A late Quaternary phylogeography for Metrosideros (Myrtaceae) in New Zealand inferred from chloroplast DNA haplotypes

Because of its remoteness and mid-latitude position, New Zealand lacks access to the tropical climates that might have ensured straightforward survival for frost-sensitive species during glacial times. Nevertheless, the New Zealand lowland flora retains a substantial complement of plants sourced in the tropics. While there have been extinction pulses for elements of the frost-sensitive flora under glacial/stadial regimes, the surviving remnants have been able to recolonize large areas of habitat during successive warm climate periods. Refugia for such species in stadial New Zealand are likely to have been localized and ecologically suboptimal. To examine these relationships we have applied chloroplast DNA sequence data to the investigation of phylogeographical pattern for five endemic species of Metrosideros subg. Metrosideros , a wide-ranging group of mostly frost-sensitive woody plants in New Zealand. The results of this research verify the location of two generally mooted stadial refugia for the country and provide support for the existence of a third. A simple pattern of chloroplast haplotype diversity was recorded in extra-refugial areas, compared with a greater complexity in the vicinity of the identified refugia. This pattern was independently repeated in both main islands. The proposed refugia correspond to contemporary localities of high average winter temperatures. The sharing of chloroplast haplotypes between the different species of Metrosideros examined suggests that there has been a history of repeated hybridization and introgression for these plants, possibly initiated by periods of refugial confinement.  © 2004 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society , 2004, 83 , 399–412.     

Analysis of copia sequence variation within and between Drosophila species

The sequences of the 5' long-terminal repeat (LTR) and adjacent leader regions of 27 full-length copia elements isolated from natural populations of Drosophila melanogaster, D. simulans, and D. mauritiana are presented. Phylogenetic analyses indicate that although D. melanogaster copia elements are distinct from those of D. simulans and D. mauritiana, the elements of these latter two species are not distinguishable from one another. LTRs and adjacent 5' leader regions of elements isolated from D. simulans and D. mauritiana are structurally similar to one another and carry substantial deletional variation mapping to regions previously identified as being of potential importance for copia expression.      

Comparisons of the molecular evolutionary process at rbcL and ndhF in the grass family (Poaceae)

We examine rate heterogeneity among evolutionary lineages of the grass family at two plasmid loci, ndhF and rbcL, and we introduce a method to determine whether patterns of rate heterogeneity are correlated between loci. We show both that rates of synonymous evolution are heterogeneous among grass lineages and that are heterogeneity is correlated between loci at synonymous sites. At nonsynonymous sites, the pattern of rate heterogeneity is not correlated between loci, primarily due to an aberrant pattern of rate heterogeneity at nonsynonymous sites of rbcL. We compare patterns of synonymous rate heterogeneity to predictors based on the generation time effect and the speciation rate hypotheses. Although there is some evidence for generation time effects, neither generation time effects nor speciation rates appear to be sufficient to explain patterns of rate heterogeneity in the grass plastid sequences.      

Factors affecting the co-existence of the serpentine endemic Mimulus nudatus Curran and its presumed progenitor, Mimulus guttatus Fischer ex DC

Population genetics theory suggests that two species which are reproductively isolated only by postzygotic barriers cannot co-exist in sympatry since the rarer population will become extinct. Mimulus nudatus and Mimulus guttatus are two closely related species that are isolated by a postzygotic barrier operating at the seed provisioning stage. On several sites on die serpentine soils of Lake and Napa counties, California, M. nudatus and M. guttatus live in sympatry and flowering times of the species overlap, so the species are sometimes flowering next to each other. We investigated whether there was any reduction in fertility of M. nudatus and M. guttatus caused by interspecific crosses when growing in sympatry. The pollinators of M. nudatus and M. guttatus were identified. Small sweat bees, Dialictus sp., preferentially visited the smaller flowered M. nudatus species and honey bees, Apis mellifera , preferred the larger flowered M. guttatus . In spite of most pollinator visits being intra-specinc, individuals of bodi bee species made transitions between the Mimulus species. This will result in greater pollen transfer from M. guttatus to M. nudatus than vice versa because firstly, M. guttatus produces more pollen and secondly, the sweat bees were too small to touch the stigma of a M. guttatus flower. This asymmetry in gene flow was detected by a greater reduction in viable seed produced by M. nudatus plants when surrounded by M. guttatus plants dian vice versa. Only when M. nudatus was the maternal parent could any hybrids be detected in field produced seed. To enable M. nudatus and M. guttatus to co-exist in sympatry, the two species may thus need to be sufficiendy ecologically different. Such ecological differentiation was attributed to the greater drought tolerance of M. nudatus . In addition, greenhouse experiments suggested that M. nudatus may have evolved greater tolerance to calcium deficient soils.     

Leaf Nodule Development in Psychotria kirkii Hiern. (Rubiaceae)

The initiation, development and structure of the leaf nodulesof the Rubiaceous shrub Psychotria kirkii Hiern. has been studiedin detail at the ultrastructural level. Bacteria, maintainedin the shoot tip in the secretions from dendroid colleters,invade the substomatal chamber of stomatal pores which formprecociously on the abaxial leaf surface. Proliferation of theepidermis around the pore pushes the bacterial cavity deep intothe lamina, thus forming a small internal nodule. Endophyte-mediatedschizogeny of the cells surroundng the nodule causes it to expandwhile at the same time giving rise to an interconnected reticulumof invasive host cells which are involved in metabolite exchangebetween microoganisms and host plant. Bacterial morphology changesafter entry of the microsymbiont into the host plant and, bythe time the nodule is mature, the bacteria exhibit distinctpleomorphism. Senescent nodules are shown to accumulate lipidand starch. The developmental process is discussed in the lightof existing information on this symbiosis. Psychotria kirkii, leaf nodule development, symbiosis, ultrastructure     

Antisense RNA decreases AP33 gene expression and cytoadherence by <Emphasis Type="Italic">T. vaginalis</Emphasis>

Background  

Host parasitism by Trichomonas vaginalis is complex. Adherence to vaginal epithelial cells (VECs) is mediated by surface proteins. We showed before that antisense down-regulation of expression of adhesin AP65 decreased amounts of protein, which lowered levels of T. vaginalis adherence to VECs. We now perform antisense down-regulation of expression of the ap33 gene to evaluate and confirm a role for AP33 in adherence by T. vaginalis. We also used an established transfection system for heterologous expression of AP33 in T. foetus as an additional confirmatory approach.