Species diversity of butterflies in Changbai Mountain in China

Using a modified belt transect method, we investigated the butterfly communities in five different vertical vegetation belts of Changbai Mountain in China from 1992 to 2009; these belts were broadleaf deciduous forest, coniferous–deciduous mixed forest, coniferous forest, erman’s birch forest and alp tundra. We determined the number of species and abundance of butterflies in each belt and in the coniferous–deciduous mixed forest belt, we also compared these parameters among different months. Preston’s lognormal distribution was used to model the species abundance distributions and five indicators (Shannon–Wiener diversity index (H′), Pielou uniformity index (J), Simpson predominance centralization index (C), Margalef abundance index (E) and Jaccard similarity coefficients) were used to analyze the butterfly community diversity. We found four main results. (1) Across all five vertical vegetation belts, 9641 butterflies were collected, belonging to 7 families, 98 genera and 196 species. As altitude increased, the number of butterfly genera and species gradually reduced. There was a relationship between the distribution of dominant species and the total species between each belt and the distribution of vascular plants. (2) The species abundance distribution was successfully modeled as a Preston’s lognormal distribution; the best fit was obtained when α = 0.326, the determinant coefficient of the equation was 0.74798. The species abundance distribution indicates that Changbai Mountain provides a suitable environment for butterflies; there was high species richness and an even distribution of butterfly species. There were few very common and very rare species, with most species having an intermediate abundance. (3) As altitude increased, H′ and E gradually became smaller, while C showed the opposite pattern, and J did not significantly change. The similarity coefficients analysis demonstrated a clear difference among belts; the farther apart any two belts, the smaller the similarity coefficient, indicating less similarity in the butterfly communities. The similarity coefficient between the deciduous forest and the coniferous–deciduous mixed forest belt was the largest (0.651) while that between the deciduous forest and the alp tundra was the smallest (0.141). (4) Comparison of the butterfly species communities among different months in the coniferous–deciduous mixed forest found that H′ and E showed similar directional changes, while the opposite pattern was found with C; the changes in J did not necessarily reflect the actual change in diversity.     

Phylogenetic relationships between Leymus and related diploid Triticeae species revealed by ISSR markers

To investigate the genetic diversity and phylogenetic relationships between polyploid Leymus and related diploid species of the Triticeae tribe, inter-simple sequence repeats (ISSR) markers was used to analyze 41 Leymus accessions representing 22 species and 2 subspecies, together with Pseudoroegneria stipifolia (St), Psathyrostachys fragilis (Ns), Australopyrum retrofractum (W), Hordeum bogdanii, H. chilense (H) and Lophopyrum elongatum (E^e). A total of 376 clear and reproducible DNA fragments were amplified by 29 ISSR primers, among which 368 (97.87%) fragments were found to be polymorphic. 8–18 polymorphic bands were amplified by each polymorphic primer, with an average of 12.69 bands. The data of 376 ISSR bands were used to generate Nei’s similarity coefficients and to construct a dendrogram by means of UPGMA. The similarity coefficients data suggested great genetic diversity in genus Leymus and related diploid Triticeae species, the genetic diversity among the different species more abundant than that of the different accessions. The dendrogram and principal coordinate analysis showed explicit interspecific relationships and demonstrated close phylogenetic relationships between Leymus species and Psathyrostachys.     

Disc-electrophoresis of albumin and globulin fractions from dormant achenes of Lasthenia

Albumin and globulin fractions were extracted from dormant seeds of all 20 taxa of Lasthenia. After disc-electrophoresis on basic 7% acrylamide gels, mean R_p values, coefficients of variation and 95% confidence intervals were computed for both types of protein bands. Dendrograms were produced using similarity coefficients, indicating interspecific affinities among the taxa which differ from the sectional taxonomy of the genus. Protein data concerning certain problematical relationships are compared with published taxonomical and chemical data.     

Assessment of genetic diversity of Mediterranean bread wheat using Randomly Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers

The genetic diversity of 14 bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) varieties originating from Mediterranean region (Egypt and Greece) was assessed by means of Randomly Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers. Seventeen RAPD markers were used to analyze and compare genetic diversity among the selected wheat varieties. Average of similarity coefficients based on RAPD markers for all of the studied varieties was 0.718. Average and range of genetic similarity coefficients among varieties obtained from both Egypt and Greece independently were 0.765 (from 0.66 to 0.886) and 0.723 (from 0.604 to 0.896), respectively. The cophenetic correlation coefficients of the three RAPD dendrograms (generated for all of the 14 varieties, the seven Egyptian varieties separately and the seven Greek varieties separately) were r = 0.774, 0.80, and 0.74, respectively. Both cluster analysis and Principal Coordinate Analysis (PCOORDA) were able to differentiate between Egyptian and Greek wheat varieties, but PCOORDA was more efficient in its separation. The percentage of variance accounted for the first two principal coordinates was 49.45% of total genetic variance for RAPD. Notable geographical divergence was found between Egyptian and Greek wheat varieties.     

Comparison of genetic variation and differentiation among annual Cicer species using start codon targeted (SCoT) polymorphism, DAMD-PCR, and ISSR markers

Three molecular markers, including start codon targeted (SCoT) polymorphism, directed amplification of minisatellite-region DNA polymerase chain reaction (DAMD-PCR), and inter simple sequence repeat (ISSR) markers, were compared in terms of their informativeness and efficiency for analysis of genetic relationships among 38 accessions of eight annual Cicer species. The results were as follows: (1) the highest level of detected polymorphism was observed for all three marker types; (2) the rate of diversity for the three marker techniques was approximately equal, and the correlation coefficients of similarity were statistically significant for all three marker systems; (3) the three molecular markers showed relatively similar phylogenetic grouping for examined species. Diversity analysis showed that Cicer reticulatum is the closest wild species to the cultivated chickpea, and this finding supports the hypothesis that C.?reticulatum is the most probable progenitor of the cultivated species. C.?bijugum, C.?judaicum, and C.?pinnatifidum were clustered together, and in other clusters C.?yamashitae and C.?cuneatum were grouped close together. To our knowledge, this is the first detailed comparison of performance among two targeted DNA region molecular markers (SCoT and DAMD-PCR) and the ISSR technique on a set of samples of Cicer. The results provide guidance for future efficient use of these molecular methods in genetic analysis of Cicer.     

Similarity in parasite communities of the teleost fish Pinguipes brasilianus in the southwestern Atlantic: Infracommunities as a tool to detect geographical patterns

Patterns of distance decay in similarity among communities of the fish Pinguipes brasilianus (Teleostei: Pinguipedidae) from five areas in the southwestern Atlantic were investigated to determine whether the rate of decay varied depending on the community level or the parasite guild analyzed (ectoparasites, adult endoparasites and larval endoparasites). Similarities in species composition were computed at both the component community and infracommunity levels. Similarity indices were calculated between all possible pairs of assemblages from different zones. Infracommunity similarity values between and within host populations were averaged. Significance of linear regressions for similarity values against distance was assessed using randomization tests. Different patterns were observed for each guild, and similarity among infracommunities within host populations varied accordingly. Decay in similarity over distance was recorded for most communities. The slopes differed significantly between infracommunities and component communities in all cases, and stronger decay was always observed for infracommunities. Different geographical patterns in parasite communities were a consequence of variability in parasite availability in the different regions, modulated by oceanographic conditions, as well as variation among species in terms of host specificity and life-cycles strategies. Infracommunities showed a stronger effect of distance than component communities, probably due to the influence of short term and local variability of oceanographic conditions.     

Flavonoid and anthocyanin patterns and the systematic relationships in Collomia

Analyses of extracts among populations of the 14 species of Collomia revealed the occurrence of 13 mono-, di- and triglycosides based on the flavonoids, acacetin, kaempferol, patuletin and quercetin. The glycosides included those having arabinose, galactose, glucose and rhamnose as mono-, bio- or triosides at the 3-, 5-, 3,7- or 7-position. Analyses of floral extracts from ten species revealed the occurrence of two anthocyanins, cyanidin and delphinidin 3-(p-coumarylglucosyl)-5-glucoside. Nearly all the species express distinctive flavonoid patterns, although the differences are based on relatively minor changes in position or type of glycosidic substitution. Use of the minimum biosynthetic step distance (MBSD), an index of similarity, revealed that a mean of 5.6 steps separated the 14 species. The four perennial species of section Collomiastrum showed a high degree of similarity and differed consistently from species of the two annual sections Courtoisia and Collomia by lacking quercetin-5-glucoside and kaempferol-3-arabinosylgalactoside. In contrast, flavonoid patterns among species within sections Courtoisia and Collomia showed a relatively low degree of similarity. The dissimilarity between C. diversifolia and C. heterophylla (section Courtoisia) is consistent with their divergent patterns of pollen morphology and ecological distribution. Three groups of species within section Collomia were defined generally by shared patterns of flavonoids, which are correlated to some degree with floral, pollen and vegetative morphology.     

Genotypic diversity and structure of Satureja mutica revealed by inter-simple sequence repeat markers

Satureja mutica (Lamiaceae) is an herbaceous medicinal plant which grows in Iran. The objective of the study was to obtain an overview of the genetic relatedness among and within seven populations of this species using inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR). Fourteen ISSR primers amplified a total of 197 DNA fragments of which 176 (88.91%) were polymorphic. All ISSR primers were highly effective in discriminating among the populations. Genetic similarity coefficients ranged from 0.45 to 0.94, indicating considerable distance and diversity in the germplasm and were confirmed by clustering analysis. The dendrogram showed a clear clustering pattern of plants indicating a significant association between genetic similarity and geographical distance. Analysis of molecular variance revealed that a greater proportion of total genetic variation existed within populations (75%) rather than among populations (25%). The study indicated that ISSR markers were effective and reliable for assessing the degree of genetic variation of S. mutica. These findings can support future research on the selection of S. mutica for breeding and medicinal plant development.     

Genetic similarity among male bees of Euglossa truncata Rebêlo & Moure (Hymenoptera: Apidae) revealed by RAPD markers

The genetic RAPD (random amplified polymorphic DNA) markers have been used successfully in taxonomical studies of several groups of organisms. In the present study these molecular markers were used to analyze the genetic similarity among eighteen males of Euglossa truncata Rebêlo & Moure exhibiting variations in two morphological characters (colour of the antennal scape and metaepisternal hairs) which are frequently used to identify this species of euglossine bee. The twelve primers used in the RAPD analysis amplified 127 loci, of which 40 (31.5%) were polymorphic, showing some variation among the individuals. The coefficients of genetic similarity among the individuals ranged from 0.79 to 0.95, indicating a rather high genetic similarity among the 18 male bees studied. No RAPD band was specific to any morphological character analyzed. The results indicate that all bees analyzed belong to the same species. The high genetic similarity among the eighteen euglossine males studied indicates that the variations observed in the morphological characters are not in disagreement with the identification of this species of Euglossina and these characters can vary among males of E. truncata.     

The genus Saccharomyces (Meyen) Reess

The speciesSaccharomyces heterogenicus Osterwalder,Saccharomyces steineri Lodder et Kreger-van Rij,Saccharomyces pastorianus Hansen,Saccharomyces bayanus Saccardo andSaccharomyces willianus Saccardo were compared. It was found that the biochemical characters used for the definition of these species were variable and the strains of the given species were therefore evaluated together. With reference to the present accepted criteria of species specificity, grouping on the basis of coefficients of similarity was not conclusive. One of the characters (the fermentation and assimilation of galactose) was therefore dispensed with, while a new characteristic (determination) of amylolytic activity was added. It was found that the speciesSaccharomyces pastorianus, Saccharomyces bayanus andSaccharomyces willianus were so similar that they could be grouped in one species.Saccharomyces heterogenicus retained its species specific characteristics, whileSaccharomyces steineri formed a transition between this species and the other three. The coefficients of similarity, S, calculated by the methods of Jaccard and of Sokal and Michener, were compared and some of the more problematical questions of the numerical method are discussed.     

Genetic diversity in important members of Cucurbitaceae using isozyme, RAPD and ISSR markers

Biochemical and molecular markers have been used on eleven species of Cucurbitaceae collected from lower Gangetic plains. Six enzyme systems were selected. Among 40 primers examined, 14 random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) and 10 inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) primers were selected for the analysis. Generated RAPD (100) and ISSR (100) fragments showed high variations among the species. Jaccard similarity coefficients were used for the evaluation of pairwise genetic divergence; cluster analysis of the similarity matrices was performed to estimate interspecific diversity. Further, principal coordinate analysis was performed to evaluate the resolving power of the three marker systems to differenciate among the species.     

致病酵母菌基因组多态性及亲缘关系的研究

致病酵母是条件致病菌感染中最常见的菌群。其属间、种间及种内的分型具有重要的流行病学及临床意义。以随机扩增多态性(Randomly Amplified Polymorphism DNA markers,RAPD)的方法对48株临床上常见的酵母菌属间、种间及种内基因组型的多态性进行了研究,并以多种引物扩增带型的相似性系数的高低来评价酵母菌之间的亲缘关系。结果表明:RAPD带型可清楚的显示出假丝酵母(Candida)及相关酵母属间、种间及种内的差异,亲缘关系的研究表明假丝酵母属与隐球菌属(Cryptococcus)、丝孢酵母属(Trichosporon)的相似性系数为80％,除季也蒙假丝酵母(C. guilliermondii)外,假丝酵母属中不同种间的相似性系数为82％～87％,同种不同株间的相似性系数>90％。大多数属、种基因组分型的结果和形态学分类结果相符。     

Differentiation in the seed protein profiles of two closely related species of Narcissus

In the present paper we have analysed the relationship between two closely related species of Narcissus L. [N. cantabricus D.C. and N. hedraeanthus (Webb & Heldr.) Colmeiro] by means of seed protein electrophoresis. We have calculated two different coefficients of similarity between the seed protein profiles of both species. With the aim of knowing the meaning of such coefficients we have compared them with the ones obtained in several other different groups.     

Molecular diversity in the primary and secondary gene pools of genus Oryza

The objective of the present investigation was to assess the genetic relationships among the species of Oryza that belong to the primary gene pool (sativa complex) and the secondary gene pool (officinalis complex) using three marker systems such as RAPDs, ISSRs and SSRs. A total of 432 clear and reproducible bands were amplified from 18 RAPD primers; 113 bands were detected from 8 ISSR primers and 78 alleles were found to be amplified across the Oryza species from 13 SSR primer pairs. All the three dendrograms constructed, using UPGMA from the genetic similarity matrices based on the three marker data sets, were similar in their groupings. In all the three trees, two accessions of Oryza sativa formed an exclusive group indicating its genomic differentiation from its wild ancestors through the process of domestication. Distinctness between the wild species of the sativa and officinalis complexes was evident in all the trees derived from different markers. The groupings obtained among the species of the sativa complex were in perfect concordance with the species relationships established through classical crossability and cytogenetic analysis. This study has brought out some information on the species relationship between the diploid and tetraploid genomes of the officinalis complex possessing BB, CC and DD genomes. The higher level of similarity observed between the species possessing C and D genomes supports the view of many earlier authors that these two genomes might have originated from a single hybridization event. The results of this study also show that the diploid species possessing C genomes such as Oryza officinalis, Oryza rhizomatis and Oryza eichingeri are distinct from their allotetraploid counterparts possessing BBCC and CCDD genomes indicating a wider genomic differentiation in their evolutionary process.     

Structural analysis of subterranean organs in Zingiberaceae

Xylem structural characteristics are rarely used to separate tribes. This study aims to characterize the morphology of subterranean organs and determine both the occurrence and distribution of the vessel elements in ten species, belonging to Alpinieae and Zingibereae tribes. Species were from protected areas in the Brazilian Atlantic Rain Forest or from private cultivation areas. Roots and rhizomes processing followed both light and scanning electron microscopy procedures. According to morphological and anatomical characteristics, Euclidean distances among taxa were calculated, resulting in a dendrogram based on the unweighted pair group method with arithmetic mean (UPGMA) clustering. Despite our results indicating a similarity among all the species studied, they could be segregated by using qualitative and special metabolites characters in both the rhizome and the root. Vessel elements were found to be confined to the roots, presenting several basal characters in most of species, except for Alpinia purpurata and Etlingera species.     

Analysis of variations in RAPD profiles among accessions ofProsopis

The genetic variability among accessions ofProsopis was determined using randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) profiles. Similarities of profiles were determined using the algorithm of Jaccard, and UPGMA and neighbour joining trees were generated from the similarity data. The average similarity was highest among the accessions ofP. glandulosa (0.52 ± 0.18) and least in the accessions ofP. juliflora (0.37 ± 0.15), indicating that the latter species has greater diversity among accessions. Our observations suggest that RAPD analysis could help in identifying genetic variations among different accessions ofProsopis.     

A numerical taxonomic study of Cucurbita

Several statistical techniques of numerical taxonomy were studied by using 21 species ofCucurbita as models. Data were taken on 93 plant characters for 24 operational taxonomic units (OTU’s). Three similarity coefficients, Q-correlation, distance and divergence, were used to compute phenetic similarities among the 24 OTU’s. The results are summarized in the form of eight phenograms using both unweighted and weighted pair-group methods of clustering. The results obtained from the various statistical techniques were compared with cross-compatibility ratings. The distance and divergence coefficients and their respective phenogram values were more highly correlated with the cross-compatibility ratings than were the Qcorrelation coefficients and their phenogram values. However, from a subjective viewpoint, the phenograms derived from Q-correlation coefficients were in closer general agreement with a combination of biological factors including cross compatibility, geographical distribution, and ecological adaption than were phenograms derived from distance or divergence coefficients.     

Comparative study on gut microbiota in three Anura frogs from a mountain stream

Composition and diversity in gut microbiota are impacted by a wide variety of factors. The similarity of gut microbiota in related or sympatric species has been gaining recent traction. Here, 16S rRNA gene sequencing technology was employed to study the gut microbiota of three sympatric frog species, namely Odorrana tormota, O. graminea, and Amolops wuyiensis. In these three frog species, the most abundant phylum was Proteobacteria, followed by Bacteroidetes, Verrucomicrobia, and Firmicutes. The most abundant family was Burkholderiaceae in three species. The most dominant genera were Burkholderia, Caballeronia, and Paraburkholderia with the highest relative abundance in O. tormota, O. graminea, and A. wuyiensis, respectively. No differences were observed in alpha diversity indexes among the three frog species. However, bacterial similarity of gut microbiota was significantly different between O. tormota and A. wuyiensis and between O. graminea and A. wuyiensis. Metabolism‐related gene function was predominantly enriched in the gut microbiota of the three evaluated frog species. From these findings, that the relative abundance of the gut microbiota and predicted gene functions differed in three species, we conclude that there were significant differences in the gut microbiota of the three species. Similar alpha diversity and interspecific bacterial similarity in the gut might be related to bacterial transmission among the three Anura frogs evaluated in this study.     

Species–area curves indicate the importance of habitats’ contributions to regional biodiversity

We examined species–area curves, species composition and similarity (Jaccard's coefficients), and species richness in 17 vegetation types to develop a composite index of a vegetation type's contribution to regional species richness. We collected data from 1 to 1000 m² scales in 147 nested plots in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, USA to compare three species–area curve models’ abilities to estimate the number of species observed in each vegetation type. The log(species)–log(area) curve had the largest adjusted coefficients of determination (r² values) in 12 of the 17 types, followed by the species–log(area) curve with five of the highest values. When the slopes of the curves were corrected for species overlap among plots with Jaccard's coefficients, the species–log(area) curves estimated values closest to those observed. We combined information from species–area curves and measures of heterogeneity with information on the area covered by each vegetation type and found that the types making the greatest contributions to regional biodiversity covered the smallest areas. This approach may provide an accurate and relatively rapid way to rank hotspots of plant diversity within regions of interest.     

Construction of phylogenetic tree forNicotiana species based on RAPD markers

To apply random amplified polymorphic DNA for analysis of phylogenetic relationships, we used 34 synthetic oligonucleotides as primers to examine interspecific and intraspecific variations among 18 genotypes, nine species ofNicotiana. The nine species used in this study belong to sectionsTomentosae andAlatae. In addition, we attempted to clarify the taxonomic position ofN. sylvestris. A total of 354 distinct DNA fragments were obtained by polymerase chain reaction. Pair-wise comparisons of unique and shared amplification products were used to generate Jaccard's similarity coefficients and Nei and Li's similarity coefficients with the computer software of numerical taxonomy and multivariate analysis system. On the basis of the dendrogram constructed with the similarity coefficients, the 18Nicotiana genotypes were divided into two clusters. The classification analyzed by RAPD markers is in accordance with the classification of Goodspeed thatN. sylvestris is a member of sectionAlatae.