly closely allied toSabazia includeOteiza andTridax.

     

A new species of Tetracera (Dilleniaceae) from Guyana

A new species of the genusTetracera (T. maguirei) from the sandstone savannas and shrubby forests in Guyana is described, illustrated, and compared toT. asperula Miq. A key to the species ofTetracera from the Guianas is provided.     

Morphological, physiological and molecular genetic characterization ofArabidopsis himalaica, with reference toA. thaliana

Arabidopsis himalaica (Edgeworth) O.E. Schulz, a poorly characterized species typical of HimalayanArabidopsis, was analyzed in terms of its morphology, physiology, chromosome number and molecular genetics, in comparison withA. thaliana which is the standard species in the genusArabidopsis. From view point of developmental genetics, several features which are specific toA. himalaica seem not to be derived by single-gene mutations inA. thaliana. Phylogenetic analyses based onrbcL sequences suggested that genusArabidopsis is not monophyletic. The detailed characterization ofA. himalaica should provide clues to understand the trait of evolution of particular features of Himalayan species ofArabidopsis and their genetic basis.     

Molecular phylogenetic systematics of twelve species of Acipenseriformes based on mtDNAND4L—ND4 gene sequence analysis

Acipenseriformes is an endangered primitive fish group, which occupies a special place in the history of ideas concerning fish evolution, even in vertebrate evolution. However, the classification and evolution of the fishes have been debated. The mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA)ND4L and partialND4 genes were first sequenced in twelve species of the order Acipenseriformes, including endemic Chinese species. The following points were drawn from DNA sequences analysis: (i) the two species ofHuso can be ascribed toAcipenser, (ii)A. dabryanus is the mostly closely related toA. sinensis, and most likely the landlocked form ofA. sinensis; (iii) genusAcipenser in trans-Pacific region might have a common origin; (iv) mtDNAND4L andND4 genes are the ideal genetic markers for phylogenetic analysis of the order Acipenseriformes.     

Allozyme diversity and the evolution ofCrepidiastrum (Compositae) on the Bonin (Ogasawara) Islands

The genusCrepidiastrum is distributed in East Asia and includes 7 species. In the Bonin Islands, three species ofCrepidiastrum occur, and all of them are endemic to the islands. For detecting the origin and speciation of these endemic species, electrophoretic studies have been done in three endemic species of the Bonin Islands as well as in the remaining four species ofCrepidiastrum, andYoungia denticulata which is considered to be closely related toCrepidiastrum. A total of 386 individuals were sampled from 14 populations. As a result, 17 loci of 10 enzyme systems were resolved and gene frequencies for each population were calculated. The genetic variability was low in island species, as reported in some oceanic island plants. Four groups were recognized in the dendrogram generated by the UPGMA method. The Bonin endemics were clustered together, suggesting a monophyletic origin.C. ameristophyllum andC. linguaefolium were found to be genetically very similar, and this may suggest recent and rapid speciation within the islands.     

Phylogenetic relationships ofCryptococcus neoformans and some related basidiomycetous yeasts determined from partial large subunit rRNA sequences

The genusCryptococcus was found to be heterogeneous on the basis of partial rRNA sequences. The human-pathogenic speciesC. neoformans, comprising 4 serotypes and havingFilobasidiella neoformans andF. bacillispora as teleomorphs, was found at a relatively large distance fromFilobasidium. Serotypes B and C had identical sequences, while in A and D they were different, with D closer to B and C than to A.Filobasidiella depauperata, which lacks a yeast-like anamorph, clustered withF. neoformans.The genusFilobasidium was clearly separated fromFilobasidiella and clustered withC. albidus, C. kuetzingii, C. gastricus, C. lupi, C. vishniaciae, C. bhutanensis, C. aerius, C. terreus andC. ater. The latter may represent the anamorph ofFilobasidium elegans. The organe to red species ofCryptococcus, as well asC. aquaticus andC. yarrowii, were found completely unrelated with these taxa,C. macerans being affiliated toCystofilobasidium capitatum.The genusTrichosporon was found relatively homogeneous; it includesC. humicola, C. curvatus and the filamentous speciesHyalodendron lignicola. Cryptococcus flavus andC. dimennae probably belong to the Tremellales, though distances between these species are large. The positions ofC. laurentii andC. luteolus remains to be determined.     

Mycoflora of mangrove mud

Summary Thirty-nine species and four varieties of fungi are reported from mangrove mud collected from Kagh Island, Port Canning and Diamond Harbour, West Bengal, India. Of these forms twelve species and two varieties belonged to genusAspergillus and three species belonged, each toMucor, Penicillium andPreussia. Two species both ofFusarium andTrichoderma were also isolated. Two new species,Cladosporium indicum andPaecilomyces indicus and five other interesting fungi are described in detail.     

Tirant: A New Retrotransposon-Like Element in Drosophila melanogaster

In this paper we report a new retrotransposon-like element of Drosophila melanogaster called Tirant. This sequence is moderately repeated in the genome of this species and it has been found to be widely dispersed throughout its distribution area. From Southern blot and in situ analyses, this sequence appears to be mobile in D. melanogaster, since its chromosome location and the hybridization patterns vary among the different strains analyzed. In this way, partial sequencing of Tirant ends suggests that it is a retrotransposon, since it is flanked by two LTRs. The presence of sequences homologous to Tirant has been also investigated in 28 species of the genus Drosophila by means of Southern analyses. These sequences were only detected in species from melanogaster and obscura groups. These data suggest that ancestral sequences of Tirant appeared after the Sophophora radiation and before the divergence of those groups. Received: 1 January 1995 / Accepted: 20 August 1995     

Nova especie do genero Coelomomyces parasito de ovos de Phlebotomus

Summary A new species of fungus of the genusCoelomomyces, C. ciferrii has been found as endoparasites ofPhlebotomus eggs at Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, State in Brazil. It is the first time that the genusCoelomomyces is found in Brasil.The morphological characters of the new species are distinct from other species described.     

STUDIES IN SOME FOLIOSE RED ALGAE OF THE PACIFIC COAST. III. DUMONTIACEAE,WEEKSIACEAE, KALLYMENIACEAE1

The female reproductive structures and their development, and the vegetative structure are studied in 17 species of red algae in the Cryptonemiales (Rhodophyceae). Three genera, Weeksia, Constantinea, and the type species of Leptocladia, are removed from the Dumontiaceae to a newly created family, the Weeksiaceae, because of differing postfertilization events leading to the development of the gonimoblast from a cell of the carpogonial branch. Three genera of Dumontiaceae are studied: Pikea, including P. californica, the type species, and Pikea robusta a newly described species; Dilsea californica, and a newly described species of Neodilsea, a genus heretofore known only from the northwestern Pacific. Two transfers are made from the genus Leptocladia, 1 to Farlowia, as F. conferta, and 1 to Rhodophyllis (Gigartinales) as R. peruviana. Three species in the Kallymeniaceae are redescribed: Kallymenia pacifica, a rare and nearly unknown species from southern California and adjacent Pacific Mexico; K. norrisii from central California; and K. oblongifructa from Washington, Oregon, and northern California.     

Chloroplast DNA study of the generaAmbrosia s.l. andHymenoclea (Asteraceae): Systematic implications

The relationship ofAmbrosia (ragweed) andFranseria has long been debated. Their treatment as separate genera has been repeatedly challenged. In this study, chloroplast DNA restriction site variation was examined for species from bothAmbrosia andFranseria as well as taxa from the closely related genusHymenoclea. The chloroplast genomes of members of these three genera were examined using 21 restriction endonucleases and the restriction mutations were used to construct phylogenetic trees. Wagner and Dollo parsimony as well as weighted parsimony were employed to compare the different phylogenies. The results support a close relationship betweenAmbrosia andFranseria, but indicate that the two groups are well separated. Compared toFranseria, Ambrosia is a much more strongly supported group, and the results indicate thatHymenoclea is closer toFranseria than toAmbrosia. The cpDNA phylogeny was used as a framework to examine evolutionary trends in morphology and secondary chemistry.     

The phylogenetic position of the endemic flat-needle pinePinus krempfii (Pinaceae) from Vietnam, based on PCR-RFLP analysis of chloroplast DNA

Pinus krempfii is morphologically very unique as compared to otherPinus species by having flat leaf-like needles. Its taxonomic position has been problematic ever since its discovery. In this study, an attempt was made to infer the taxonomic status ofP. krempfii through restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis of 12 PCR amplified chloroplast (cp) DNA regions. Phylogenetic analysis was conducted using 10 representatives of the twoPinus subgenera:Strobus andPinus. In addition, to infer the position ofP. krempfii in Pinaceae in relation with other genera, 14 representatives of eight additional genera were included in the analysis. Our cpDNA-based results indicate that: 1)P. krempfii clearly belongs to the genusPinus. This result does not favour the creation of a new genusDucampopinus in Pinaceae for this taxon. 2) Within the genusPinus, P. krempfii is more allied with species in subgenusStrobus and differs distinctly from species in subgenusPinus. 3) Despite the similarity in certain morphological and anatomical leaf and wood characters toKeteleeria andPseudolarix, the cpDNA data do not support the hypothesis for close relationship betweenP. krempfii and these two genera.     

Zur taxonomischen Gliederung der Familie Porocharaceae (Charophyta)

A revision of the charophyte family Porocharaceae Grambast is given, previously unstudied from the Keuper (Late Triassic) of Germany. The Porocharaceae were divided into three subfamilies. Two of them (Porocharoideae Grambast and Stellatocharoideae Grambast) are conserved; the third (Cuneatocharoideae Wang & Huang) is rejected. The diagnosis of the Stellatocharoideae is emendated. All genera with neck-like or conical apex are now included in this family, that means not only the genera of the rejected subfamily Cuneatocharoideae (Cuneatochara, Latochara, Stenochara), but also the genusStomochara, previously placed in the Porocharoideae. Only three genera (Porochara, Feistiella and the new genusKozurella n. gen.) are now attributed to the Porocharoideae, a subfamily characterized by a flat apex. The genusAuerbachichara Kiselevsky & Saidakovsky is a synonym toStomochara Grambast, the genusVladimiriella Saidakovsky toPorochara MÄDLER. Two additional species ofVladimiriella (V.decora SAIDAKOVSKY andV. karpinskyi Demin are assigned toStenochara Grambast on the basis of their apex-morphology. A new species,Cuneatochara württembergensis n. sp. is described from the Lower Keuper of Southern Germany.     

The pollen morphology ofOdontites (Scrophulariaceae) and its taxonomic significance

The pollen morphology of 29 species ofOdontites and related genera was examined by light and scanning electron microscopy. Three major pollen types differing fundamentally in exine sculpturing were found. In the parasitic tribePedicularieae retipilate sculpturing is the most widespread type representing a plesiomorphic character state from which the two other types are derived. Of these, reticulate sculpturing is confined toOdontites, whereas a complex retirugulate pattern was found only in the monotypic Near East genusBornmuellerantha. Within the retipilate and the reticulate major types eight minor types were distinguished based on the differential correlation of exine surface morphology, size, shape and amb form. The pollen data are generally well correlated with macromorphological features and furnish important taxonomic characters at the genus—as well as at the specieslevel.     

The taxonomy of yeasts isolated fromDrosophila in the Yosemite region of California

Summary A survey was made of the yeasts occurring in the intestinal tract of wild species ofDrosophila occurring in the Yosemite Region of California. Two hundred and forty one yeasts, representing 42 species and varieties, were identified. Each isolate was obtained from a different fly. Almost half of the isolates belong toSaccharomyces. The most common species in this genus wereS. montanus (36 isolates),S. veronae (30 isolates),S. cerevisiae var.tetrasporus (22 isolates) andS. drosophilarum (13 isolates). Further species are listed in Table 1.Zygosaccharomyces fermentati Naganishi was shown to be a distinct species and not a synonym ofS. cerevisiae. In order to avoid confusion with another yeast of the same name, it has been proposed to change the nameZ. fermentati toS. montanus Naganishi. Two new species ofSaccharomyces were described,S. wickerhamii andS. kluyveri. S. mangini var.tetrasporus has been renamedS. cerevisiae var.tetrasporus. A non-cellobiose attacking strain ofS. drosophilarum has been designated tentativelyS. drosophilarum var.acellobiosa. A new species of the genusPichia was described asP. xylosa. Saccharomyces pastori andSaccharomyces pini were transferred to the genusPichia on the basis of arguments given in the preceding paper. A new species ofTrichosporon was described asTr. aculeatum on the basis of the presence of characteristic needlelike cells. Common species besides those mentioned inSaccharomyces wereHansenula angusta (19),Kloeckera apiculata (15),Kl. magna (13), andTorulopsis stellata (10). Other genera represented wereHanseniaspora, Cryptococus, Rhodotorula, Candida andOospora. Evidence was obtained that many species of imperfect genera consist of distinctly different physiological types.     

Allozyme divergence among four species ofPodaechmea s. l. and the status ofUrsulaea (Bromeliaceae, Bromelioideae)

The genetic relationships ofAechmea mexicana, A. lueddemanniana, A. macvaughii andA. tuitensis were investigated using starch gel electrophoresis. Eight enzyme systems encoded by ten putative gene loci were resolved in seventeen populations.Nei's (1978) genetic distances were obtained from allelic frequencies and used with UPGMA algorithm. Results indicate that some populations belonging to different species display genetic similarities closer to each other than to some conspecific populations. Our results do not support the proposed genusUrsulaea (Read & Baensch 1994), sinceA. tuitensis was closer toA. lueddemanniana andA. mexicana than toA. macvaughii.     

Phylogenetic relationship of medicinally importantCnidium officinale and Japanese Apiaceae based onrbcL sequences

Cnidium officinale Makino is important medicinally and economically, but its origin is uncertain. The phylogenetic relationship ofC. officinale is provided from the analyses based on the ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxgenase gene (rbcL) sequences of 41 species which represent the 34 genera of Aplaceae, the four genera of Araliaceae, and one genus each of Pittosporaceae, Cornaceae, and Caprifoliaceae. The strict consensus tree obtained supports a close relationship ofC. officinale to the Chinese members ofLigusticum, especially toL. chuanxiong. Additionally, the tree shows (1) polyphyly of the genusLigusticum and (2) monophyly of the subfamily Apioideae. Within Apioideae, we recognized some groups in our phylogenetic tree. The grouping is discordant in several respects with the traditional tribal divisions based mainly on fruit morphology.