Multiple gene genealogies and AFLPs suggest cryptic speciation and long-distance dispersal in the basidiomycete Serpula himantioides (Boletales)

Serpula himantioides (Boletales, Basidiomycota) produces thin resupinate basidiocarps on dead coniferous wood worldwide and causes damage in buildings as well. In this study, we present evidence for the existence of at least three phylogenetically defined cryptic species (referred to as Sib I-III) within the morphospecies S. himantioides, a conclusion based on analyses of sequence data from four DNA regions and amplified fragment length polymorphisms (AFLPS). A low degree of shared sequence polymorphisms was observed among the three lineages indicating a long-lasting separation. The AFLPs revealed two additional subgroups within Sib III. Results from mating studies were consistent with the molecular data. In Sib III, no correspondence between genetic and geographical distance was observed among isolates worldwide, presumably reflecting recent dispersal events. Our results indicate that at least two of the lineages (Sib II and Sib III) have wide sympatric distributions. A population genetic analysis of Sib III isolates, scoring sequence polymorphisms as codominant SNP markers, indicates that panmictic conditions exist in the Sib III group. This study supports the view that cryptic speciation is a common phenomenon in basidiomycete fungi and that phylogenetic species recognition can be a powerful inference to detect cryptic species. Furthermore, this study shows that AFLP data are a valuable supplement to DNA sequence data in that they may detect a finer level of genetic variation.     

Impact of sudden oak death on tree mortality in the Big Sur ecoregion of California

The Big Sur ecoregion in coastal California is a botanically and ecologically diverse area that has recently experienced substantial mortality of oak (Quercus spp.) and tanoak (Lithocarpus densiflorus) trees due to the emerging forest disease sudden oak death, caused by the invasive pathogen Phytophthora ramorum. In response to the urgent need to examine environmental impacts and create management response strategies, we quantified the impact of P. ramorum invasion on tree mortality across the Big Sur ecoregion using high-resolution aircraft imagery and field data. Using the imagery, we mapped all detectable oak and tanoak trees possibly killed by P. ramorum infection within redwood-tanoak forests and mixed oak woodlands. To validate and improve our remote assessment, we quantified the number, size, and infection status of host trees in 77 field plots (0.25 ha). The field data showed that our remote assessment underestimated mortality due to the occurrence of dead trees in the forest understory. For each forest type, we developed regression models that adjusted our remote assessments of tree mortality in relation to field observations of mortality and local habitat variables. The models significantly improved remote assessment of oak mortality, but relationships were stronger for mixed oak woodlands (r ² = 0.77) than redwood-tanoak forests (r ² = 0.66). Using the field data, we also modeled the amount of dead tree basal area (m²) in relation to the density of mapped dead trees in mixed oak woodlands (r ² = 0.73) and redwood-tanoak forests (r ² = 0.54). Application of the regression models in a GIS estimated 235,678 standing dead trees in 2005 and 12,650 m² of tree basal area removed from the ecoregion, with 63% of mortality occurring in redwood-tanoak forests and 37% in mixed oak woodlands. Integration of the remote assessment with population estimates of host abundance, obtained from an independent network of 175 field plots (0.05 ha each), indicated similar prevalence of mortality in redwood-tanoak forests (20.0%) and mixed oak woodlands (20.5%) at this time. This is the first study to quantify a realistic number of dead trees impacted by P. ramorum over a defined ecological region. Ecosystem impacts of such widespread mortality will likely be significant.

Diversity in the cork oak forests of the northern Straits of Gibraltar Region (Southern Spain)

Several components of diversity (ecological, taxonomic, chorological and morphological– functional) were studied in the woody vegetation of the cork oak forests in the northern Straits of Gibraltar Region, and their relationship to the two main environmental gradients (one mainly climatic—precipitation, fog—and another secondary related to the disturbance and hydric stress associated with hillslope orientation). An inventory of the woody species and their cover measure was carried out on 94 plots. The relationship between the components of diversity and the main environmental gradients was analysed by means of regression analysis. Decreases of species richness, Shannon diversity index, Western Mediterranean species cover, percentage of endemism and the share of the Herrera Syndrome I in diversity were related to the increase of the precipitation and the fog. However, the cover and percentage of species of the Circum-Mediterranean and Mediterranean-Eurosiberian chorological groups increase with the precipitation and the fog. Disturbance and hydric stress associated with hillslope orientation, have a negative effect on specific richness of the Mediterranean-Eurosiberian chorological group and taxonomic singularity, but its have a positive effect on the share of the Herrera Syndrome I in diversity. The number of edaphic endemisms is associated mainly with disturbance. In the cork forests does not exist an inverse relationship between the number of endemisms and floristic richness, as it happens in other Mediterranean areas. It has suggested that this pattern is due to effect of competitive exclusion associated with disturbance in vegetation on relatively fertile substrate.     

Population dynamics of the sudden oak death pathogen Phytophthora ramorum in Oregon from 2001 to 2004

Phytophthora ramorum (Oomycetes) is an emerging plant pathogen in forests in southwestern Oregon (Curry County). Moreover, since 2003 it has been repeatedly isolated from plants in Oregon nurseries. In this study, we analysed the genetic diversity of the P. ramorum population in Oregon from 2001 to 2004 by using microsatellites. A total of 323 isolates (272 from the infested forest; 51 from nurseries) were screened at 10 loci. The overall P. ramorum population in Oregon is characterized by low genetic diversity and has all the hallmarks of an introduced organism. All isolates within the A2 mating type belonged to the same clonal lineage and no recombinant genotypes were found. The forest population (24 genotypes) was dominated by a single multilocus genotype which persisted over years, indicating that eradication efforts in the forest have not completely eliminated inoculum sources. In contrast, genotypic evidence suggests that eradication was effective in nurseries. In 2003 and 2004, a total of 11 genotypes were found in the nurseries (one belonged to the European lineage of P. ramorum) but no genotype was recovered in both sampling years. Significant differentiation and low gene flow were detected between nursery and forest populations. Only two nursery genotypes were also found in the forest, and then at low frequency. Thus, the nursery infestation is not caused by the genotypes observed in Curry County, but likely resulted through introduction of novel genotypes from nurseries out-of-state. This highlights the continued importance of sanitation and quarantine in nurseries to prevent further introduction and spread of P. ramorum.     

Autonomic control during sleep and risk for sudden death in infancy

A variety of clinical pathology and experimental animal evidence suggests that cerebellar and vestibular structures mediate marked challenges to blood pressure and breathing, and are particularly involved in compensatory somatomotor and breathing efforts to overcome substantial losses in blood pressure. At least a subset of victims of the Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), a sleep-related disorder, succumbs to a profound bradycardia and hypotension prior to respiratory cessation, suggesting a failure of autonomic control, or incompetent compensation of somatomotor and respiratory efforts, to overcome the cardiovascular collapse. The clinical and neurotransmitter evidence from SIDS victims implicates afferent and efferent components within vestibular/cerebellar blood pressure control systems in SIDS victims. Experimental evidence from animals suggests vestibular and cerebellar structures exercise critical roles in mediating autonomic responses to body position and extreme changes in blood pressure. The position-dependent risk for SIDS, together with the neuropathological evidence, suggests a significant role for vestibular/cerebellar structures in mediating the fatal outcome for the syndrome.     

Sex, isolation and fidelity: unbiased long-distance dispersal in a terrestrial amphibian

Amphibians in general are considered poor dispersers and thus their dispersal curve should be dominated by short movements. Additionally, as male toads do not compete for females and sexual selection is by female choice, dispersal should be male-biased. Furthermore, since adults are site-loyal and polygynous, juveniles should move farther and faster than adults. We tested the hypotheses that dispersal would be limited and both sex- and age-biased in a population of Fowler's toads Bufo fowleri at Lake Erie, Ontario, Canada. Based on a mark-recapture study of 2816 toads, 1326 recaptured at least once, we found that although the toads did show high site fidelity, the dispersal curve was highly skewed with a significant "tail" where the maximum distance moved by an adult was 34 km. Dispersal was neither sex-biased nor age-biased despite clear theoretical predictions that dispersal should be biased towards males and juveniles. We conclude that the resource competition hypothesis of sex-biased dispersal does not predict dispersal tendencies as readily for amphibians as for mammals and birds. Toad dispersal only appears to be juvenile-biased because the juveniles are more abundant than the adults, not because they are the more active dispersers.     

Description and epidemiology of Theileria youngi n. sp. from a northern Californian dusky-footed woodrat (Neotoma Fuscipes) population

An epidemiologic study designed to identify the small mammal reservoir for the zoonotic WA1-type babesial parasite resulted in the discovery of a small, intraerythrocytic piroplasm in smeared blood from dusky-footed woodrats (Neotoma fuscipes) in northern California. The woodrat parasites were isolated and compared to other piroplasm parasites based on their morphology, antigenicity, and genetic characteristics. These studies indicated that the woodrat parasites were not the WA1-type babesial agent but were of the genus Theileria. We accordingly named it Theileria youngi. The prevalence in the woodrat population was high (61%). Infection was unrelated to gender or age of the woodrats. Potential vectors for this tick-transmitted parasite included 3 species of ticks recovered from the woodrats. Dermacentor occidentalis, Ixodes woodi, and Ixodes pacificus. Mostly larval or nymphal stages were recovered, suggesting transstadial transmission is possible. This is the first piroplasm fully characterized from a dusky-footed woodrat.     

Phytophthora ramorum: a pathogen with a remarkably wide host range causing sudden oak death on oaks and ramorum blight on woody ornamentals

Phytophthora ramorum is an oomycete plant pathogen classified in the kingdom Stramenopila. P. ramorum is the causal agent of sudden oak death on coast live oak and tanoak as well as ramorum blight on woody ornamental and forest understorey plants. It causes stem cankers on trees, and leaf blight or stem dieback on ornamentals and understorey forest species. This pathogen is managed in the USA and Europe by eradication where feasible, by containment elsewhere and by quarantine in many parts of the world. Genomic resources provide information on genes of interest to disease management and have improved tremendously since sequencing the genome in 2004. This review provides a current overview of the pathogenicity, population genetics, evolution and genomics of P. ramorum. Taxonomy: Phytophthora ramorum (Werres, De Cock & Man in't Veld): kingdom Stramenopila; phylum Oomycota; class Peronosporomycetidae; order Pythiales; family Pythiaceae; genus Phytophthora. Host range: The host range is very large and the list of known hosts continues to expand at the time of writing. Coast live oak and tanoak are ecologically, economically and culturally important forest hosts in the USA. Rhododendron, Viburnum, Pieris, Syringa and Camellia are key ornamental hosts on which P. ramorum has been found repeatedly, some of which have been involved in moving the pathogen via nursery shipments. Disease symptoms: P. ramorum causes two different diseases with differing symptoms: sudden oak death (bleeding lesions, stem cankers) on oaks and ramorum blight (twig dieback and/or foliar lesions) on tree and woody ornamental hosts. Useful websites: http://nature.berkeley.edu/comtf/ , http://rapra.csl.gov.uk/ , http://www.aphis.usda.gov/plant_health/plant_pest_info/pram/index.shtml , http://genome.jgi‐psf.org/Phyra1_1/Phyra1_1.home.html , http://pamgo.vbi.vt.edu/ , http://pmgn.vbi.vt.edu/ , http://vmd.vbi.vt.edu./ , http://web.science.oregonstate.edu/bpp/labs/grunwald/resources.htm , http://www.defra.gov.uk/planth/pramorum.htm , http://www.invasive.org/browse/subject.cfm?sub=4603 , http://www.forestry.gov.uk/forestry/WCAS‐4Z5JLL     

Influence of environmental heterogeneity on genetic diversity and structure in an endemic southern Californian oak

Understanding how specific environmental factors shape gene flow while disentangling their importance relative to the effects of geographical isolation is a major question in evolutionary biology and a specific goal of landscape genetics. Here, we combine information from nuclear microsatellite markers and ecological niche modelling to study the association between climate and spatial genetic structure and variability in Engelmann oak (Quercus engelmannii), a wind-pollinated species with high potential for gene flow. We first test whether genetic diversity is associated with climatic niche suitability and stability since the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). Second, we use causal modelling to analyse the potential influence of climatic factors (current and LGM niche suitability) and altitude in the observed patterns of genetic structure. We found that genetic diversity is negatively associated with local climatic stability since the LGM, which may be due to higher immigration rates in unstable patches during favourable climatic periods and/or temporally varying selection. Analyses of spatial genetic structure revealed the presence of three main genetic clusters, a pattern that is mainly driven by two highly differentiated populations located in the northern edge of the species distribution range. After controlling for geographic distance, causal modelling analyses showed that genetic relatedness decreases with the environmental divergence among sampling sites estimated as altitude and current and LGM niche suitability. Natural selection against nonlocal genotypes and/or asynchrony in reproductive phenology may explain this pattern. Overall, this study suggests that local environmental conditions can shape patterns of genetic structure and variability even in species with high potential for gene flow and relatively small distribution ranges.     

Ancient isolation and independent evolution of the three clonal lineages of the exotic sudden oak death pathogen Phytophthora ramorum

The genus Phytophthora includes some of the most destructive plant pathogens affecting agricultural and native ecosystems and is responsible for a number of recent emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases of plants. Sudden oak death, caused by the exotic pathogen P. ramorum , has caused extensive mortality of oaks and tanoaks in Northern California, and has brought economic losses to US and European nurseries as well due to its infection of common ornamental plants. In its known range, P. ramorum occurs as three distinct clonal lineages. We inferred the evolutionary history of P. ramorum from nuclear sequence data using coalescent-based approaches. We found that the three lineages have been diverging for at least 11% of their history, an evolutionarily significant amount of time estimated to be on the order of 165 000 to 500 000 years. There was also strong evidence for historical recombination between the lineages, indicating that the ancestors of the P. ramorum lineages were members of a sexually reproducing population. Due to this recombination, the ages of the lineages varied within and between loci, but coalescent analyses suggested that the European lineage may be older than the North American lineages. The divergence of the three clonal lineages of P. ramorum supports a scenario in which the three lineages originated from different geographic locations that were sufficiently isolated from each other to allow independent evolution prior to introduction to North America and Europe. It is thus probable that the emergence of P. ramorum in North America and Europe was the result of three independent migration events.     

Seed dispersal by white-tailed deer: implications for long-distance dispersal,invasion, and migration of plants in eastern North America

For many plant species in eastern North America, short observed seed dispersal distances (ranging up to a few tens of meters) fail to explain rapid rates of invasion and migration. This discrepancy points to a substantial gap in our knowledge of the mechanisms by which seeds are dispersed long distances. We investigated the potential for white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus Zimm.), the dominant large herbivore in much of eastern North America, to disperse seeds via endozoochory. This is the first comprehensive study of seed dispersal by white-tailed deer, despite a vast body of research on other aspects of their ecology. More than 70 plant species germinated from deer feces collected over a 1-year period in central New York State, USA. Viable seeds included native and alien herbs, shrubs, and trees, including several invasive introduced species, from the full range of habitat types in the local flora. A mean of >30 seeds germinated per fecal pellet group, and seeds were dispersed during all months of the year. A wide variety of presumed dispersal modes were represented (endo- and exozoochory, wind, ballistic, ant, and unassisted). The majority were species with small-seeded fruits having no obvious adaptations for dispersal, underscoring the difficulty of inferring dispersal ability from diaspore morphology. Due to their broad diet, wide-ranging movements, and relatively long gut retention times, white-tailed deer have tremendous potential for effecting long-distance seed dispersal via ingestion and defecation. We conclude that white-tailed deer represent a significant and previously unappreciated vector of seed dispersal across the North American landscape, probably contributing an important long-distance component to the seed shadows of hundreds of plant species, and providing a mechanism to help explain rapid rates of plant migration.Electronic Supplementary Material Supplementary material is available in the online version of this article at     

The phylogeographical clade trade: tracing the impact of human-mediated dispersal on the colonization of northern Europe by the oak gallwasp Andricus kollari

Human dispersal of organisms is an important process modifying natural patterns of biodiversity. Such dispersal generates new patterns of genetic diversity that overlie natural phylogeographical signatures, allowing discrimination between alternative dispersal mechanisms. Here we use allele frequency and DNA sequence data to distinguish between alternative scenarios (unassisted range expansion and long range introduction) for the colonization of northern Europe by an oak-feeding gallwasp, Andricus kollari. Native to Mediterranean latitudes from Portugal to Iran, this species became established in northern Europe following human introduction of a host plant, the Turkey oak Quercus cerris. Colonization of northern Europe is possible through three alternative routes: (i) unassisted range expansion from natural populations in the Iberian Peninsula; (ii) unassisted range expansion from natural populations in Italy and Hungary; or (iii) descent from populations imported to the UK as trade goods from the eastern Mediterranean in the 1830s. We show that while populations in France were colonized from sources in Italy and Hungary, populations in the UK and neighbouring parts of coastal northern Europe encompass allozyme and sequence variation absent from the known native range. Further, these populations show demographic signatures expected for large stable populations, rather than signatures of rapid population growth from small numbers of founders. The extent and spatial distribution of genetic diversity in the UK suggests that these A. kollari populations are derived from introductions of large numbers of individuals from each of two genetically divergent centres of diversity in the eastern Mediterranean. The strong spatial patterning in genetic diversity observed between different regions of northern Europe, and between sites in the UK, is compatible with leptokurtic models of population establishment.     

Thermophilous oak forests in the Czech Republic: Syntaxonomical revision of theQuercetalia pubescenti-petraeae

Using the Braun-Blanquet approach, a syntaxonomical revision of the order ofQuercetalia pubescenti-petraeae, based on the synthesis of 634 relevés, distinguished three alliances of the thermophilous oak forests in the Czech Republic: (1)Quercion pubescenti-petraeae (3 communities:Pruno mahaleb-Quercetum pubescentis, Lathyro versicoloris-Quercetum pubescentis, Corno-Quercetum), which includes peri-alpine and peri-Carpathian oak forests on calcareous bedrock, (2)Aceri tatarici-Quercion (2 communities:Quercetum pubescenti-roboris, Carici fritschii-Quercetum roboris), which comprises Pontic-Pannonian oak forests on loess or sand that occur in southern Moravia only, (3)Quercion petraeae (5 communities:Potentillo albae-Quercetum, Brachypodium pinnatum-Quercus robur community,Sorbo torminalis-Quercetum, Genisto pilosae-Quercetum petraeae, Asplenio cuneifolii-Quercetum petraeae), which includes Central European thermophilous oak forests distributed outside the range ofQuercus pubescens and some other submediterranean species.     

Evidence for infection, inflammation and shock in sudden infant death: parallels between a neonatal rat model of sudden death and infants who died of sudden infant death syndrome

This study compared pathological findings from a neonatal rat model of sudden death with those from 40 sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) infants collected at autopsy. In the rat model, influenza A virus was administered intranasally on postnatal day 10, and on day 12 a sublethal, intraperitoneal dose of Escherichia coli endotoxin; mortality was 80%. Tissue samples from the animals and infants were fixed in formaldehyde, embedded in paraffin, and sections stained with hematoxylin and eosin. Tissues from the SIDS specimens were additionally cultured for bacteria and viruses; post-mortem blood samples were evaluated for signs of inflammation. All sections were examined by a pediatric forensic pathologist familiar with SIDS pathology. Comparisons between the rat model and the human SIDS cases revealed that both exhibited gross and microscopic pathology related to organ shock, possibly associated with the presence of endotoxin. Uncompensated shock appeared to be a likely factor that caused death in both infants and rat pups. Response to a shock-inducing event might have played an important role in the events leading to death. The similarities between the neonatal rats and the human cases indicate that further research with the model might elucidate additional aspects of SIDS pathology.     

Emerging pathogens: the epidemiology and evolution of species jumps

Novel pathogens continue to emerge in human, domestic animal, wildlife and plant populations, yet the population dynamics of this kind of biological invasion remain poorly understood. Here, we consider the epidemiological and evolutionary processes underlying the initial introduction and subsequent spread of a pathogen in a new host population, with special reference to pathogens that originate by jumping from one host species to another. We conclude that, although pathogen emergence is inherently unpredictable, emerging pathogens tend to share some common traits, and that directly transmitted RNA viruses might be the pathogens that are most likely to jump between host species.