A new name and a new species in MexicanRuellia (Acanthaceae)

Based on pollen and floral morphology,Blechum grandiflorum is transferred toRuellia, and the nameR. mirandana is proposed for this species. A new species,Ruellia tuxtlensis, is described which is distinguishable fromR. mirandana by its longer spike and elliptic bracts. It is presently known only from the lowlands of Veracruz, Mexico.     

Taxonomic notes on Mexican Ruellia (Acanthaceae)

The new nameRuellia comonduensis is provided for the species previously known asR. cordata Brandegee.Ruellia chilpancingana, a new species known only from Guerrero in southwestern Mexico, is described and compared to morphologically similar species. It is unique among Mexican species ofRuellia based on the following combination of characters: caducous bracteoles and secondary bracteoles, multiflowered dichasia from leaf axils, yellowish and cylindric-funnelform corollas, exserted stamens, and few (four or fewer) seeds per capsule. Macromorphological features and pollen ofR. chilpancingana are illustrated.     

A synopsis of Costa Rican Ruellia (Acanthaceae), with descriptions of four new species

We describe four new species of Ruellia from Costa Rica; three from the Osa Peninsula, Puntarenas province (R. exilis, R. mira, R. odorata), and one from the southwestern corner of San José province (R. norvegigratiosa). Ruellia matagalpae is reported as a new record for the country. New combinations are made in Ruellia for the two Costa Rican species of Blechum (R. blechum and R. costaricensis). Three species are reduced to synonymy, and another species is considered doubtfully worthy of recognition. Notable range extensions are reported for two species. Corollas and fruits of all 22 Costa Rican species of Ruellia are shown and compared as easily used identification aids. An informal guide to species groups and a dichotomous key to the 22 species are presented.     

New synonymies for <Emphasis Type="Italic">Ruellia</Emphasis> (Acanthaceae) of Costa Rica and notes on other neotropical species

As part of our study of the Acanthaceae of Costa Rica and from a phylogenetic study of Ruellia as a whole, we place R. barbillana and R. metallica in synonymy with R. terminalis. We discuss species limits of R. terminalis and provide a key that distinguishes it from close relatives including R. grantii, R. oaxacana, and R. phyllocalyx. Ruellia puri is put into synonymy with R. jussieuoides, and R. standleyi is synonymized with R. ochroleuca. Disjunct distributions characterize R. terminalis, R. jussieuoides, and R. ochroleuca, although this pattern is most extreme in R. ochroleuca. Phylogenetic analysis of DNA sequence data lends support to our synonymy decisions. New lectotypifications are provided for Arrhostoxylum achimeniflorum, Dipteracanthus puri, Dipteracanthus puri β angustifolius, Dipteracanthus puri γ gymnocladus, Lychniothyrsus ochroleucus, and Otacanthus pearcei .     

Pollination ecology of Ruellia angustiflora (Ness) Lindau ex Rambo (Acanthaceae) in the Serra da Bodoquena,Mato Grosso do Sul,Brazil

In Brazil, studies focusing on reproductive biology and aspects of pollination in the genus Ruellia have demonstrated common characteristics such as pollination by hummingbird, the predominance of self-fertility and spontaneous self-pollination. The objectives of this study were to describe the floral biology, nectar production, the reproductive system, the effect of pollination intensity and flowering phenology of Ruellia angustiflora, as well as keeping a record of the hummingbirds that visit the flowers of this species. Data collection was performed in a stretch of the Salobrinha stream in the Serra da Bodoquena, Mato Grosso do Sul, from August 2005 to July 2006. R. angustiflora flowered throughout most of the study period; it has diurnal anthesis and has increased nectar production in the morning hours with decreasing production rates during the day. The results of the reproduction experiments indicate self-fertility and pollen limitation in R. angustiflora. Among experiments with different pollination intensity there was no significant difference in fruit formation. Four hummingbird species were observed visiting the flowers of R. angustiflora, and Phaethornis pretrei was the most frequent followed by females of Thalurania furcata. According to its behavior and frequency of visits, P. pretrei can be considered the main pollinator of R. angustiflora in the study area. The experiments on flowers treated with different pollen loads indicate that most successful fruit formation in this species is obtained in flowers that received greater pollen loads on their stigmas. Besides, data suggest that major success in fruit set could be reached with more than three visits of P. pretrei.     

Molecular Discrimination of Perna (Mollusca: Bivalvia) Species Using the Polymerase Chain Reaction and Species-Specific Mitochondrial Primers

This work was prompted by the need to be able to identify the invasive mussel species, Perna viridis, in tropical Australian seas using techniques that do not rely solely on morphology. DNA-based molecular methods utilizing a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) approach were developed to distinguish unambiguously between the three species in the genus Perna. Target regions were portions of two mitochondrial genes, cox1 and nad4, and the intergenic spacer between these that occurs in at least two Perna species. Based on interspecific sequence comparisons of the nad4 gene, a conserved primer has been designed that can act as a forward primer in PCRs for any Perna species. Four reverse primers have also been designed, based on nad4 and intergenic spacer sequences, which yield species-specific products of different lengths when paired with the conserved forward primer. A further pair of primers has been designed that will amplify part of the cox1 gene of any Perna species, and possibly other molluscs, as a positive control to demonstrate that the PCR is working.     

Hybridity,polyploidy and change in breeding system in a Ruellia hybrid

Summary Ruellia tweediana and R. tuberosa are large flowered chasmogamous diploids (n=17) with normal meiosis and fertility. F ₁ hybrids, successful in only one direction (R. tweediana x R. tuberosa), are vegetatively vigorous and possess 17 often heteromorphic bivalents with high degree of segregational irregularities. It is exclusively cleistogamous and completely pollen and seed sterile. Like F ₁, the artificial amphidiploid (n=34) is also cleistogamous but shows preferential chromosome pairing with complete restoration of fertility. The parental chromosomes are sufficiently differentiated and cleistogamy is either genie or due to gene-cytoplasm interaction but sterility is entirely chromosomal. All floral parts excepting calyx are highly deformed. Such a deformity is associated with sterility in the F ₁ but with fertility in the amphidiploid. This is perhaps the first case of origin by hybridization of a true breeding and fully fertile cleistogamous taxon from two chasmogamous species. It also shows the extent and nature of change in breeding system brought about by hybridization and/or polyploidy.The chromosome numbers in the six, out of 16, obligate cleistogamous taxa (Table 4) show that they are high polyploids. Perhaps their origin has been in the same manner as in the present case.

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Zusammenfassung Ruellia tweediana und R. tuberosa sind großblütige, chasmogame Diploide (n=17) mit normaler Meiosis und Fertilität. Die F ₁-Hybriden, die nur in einer Richtung gelingen (R. tweediana x R. tuberosa), sind vegetativ kräftig und besitzen häufig 17 heteromorphe Bivalente mit einem hohen Anteil an Spaltungsunregelmäßigkeiten. Die Hybride ist ausschließlich kleistogam und vollkommen pollen- und samensteril. Wie die F ₁ ist auch die künstlich hergestellte Amphidiploide (n=34) kleistogam und zeigt eine präferentielle Chromosomenpaarung mit völliger Wiederherstellung der Fertilität. Die elterlichen Chromosomen sind genügend differenziert. Die Kleistogamie ist entweder genisch bedingt oder auf eine Gen-Cytoplasma-Interaktion zurückzuführen, die Sterilität ist ausschließlich durch die Chromosomen verursacht. Alle Teile der Blüte mit Ausnahme der Calyx sind stark deformiert. Bei der F ₁ ist diese Deformation mit Sterilität verbunden, die amphidiploide Form ist jedoch fertil. Das ist vielleicht der erste Fall eines aus der Kreuzung zweier chasmogamer Spezies hervorgegangenen reinerbigen und voll fertilen kleistogamen Taxons. Es läßt sich auch der Umfang und die Art der durch Hybridisierung und durch Polyploidie verursachten Änderung des Zuchtsystems erkennen. Die Chromosomenzahl bei 6 von 16 obligaten kleistogamen Taxa (Tab. 4) zeigt, daß sie hochpolyploid sind. Vielleicht sind sie auf eine gleiche Weise wie im vorliegenden Falle entstanden.

     

Effects of grazing intensity on growth,reproduction, and abundance of three palatable forbs in Kansas tallgrass prairie

The effects of different intensities of cattle grazing on theaboveground growth, reproduction, and abundances of three palatable forbs werestudied in native tallgrass prairie. Populations of Asterericoides, Ruellia humilis, andAmorpha canescens were sampled at peak flowering duringthe1993–1995 growing seasons in four annually-burned sites varying incattle stocking density [ungrazed, low, moderate, high]. The threeforbs exhibited reduced shoot growth and/or reproduction under moderate toheavy grazing, and in no case did grazing increase any measure of plantperformance. Ruellia showed reduced shoot height andbiomass, percentage of stems flowering, and reproductive biomass in response tograzing. Aster showed decreases in shoot biomass andheightwith grazing. Amorpha showed no change in shoot orreproductive biomass, but a decrease in percent of flowering stems and inreproductive allocation with grazing. Patterns in the percentage of stemsgrazedindicated generally high but variable palatability among these species. Bycontrast, the three species showed inconsistent population response to grazing.Abundance (frequency) of all three species indicated no short-term changebetween years in response to grazing intensity. Responses of these speciesdiffer considerably from those of most other perennial tallgrass prairie forbsthat are unpalatable, unconsumed, and increase in performance (e.g. size,abundance) due to release from competition from the dominant grasses underungulate grazing. The results demonstrate that immediate aboveground growth andreproductive responses of established adults to grazing are not good predictorsof grazer effects on population abundances in tallgrass prairie.     

RADseq dataset with 90% missing data fully resolves recent radiation of Petalidium (Acanthaceae) in the ultra‐arid deserts of Namibia

Deserts, even those at tropical latitudes, often have strikingly low levels of plant diversity, particularly within genera. One remarkable exception to this pattern is the genus Petalidium (Acanthaceae), in which 37 of 40 named species occupy one of the driest environments on Earth, the Namib Desert of Namibia and neighboring Angola. To contribute to understanding this enigmatic diversity, we generated RADseq data for 47 accessions of Petalidium representing 22 species. We explored the impacts of 18 different combinations of assembly parameters in de novo assembly of the data across nine levels of missing data plus a best practice assembly using a reference Acanthaceae genome for a total of 171 sequence datasets assembled. RADseq data assembled at several thresholds of missing data, including 90% missing data, yielded phylogenetic hypotheses of Petalidium that were confidently and nearly fully resolved, which is notable given that divergence time analyses suggest a crown age for African species of 3.6–1.4 Ma. De novo assembly of our data yielded the most strongly supported and well‐resolved topologies; in contrast, reference‐based assembly performed poorly, perhaps due in part to moderate phylogenetic divergence between the reference genome, Ruellia speciosa, and the ingroup. Overall, we found that Petalidium, despite the harshness of the environment in which species occur, shows a net diversification rate (0.8–2.1 species per my) on par with those of diverse genera in tropical, Mediterranean, and alpine environments.     

Phylogeny of Snub-Nosed Monkeys Inferred from Mitochondrial DNA,Cytochrome B,and 12S rRNA Sequences

Snub-nosed monkeys (Rhinopithecus spp.) are confined to isolated mountainous regions in China and North Vietnam. Their systematic classification and phylogenetic relationship has been controversial. The structures of mitochondrial DNA cytochrome b and 12S rRNA show that the 4 species of Rhinopithecus are quite different from other colobines. It is reasonable to regard them as an independent genus, as determined by external features, morphometric characters and behavior. However, whether or not there should be a subdivision between the Vietnamese and Chinese species at the subgeneric level remains to be clarified; more evidence from a large range of Asian colobine species is needed. The Guizhou species, Rhinopithecus brelichi, is a valid species, which is more closely related to Pygathrix than the other species ( R. roxellana, R. bieti and R. avunculus) are. Results also indicate that 3 species—Rhinopithecus roxellana, R. bieti and R. avunculus—might have diverged from R. brelichi, but the phylogenetic relationship of R. avunculus is not clear.     

BIOSYSTEMATIC INVESTIGATIONS IN SOUTH FLORIDA POPULATIONS OF RUELLIA (ACANTHACEAE)

Relationships of the putative Ruellia species, R. caroliniensis, R. ciliosa, R. heteromorpha, and R. succulenta were analyzed by population sampling, investigation of chromosome numbers, garden transplants, and hybridization experiments. Character data from 25 local, Florida populations and from transplants were evaluated. Some interfertility of these “taxa” was demonstrated, as was some interfertility with other species occurring in the eastern United States. Chromosome numbers are n = 17 and 2n = 34. The effect of different breeding systems on population structure is discussed. Total evidence suggests that the 4 “taxa” in question be considered ecological races of a single species widespread in the eastern United States, namely R. caroliniensis.     

Phytochemical Profiling and Pharmacological Evaluation of Leaf Extracts of Ruellia tuberosa L.: An In Vitro and In Silico Approach

The present study was designed to appraise the photoprotective, antioxidant, and antibacterial bioactivities of Ruellia tuberosa leaves extracts (RtPE, RtChl, RtEA, RtAc, RtMe, and RtHMe). The results showed that, RtHMe extracts of R. tuberosa was rich in total phenolic content, i. e., 1.60 mgGAE/g dry extract, while highest total flavonoid content was found in RtAc extract, i. e., 0.40 mgQE/g. RtMe showed effective antioxidant activity (%RSA: 58.16) at the concentration of 120 μL. RtMe, RtEA and RtHMe exhibited effective in vitro antibacterial activity against Gram-negative bacteria (E. coli). In silico docking studies revealed that paucifloside (−11.743 kcal/mol), indole-3-carboxaldehyde (−7.519 kcal/mol), nuomioside (−7.275 kcal/mol), isocassifolioside (−6.992 kcal/mol) showed best docking score against PDB ID 2EX8 [penicillin binding protein 4 (dacB) from Escherichia coli, complexed with penicillin-G], PDB ID 6CQA (E. coli dihydrofolate reductase protein complexed with inhibitor AMPQD), PDB ID 2Y2I [Penicillin-binding protein 1B in complex with an alkyl boronate (ZA3)] and PDB ID 2OLV (from S. aureus), respectively. Docked phytochemicals also showed good drug likeness properties.     

Petraliellidae Harmer, 1957 (Bryozoa: Cheilostomata) from Queensland,Australia

Several species of the family Petraliellidae were first described from the coast of Queensland, including the type species of Sinupetraliella, S. litoralis. These species are redescribed from type, or topotype specimens, and include Petraliella concinna, which has not been certainly found since its introduction in 1891; lectotype material is designated for P. buski and P. magna. Six other species are described from Queensland, P. crassocirca, P. dentilabris, P. dorsiporosa, Mucropetraliella bennetti, M. serrata and M. tuberosa. The species Mucropetraliella tuberosa is a new addition to the Queensland fauna and is described and illustrated here for the first time since its introduction in 1884. The characters of the family Petraliellidae are briefly discussed and the genera to which the Queensland species are assigned is reviewed. A taxonomic key to the ten Queensland petraliellid species described is also provided.     

Karyotype differentiation among Spondias species and the putative hybrid Umbu-cajá (Anacardiaceae)

Spondias L. comprises at least nine Neotropical species, including the widely cultivated S. monbim and S. tuberosa. Umbu‐cajá, a putative hybrid between these two species, is also grown. In this paper, the karyotypes of five Spondias species and Umbu‐cajá were analysed for evidence of this hybridization. Chromosome banding with chromomycin A₃ and the distribution of 5S and 45S rDNA sites were used to characterize the plants, also genomic in situ hybridization using nuclear DNA from both putative parents and the hybrid as probes. All material presented the same chromosome number (2n = 32) and morphology, but differed in the number and distribution of bands. Spondias monbim and S. tuberosa, the supposed relatives of Umbu‐cajá, displayed similar banding patterns, with five to six chromosome pairs having terminal bands, whereas Umbu‐cajá exhibited bands on both members of nine chromosome pairs. The three other species, S. venulosa, S. cytherea and S. purpurea, showed less closely related karyotypes, with bands in 12–18 chromosome pairs. In situ hybridization with 5S and 45S rDNA probes revealed one site of each probe per haploid chromosome complement in all material. However, in S. tuberosa, the location of 5S rDNA was different from the other species and found no counterpart in Umbu‐cajá. Several tests with total DNA from S. mombin and S. tuberosa against metaphase chromosomes of Umbu‐cajá failed to differentiate the individual genomes in the hybrid. From the chromosome banding and the distribution of rDNA sites, as well as from the genomic in situ hybridization, it seems clear that Umbu‐cajá is related closely to S. monbim and S. tuberosa, but it is karyotypically homozygous and distinct from theses other species. Karyotypically, the three other investigated species were related less closely to Umbu‐cajá. © 2007 The Linnean Society of London, Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 2007, 155 , 541–547.     

A survey of species assigned to the fossil pollen genus Anacolosidites

Anacolosidites Cookson & Pike, a fossil pollen genus recorded since the Campanian, is peculiar in its morphology – six‐porate with three apertures on each hemisphere, located away from the equator, and with the distal and proximal apertures positioned over each other. Representatives of this fossil genus are widely considered to represent extant Olacaceae from tribe Anacoloseae. Olacaceae is an exclusively tropical angiosperm family with a pantropical distribution; consequently the fossils are often used to suggest a tropical climate and in addition are frequently used as a stratigraphic marker. Fossil species assigned to Anacolosidites are quite variable and may not all represent Olacaceae, in which case they may not indicate tropical climate.

The present study is a morphological survey of fossil pollen assigned to Anacolosidites; it identifies the published reports of the fossil species that probably represent positive occurrences of Olacaceae pollen in the fossil record. Within Olacaceae, Anacolosidites‐type pollen is usually compared with pollen of genera in tribe Anacoloseae, in particular: Cathedra, Anacolosa and Phanerodiscus, but never with the pollen of Ptychopetalum, a genus from tribe Olaceae with closely similar pollen to the other three genera, but with a reticulate tectum and very small circular apertures located near the equator. Nevertheless, the records of reticulate Anacolosidites species which have been excluded from the emended diagnosis are unlikely to be related to Ptychopetalum. The earliest accepted record of Anacolosidites is from the Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) of Germany. However, most Late Cretaceous records, and later Russian and Chinese occurrences referred to Anacolosidites, consist mainly of Normapolles‐type pollen, whereas many of the Cenozoic records assigned to Anacolosidites have a much clearer affinity with the pollen of Anacolosa, Cathedra and Phanerodiscus (tribe Anacoloseae). The newly emended genus Anacolosidites may be used as a stratigraphic marker for tropical or megathermal climatic conditions.     

Ruellia sect.Urceolata (Acanthaceae), a novel species complex from southern Mexico

A new section in MexicanRuellia, R. sect.Urceolata comprising three species (includingR. cedilloi, spec. nova), endemic to Mexico, is described and illustrated. The taxonomic relationship and differentiation of the species are discussed. Evolution in Mexican Ruellas seems to be occurring at the diploid level.     

Reproductive cycle of the oviparous lizard Sceloporus jalapae,from Zapotitlán Salinas,Puebla, Mexico

Reproductive patterns vary widely among species and populations of squamates. In general, patterns can be divided into cyclic and acyclic. Cyclic patterns are common in tropical and temperate species of seasonal environments, while acyclic ones are characteristic of tropical species that inhabit less variable environments. We studied the reproductive cycle of Sceloporus jalapae, one of the smallest species of Sceloporus, in an arid environment at Zapotitlán Salinas, Puebla, Mexico. Both sexes mature in the first year following hatching and exhibit a seasonal reproductive pattern with maximum activity in spring and summer that appears to be influenced by temperature. Unlike small species of Sceloporus that inhabit pine–oak and tropical forests, S. jalapae exhibits an extended period of reproductive activity that allows females to produce at least two clutches of 3–7 eggs each, and contrary to other species of Sceloporus, in this species there is no correlation between female length and clutch size. The reproductive pattern of S. jalapae is like that shown by other oviparous species of the genus; nevertheless, some life history traits of this species are shared with oviparous and viviparous species of small size.     

New species of Ruellia (Acanthaceae) from southern South America

Two new species ofRuellia,R. epallocaulos from northeastern Argentina, southern Brazil, and eastern Paraguay, andR. kleinii from southern Brazil, are described, illustrated and compared to related species.     

Phylogeny and taxonomy of rhizobia

Rhizobia are bacteria that form nitrogen-fixing nodules on the roots, or occasionally the shoots, of legumes. There are currently more than a dozen validly named species, but the true number of species is probably orders of magnitude higher. The named species are listed and briefly discussed. Sequences of the small subunit ribosomal RNA (SSU or 16S rRNA) support the well-established subdivision of rhizobia into three genera: Rhizobium, Bradyrhizobium, and Azorhizobium. These all lie within the alpha subdivision of the Proteobacteria, but on quite distinct branches, each of which also includes many bacterial species that are not rhizobia. It has been clear for several years that Rhizobium, on this definition, is still too broad and is polyphyletic: there are many non-rhizobia within this radiation. Recently, therefore, it has been suggested that this genus should be split into four genera, namely Rhizobium (R. leguminosarum, R. tropici, R. etli), Sinorhizobium (S. fredii, S. meliloti, S. teranga, S. saheli), Mesorhizobium (M. loti, M. huakuii, M ciceri, M. tianshanense, M. mediterraneum), and a fourth, unnamed, genus for the current R. galegae. The evidence and pros and cons are reviewed.