Systematic study ofOsbertia (Asteraceae-Astereae)

Osbertia, a stoloniferous group confined to the montane regions of Mexico and adjacent Guatemala, was first proposed as a genus byGreene (1895), but most workers have retained the taxon as part ofHaplopappus. It is clearly closer toNoticastrum, Erigeron orHeterotheca than it is toHaplopappus sensu stricto. The present treatment recognizes two species, a widespread highly variableOsbertia stolonifera and a newly describedO. chihuahuana from northwestern Mexico. Distribution maps, distinguishing features, full synonymy and illustrations are presented.     

Acht neue Arten der GattungAnthemis (Compositae) aus Persien

The following species are described as new:Anthemis mazandaranica in N. and NW. Iran is allied toA. coelopoda; A. moghanica in NW. Iran is close toA. candidissima andA. sintenisii; A. atropatana also in NW. Iran is similar toA. hyalina; A. gracilis in W. Iran is close toA. plebeia; A. bushehrica in SW. Iran is similar toA. susiana; andA. rhodocentra in S. and E. Iran and in Pakistan is akin toA. austro-iranica, A. gayana, andA. kandaharica.

Anschrift des Herausgebers: Hofrat Univ.-Prof. Dr.Karl Heinz Rechinger, Beckgasse 22, A-1130 Wien, Österreich.     

Carapichea guianensis: the correct name for Psychotria carapichea (Rubiaceae), with a correction on the authority of P. carapichea, and a new combination in Carapichea

The correct name forPsychotria carapichea isCarapichea guianensis. Also, the authority ofPsychotria carapichea was previously incorrectly cited, because of an oversight of the illegitimacy ofTapogomea carapichea Poir. The complex taxonomic history of this species is analyzed, and the authority of the binomial is correctly cited. In addition,P. ligularis, which was treated as closely related toC. guianensis in previous publications, is transferred toCarapichea and it is now known asCarapichea ligularis.     

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.     

Species novae generisEremostachys (Labiatae)

Five new species are described:Eremostachys codonocalyx from NE. Iran (related toE. subspicata),E. stenocalycina from NE. Afghanistan (related toE. alberti andE. hissarica),E. salangensis from NE. Afghanistan (close toE. bamianica),E. freitagii from E. Afghanistan (similar but not closely related toE. vulnerans), andE. andersii from E. Afghanistan (similar but not closely related toE. vulnerans), andE. andersii from NE. Afghanistan of isolated systematic position.

Florae Iranicae praecursores 5–9.     

Gene Flow in the Exotic Colonizing LadybeetleHarmonia axyridisin North America

The introduced parasitoid,Aphytis melinusDeBach (Hymenoptera: Aphelinidae), is used for augmentative biological control of California red scale,Aonidiella aurantii(Maskell) (Homoptera: Diaspididae). Commercially reared wasps are reared on oleander scale,Aspidiotus neriiBouché (Homoptera: Diaspididae). Oleander scale covers lack the chemical,O-caffeoyltyrosine, a kairomone mediating host selection byA. melinus.Wasps reared on oleander scale but individually exposed, or primed, toO-caffeoyltyrosine more readily accepted California red scale for probing in laboratory bioassays and parasitized a greater proportion of available California red scale in the field than wasps reared similarly but not exposed toO-caffeoyltyrosine. Thus, it may be possible to improve host recognition of commercial, insectary-rearedA. melinusby exposing them toO-caffeoyltyrosine prior to release. The goal of this study was to develop an inexpensive but effective means of priming thousands of wasps simultaneously toO-caffeoyltyrosine. The most effective method, but potentially the most expensive, was simply to spray parasitized oleander scale on their host plant with diluteO-caffeoyltyrosine prior to wasp emergence. In additional experiments, using controlled doses of syntheticO-caffeoyltyrosine applied to scale covers, we showed that primed wasps require both a lower minimum dose ofO-caffeoyltyrosine for recognition and also respond to measuredO-caffeoyltyrosine doses more consistently than unprimed wasps. The ability to mass-prime thousands of wasps prior to release is a crucial step toward realizing the concept of behavioral improvement of host selection of parasitoids on a commercial scale.     

Vier neue Arten der GattungJacaranda (Bignoniaceae) aus dem Südosten Brasiliens

Four new species ofJacaranda have been found in the coastal mountain-ranges of SE-Brazil where they occupy characteristic ecological positions.J. montana andJ. subalpina are related toJ. puberula agg.,J. pulcherrima shows affinities toJ. ulei but also toJ. subalpina. J. crassifolia is very distinct and possibly related toJ. obovata.

     

Molecular biology and systematics of an extinct Lemur:Pachylemur insignis

The systematic position of the extinctPachylemur insignis has been controversial: some authors consideredPachylemur as a lemur, whereas others viewed it closer toVarecia. Its classification in the genusLemur orVarecia thus remained an open question. DNA extraction from subfossil bones, using a non-destructive method, allowed us to obtain enough material to make a Southern blot. The hybridization ofPachylemur withEulemur fulvus, Lemur catta, andVarecia variegata highly repeated DNA probes showed that only theVarecia probe gave a positive signal on hybridization on thePachylemur blot. These results indicate thatPachylemur must be considered closer to the genusVarecia than toEulemur andLemur.     

rbcL sequences support exclusion ofRetzia,Desfontainia, andNicodemia from theGentianales

The taxonomic positions ofRetzia, Desfontainia, andNicodemia have been much discussed, and all three genera have been included inLoganiaceae (Gentianales). We have made a cladistic analysis ofrbcL gene sequences to determine the relationships of these taxa toGentianales. Four newrbcL sequences are presented; i.e., ofRetzia, Desfontainia, Diervilla (Caprifoliaceae), andEuthystachys (Stilbaceae). Our results show thatRetzia, Desfontainia, andNicodemia are not closely related toLoganiaceae or theGentianales. Retzia is most closely related toEuthystachys and is better included inStilbaceae. The positions ofDesfontainia andNicodemia are not settled, butDesfontainia shows affinity for theDipsacales s.l. andNicodemia for theLamiales s.l.     

A molecular systematic study ofCathaya, a relic genus of thePinaceae in China

The systematic position ofCathaya, a relic genus of thePinaceae, was discussed based on therbcL gene sequence. The sequence data were analysed with PAUP and MEGA programs. The great genetic distance value betweenCathaya and any other genus of thePinaceae showed thatCathaya was a distinct and isolated genus. The most parsimonious Fitch tree and neighbor-joining tree showed thatCathaya was distantly related to the clade comprisingAbies, Keteleeria, Pseudolarix andTsuga, and a sister group relationship betweenCathaya andPinus was weakly supported.Pseudotsuga is closely related toLarix. In theAbies-Keteleeria-Pseudolarix-Tsuga clade,Abies has a close relationship toKeteleeria whilePseudolarix is relatively closely related toTsuga.     

Two new fossil woods ofAcer and a new combination ofPrunus from the Tertiary of Japan

Two new species ofAcer fossil woods,A. momijiyamense andA. Watarianum, are described and a short review of fossil wood of this genus from the Tertiary of Japan is given. In the course of a study on three fossil wood species which have been described asAcer andAcernium from Japan, it is noticed thatAcernium iwatense Watari does not belong toAcer but toPrunus of the Rosaceae, and is therafore transferred intoPrunus asPrunus iwatense comb. nov.     

Chromosome banding patterns in Lettuce species (Lactuca sect.Lactuca,Compositae)

Chromosome banding patterns obtained with C- and N- banding, and AgNO₃ staining were studied in somatic metaphase complements of fourLactuca species.L. sativa andL. serriola have almost identical chromosome morphology, andL. saligna differs only slightly from them, butL. virosa is quite distinct from the other species. A gross comparison of the banded karyotypes suggests a closer relationship ofL. saligna toL. sativa/serriola than toL. virosa. Our data agree with the results of previous crossing experiments in these species but conflict partly with recent RFLP data which indicate a closer phenetic relationship ofL. saligna toL. virosa than toL. sativa/serriola. Such a discrepancy may be explained assuming that domestication ofL. sativa/serriola resulted in an increased selection pressure on unique DNA sequences as demonstrated by the RFLP data. Differential evolution of specific heterochromatin classes (and presumably of highly repetitive DNA classes), as revealed by chromosome banding techniques was not linked to domestication. Thus the disparity in conclusions about relationship (in terms of genetic similarity) as based on the different experimental approaches reflects a non-parallel evolution of highly repetitive vs. unique DNA classes.     

Morphometric variation inLomelosia crenata (Dipsacaceae)

Morphometric characters on 118 herbarium specimens ofLomelosia crenata subsp.crenata (regarded as including subsp.pseudisetensis) were statistically evaluated to detect discontinuities in the variation pattern. Three morphotypes were detected: specimens with short stems and long calyx bristles, specimens with short stems and short bristles, and specimens with long stems and short bristles. The first morphotypic group is separated from the others, which are partly overlapping. These groups broadly correspond toL. crenata subsp.crenata, toScabiosa crenata var.glabriuscula, and toL. crenata subsp.pseudisetensis, respectively.     

Biosystematic study ofRoegneria tenuispica, R. ciliaris andR. pendulina (Poaceae:Triticeae)

Morphological and cytological studies of three tetraploidRoegneria species,R. tenuispica, R. pendulina andR. ciliaris, and their artificial hybrids were carried out.Roegneria tenuispica was morphologically similar toR. pendulina. The general appearance of the interspecific hybrids was intermediate between the parents. The hybrids showed comparatively high chromosome pairing at meiosis, but were completely or almost completely sterile. The results indicate that the three independent species share two basic genomes (S_tY) and thatR. tenuispica is more closely related toR. pendulina than toR. ciliaris. The genomes ofR. tenuispica could be designated as S _t ^t Y^t.     

The phylogeny ofPapaver s. l. (Papaveraceae): Polyphyly or monophyly?

An RFLP analysis of the chloroplast genetrnK of 32 species of the generaPapaver, Roemeria, Stylomecon, andMeconopsis leads to the following conclusions: (1) AsianMeconopsis consists of two distinct clades and is paraphyletic in relation toPapaver, Roemeria, Stylomecon, and the W EuropeanMeconopsis cambrica. (2) Sister group relationships ofRoemeria toPapaver sect.Argemonidium and ofStylomecon toPapaver californicum are well-supported. (3)Meconopsis cambrica is nested withinPapaver (incl.Roemeria andStylomecon). The consideration of morphology, geographical distribution and ecology leads to the conclusion thatM. cambrica is best regarded as a member ofMeconopsis, and thatPapaver arose polyphyletically from within a paraphyleticMeconopsis in response to Tertiary climatic aridification. — The removal ofM. cambrica from the taxon matrix is discussed. It is concluded that this experiment illuminates the importance of critical taxon sampling, and shows that at least potentially the assessment of taxa as mono-, para-, or polyphyletic may characterize their present status only and need not reflect their phylogenetic history.     

Systematic relationships of theLactoridaceae,an endemic family of the Juan Fernandez Islands,Chile

The systematic relationships ofLactoridaceae are problematical, with alternative assignments toMagnoliales, Laurales, andPiperales. Phenetic analyses suggest thatLactoridaceae are best accomodated withinMagnoliales and are most closely related toAnnonaceae. Cladistic analyses indicate that the family is a relatively derived member of theMagnoliales, with affinities toAnnonaceae, Eupomatiaceae, Himantandraceae, andMyristicaceae. These analyses together with fossil pollen data are used to interpret the phylogeny ofLactoridaceae and its relatives.     

Vertebrate homeobox genes

In the former part of the review the principal available data aboutHox genes, their molecular organisation and their expression in vertebrate embryos, with particular emphasis for mammals, are briefly summarized.In the latter part we analysed the expression of four mouse homeobox genes related to twoDrosophila genes expressed in the developing head of the fly: Emx1 and Emx2, related toems, and Otx1 and Otx2, related tootd.     

Phylogenetic relationships among species ofWilliopsis andSaturnospora gen. nov. as determined from partial rRNA sequences

Phylogenetic relationships among those yeast species that form saturn-shaped ascospores and which are assigned to the generaWilliopsis andPichia were estimated from their extent of nucleotide sequence divergence in three regions of ribosomal RNA. ThePichia species (P. dispora, P. saitoi, P. zaruensis andP. sp. nov.) are a closely clustered group only distantly related toWilliopsis, and it is proposed that they be reassigned toSaturnospora gen. nov. The extent of divergence amongWilliopsis species (W. californica, W. mucosa, W. pratensis, W. saturnus andW. sp. nov.) is greater than that previously observed within other ascomycetous yeast genera.     

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.     

Production of TMC-151, TMC-154 and TMC-171, a new class of antibiotics, is specific to ‘Gliocladium roseum’ group

A novel class of fungal metabolites, TMC-151, TMC-154, and TMC-171 series compounds, was found exclusively inGliocladium catenulatum, Clonostachys rosea and closely related strains. These compounds were not detected in any other fungi examined. The production spectrum of each component was correlated to the morphology of the secondary conidiophores and the conidia. TMC-151 was limited toClonostachys rosea (formerlyG. roseum) forming navicular or reniform conidia orG. catenulatum with gray-green conidial masses, whereas TMC-154 and 171 were limited to the strains closely related toGliocladium roseum, which grew more slowly and formed more symmetrical conidia.