The variability of critical species ofLotus L. in Iran and in the neighbouring countries I. the circle ofL. corniculatus L. andL. gebelia Vent.

The region of Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan and the neighbouring countries is important for some groups of the speciesLotus L., especially those of the circle ofL. corniculatus L. andL. gebelia Vent. The first group is represented by the speciesL. corniculatus L. with 4 subspecies (3 of which are important for this region), andL. tenuis Waldst. etKit. which here attains the eastern boundary of the continuous area of distribution, and by the eastern speciesL. krylovii Schischk. etSerg. andL. rechingeri Chrtková-?ertová. The second group is represented by the speciesL. gebelia Vent.,L. michauxianus Ser. in DC. andL. libanoticus Boiss. their areas of distribution covering mostly those regions. Most of the species show considerable variability within the species.     

New and critical species ofVicia in Iran and neighbouring countries 2. TheVicia ciceroidea group

In Iran, Iraq, Turkey and adjacent southern parts of the U.S.S.R., four species of the genusVicia, group ofV. ciceroidea, occur, namelyV. multijuga (Boiss.)Rech. f.,V. ciceroidea Boiss.,V. rafigae Tamam?jan and the new speciesV. sojakii described here. This group of species is distinguished by its tendency to reduction of leaflets, broadening of leaf rhachis and dense branching of stems. With respect to these particular properties it is now convenient to esparate these species as a seriesCiceroideae in the sectionCracca.     

New and critical species ofVicia in Iran and neighbouring countries 1. TheVicia variegata group

In Iran and the neighbouring regions of Turkey, Iraq, U.S.S.R. and Afghanistan, eight already known species belonging to the subsectionVariegatae Radzhi, occur:V. persica Boiss.,V. armena Boiss.,V. variegata Willd.,V. akhmaganica Kazar.,V. gregaria Boiss. etHeldr.,V. aucheri Jaub. etSpach and the two new species described here,V. rechingeri Chrtková-?ertová andV. afghanica Chrtková-?ertová. The occurrence of most species is restricted to a limited area which may be one of the evolutionary centres of this subsection.     

Two new species of Thalictrum L. in Iran

Two new species of the genus Thalictrum named Th. mazandaranicum Pakravan & Assadi and Th. tacabicum Pakravan & Assadi from Iran are described and illustrated, their differences to related species are discussed. (© 2013 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

我国西部及邻国的鮡属鱼类

我国属 (Ｐａｒｅｕｃｈｉｌｏｇｌａｎｉｓ)是科鱼类中第二大类群 ,至今已知有 1 2种 ,主要分布于我国西部的山区河流中 ,在邻国越南、缅甸和印度也有分布。类资源较丰富 ,是产区群众的食用鱼之一 ,具有重要的经济价值。过去曾有Ｎｏｒｍａｎ( 1 92 3)、ＨｏｒａａｎｄＳｉｌａｓ( 1 95 1 )、褚新洛 ( 1 979、1 981 )、武云飞等 ( 1 979)、伍献文等( 1 981 )、岳佐和 ( 1 981 )、方树淼等 ( 1 984 )和丁瑞华等( 1 991、1 997)对我国西部及邻近国家的类进行了研究。 2 0世纪 80年代以来曾发现有 5个新种 ,至此该属共有 1 2种。同时…     

Genetic differentiation of Anopheles claviger s.s. in France and neighbouring countries

An investigation of polymorphism of 11 autosomal and one sex-linked allozyme loci was made on 18 samples of Anopheles claviger Meigen (Diptera: Culicidae) from localities across France and neighbouring sites in Germany and Switzerland, plus one sample of Anopheles petragnani Del Vecchio from the French Pyrénées. Genetic differentiation between these two sibling species was confirmed (Nei genetic distance 0.33-0.44) and two genetically distinct groups of populations were identified within An. claviger. These two forms of An. claviger showed contiguous geographical distributions, Group I found across western and Central France, Group II in eastern France and nearby parts of Germany and Switzerland. The two groups were in contact in a region near the Rhone Valley where two intermediate samples were found. The taxonomic significance of this finding is discussed in the context of the recent climatic history of Europe and in relation to the vector potential of each member of the An. claviger complex.     

The lichen genus Erioderma (Pannariaceae) in Ecuador and neighbouring countries

The lichen genus Erioderma is shown to be particularly species-rich in Ecuador, especially in the upper cloud forest (3000–3400m). Altogether seventeen species are recorded of which the following are new: E. barbellatum, E. cyathophorum, E. divisum, E. gloriosum, E. papyraceum, E. pycnidiferum, E. sinuatum , most of which also occur in the neighbouring countries. Two further taxa from these are described as new: E. latilobatum from Bolivia and E. peruvianum from Peru and Bolivia.     

Diploidisation ofLotus corniculatus L. (Fabaceae) by elimination of multivalents

Lotus corniculatus L. (Fabaceae) is a natural tetraploid of probably hybrid origin, which regularly forms bivalents at metaphase I of meiosis. Whole-mount surface-spreading of synaptonemal complexes (SCs) under the electron microscope reveals that diploidisation of this spccies is achieved not by exclusive pairing of homologues during meiotic prophase, but by the elimination of multivalents in favour of bivalents before metaphase I. Observations show that 43% of multivalents are eliminated between zygotene and pachytene, presumably by dissolution and reassembly of SCs between homologous chromosomes. A further 63% are eliminated between pachytene and diakinesis, with a commensurate increase in the number of univalents. Elimination ensures few multivalents reach first metaphase and effectively diploidises this tetraploid.     

The contribution of neighbouring countries to pesticide levels in Dutch surface waters

Compared with other European countries, Dutch consumption of pesticides is high, particularly in agriculture, with many of the compounds found in surface waters in high concentrations and various standards being exceeded. Surface water quality is routinely monitored and the data obtained are published in the Dutch Pesticides Atlas. One important mechanism for reducing pesticide levels in surface waters is authorisation policy, which proceeds on the assumption that the pollution concerned has taken place in the Netherlands. The country straddles the delta of several major European rivers, however, and as river basins do not respect national borders some of the water quality problems will derive from neighbouring countries. Against this background the general question addressed in this article is the following: To what extent do countries neighbouring on the Netherlands contribute to pesticide pollution of Dutch surface waters? To answer this question, data from the Pesticides Atlas for the period 2005-2009 were used. Border zones with Belgium and Germany were defined and the data for these zones compared with Dutch data. In the analyses, due allowance was also made for authorised and non-authorised compounds and for differences between flowing and stagnant waters. Monitoring efforts in the border zones and in the Netherlands were also characterised, showing that efforts in the former are similar to those in the rest of the country. In the border zone with Belgium the relative number of non-authorised pesticides exceeding the standards is clearly higher than in the rest of the Netherlands. These exceedances are observed mainly in flowing waters. In contrast, there is no difference in the relative number of standard-exceeding measurements between the border zones and the rest of the Netherlands. In the boundary zones the array of standard-exceeding compounds clearly deviates from that in the rest of the Netherlands, with compounds authorised in the neighbouring countries but not in the Netherlands, such as flufenacet, featuring prominently. The share of the neighbouring countries in the total number of exceedances in the Netherlands is roughly proportional to the relative area of the border zones. Although there is a certain influx of pesticides from across national borders, the magnitude of the problem appears to be limited.     

Lamina shape variability in species of the genus Ficus L. in different ecological conditions

The morphological variability of the leaf apparatus in response to different levels of light is determined not only by the available solar irradiance, but also by a complex of preadaptations to some other environmental factors. Data on the influences of climatic characteristics for natural ranges on manifested differences in leaves of light and shadow allocations remain insufficient. This paper investigates the differences in lamina shapes among fifteen species of the genus Ficus L. Relationships between the determined plasticity and climatic conditions of the native habitats of species have been ascertained. Positive dependences on the annual cycle amplitude and amount of precipitation, as well as temperature seasonality, have been revealed.     

Genetic variability of invasive species,Fallopia convolvulus (Polygonaceae) in Iran

Abstract

Fallopia (Polygonaceae) as a noxious weed contains 17 species in the world out of which three species occur in Iran with invasive distribution. F. convolvulus growing in wide range of soil types causes significant problems for native ecosystems of river banks. In this study, we have examined genetic variability in F. convolvulus for the first time in Iran. Ten Inter Simple Sequence Repeats (ISSR) markers were used to study the genetic variability on 11 populations of this species. Genetic diversity parameters, genetic distance and gene flow were determined. Genetic variation at inter- and intra-population level was evaluated by different methods. AMOVA and structure analyses revealed high genetic diversity within populations. Mantel test revealed a significant correlation between genetic and geographic distances. Between populations a limited gene flow was observed. It is concluded that local adaptation, low gene exchange and genetic drift can affect genetic diversity of F. convolvulus. Despite self-compatibility of this species, it is proposed that outcrossing may occur because of higher genetic variation among populations of this taxon.     

Molecular analysis of species of Tulipa L. from Iran based on ISSR markers

Molecular characterization of Tulipa L. species can elucidate the relationships among the species and provide more information about the taxonomy of this valuable genus. In this study, the genetic relationship among 39 Tulipa accessions from Khorassan and Yazd Provinces, located in east and northeast Iran, were analyzed using inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) primers. Ten selected ISSR primers from 20 screened primers generated a total of 97 polymorphic DNA bands. Unweighted pair-group method of cluster analysis based on Dice similarity values separated the accessions into nine groups. Seven species were recognized within these groups, and T.?micheliana Hoog was the most frequently encountered species. The subgroups formed within both T.?micheliana and T.?lehmanniana Merckl. revealed a low level of diversity within these species. T.?biebersteiniana Schultes & Schultes fil. and T.?biflora Pallas accessions made a separate clusters. The grouping of accessions was generally consistent with principal coordinate analysis (PCA) and clearly showed the position of species in the subgenera and sections of Tulipa. These results clearly showed the usefulness of DNA fingerprinting for identification of Tulipa accessions, and it is imperative to collect and characterize more genetic variability from the other distribution areas of this genus.     

A karyological study of some Dianthus L. species (Caryophyllaceae) in Northeast of Iran

This study focuses on karyological investigation of four taxa of Dianthus (Caryophyllaceae) including D. crossopetalus, D. orientalis subsp. stenocalyx, D. orientalis subsp. gorganicus, and Dianthus sp. distributed in Northeast of Iran. The karyotype asymmetry/symmetry was evaluated using two methods: 1) CVCL (coefficient of variation of chromosome length) and CVCI (heterogeneity of the centromeric index); and 2) MCA (mean centromeric asymmetry). The karyotype asymmetry was also used to investigate the relationships among the taxa. Results obtained from the current study revealed that there are two different ploidy levels (2n = 2x = 30 and 2n = 4x = 60) among the investigated taxa. The indices CVCL and MCA described karyotype asymmetry correctly based on variation in chromosome length. Diagram of CVCL vs. MCA seems to be appropriate for karyological delimitation and taxonomic relationships among the Dianthus taxa under study. (© 2014 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Somatic hypermutagenesis in immunoglobulin genes. II. Influence of neighbouring base sequences on mutagenesis.

A new approach for the analysis of hotspots of mutations is described. It is based on the classification of hotspot site sequences. Using this approach, the consensuses RGYW and TAA of hotspot sites were revealed in the V gene. Correlation between somatic mutations and these consensuses is investigated by the statistical weight method in 323 somatic substitutions in 14 V genes. Assuming the absence of any correlation, the probability of observing such data in the sample would be very low (0.0003). These results support the idea that emergence of somatic mutation is significantly influenced by neighbouring base sequences. This idea was also supported by the analysis of 296 somatic mutations in flanking sequences of V genes. It is supposed that this influence is an important feature of somatic hypermutagenesis.     

Polymorphism of hordein-coding loci in barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) populations of Iran and Central Asian countries

Starch gel electrophoresis was performed to study polymorphism of hordeins encoded by the Hrd A, Hrd B, and Hrd Floci in 366 local old barley accessions from Iran and Central Asian countries, including Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan (Mountain Badahsan), and Kirgizia. In total, 60 alleles with frequencies of 0.0003-0.2818 were observed for the Hrd A locus, 106 alleles with frequencies of 0.0003-0.1603 were observed for the Hrd B locus, and five alleles with frequencies of 0.0164-0.4131 were observed for the Hrd Flocus. The alleles and allele frequencies displayed irregular distributions in barley populations of the above countries. Cluster analysis of the matrix of allele frequencies in populations from known collection sites revealed a cluster structure of local barley populations within each country. Local populations formed five differently sized clusters in Iran, six in Turkmenistan, three in Uzbekistan, and three in Kirgizia. The variation and allele frequency distribution of the hordein-coding loci in Iran and Central Asian countries were assumed to result from the introduction and spreading of barley forms via migrations of husbandmen.     

RFLP variability in peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) cultivars and wild species

Summary RFLP variability was studied in eight U.S. peanut cultivars, representing the four market types, and in 14 wild Arachis species accessions, using random genomic clones from a PstI library. Very low levels of RFLP variability were found among the allotetraploids, which included the U.S. cultivars and Arachis monticola, a wild species. The diploid wild species were very diverse, however. RFLP patterns of the allotetraploids were more complex than the diploids, and the two constituent genomes could usually be distinguished. On the basis of RFLP band sharing, A. ipaensis, A. duranensis, and A. spegazzinii appeared most closely related to the diploid progenitor species of the allotetraploids. A dendrogram of relationships among the diploid wild species was constructed based on band sharing.