A new species of Lathyrus L. (section Cicercula; Fabaceae) from Turkey

A new species, Lathyrus egirdiricus H.Genc & A.Sahin (section Cicercula; Fabaceae), is described from Turkey, with illustrations and taxonomic comments. Characteristics of the species are compared with those of the related species Lathyrus hirsutus L., L. stenophyllus Boiss. & Heldr., L. sativus L., L. cassius Boiss. and L. gorgoni Parl., from which it differs mainly in the shape, length, width and venation of leaflets, length and width of the stipule, flower colour, legume and style length. © 2008 The Linnean Society of London, Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 2008, 158 , 301–305.     

Origin and taxonomic status of the Palearctic population of the stem borer Sesamia nonagrioides (Lefèbvre) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)

The major pest of maize in Mediterranean Europe, the stem borer Sesamia nonagrioides (Lefèbvre) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), has a fragmented distribution, north and south of the Sahara. The present study aimed: (1) to clarify the uncertain taxonomic status of the Palearctic and sub‐Saharan populations which were first considered as different species and later on as subspecies (Sesamia nonagrioides nonagrioides and Sesamia nonagrioides botanephaga) and (2) to investigate the origin of the Palearctic population which extends from Spain to Iran, outside what is considered typical for this mainly tropical genus. We reconstructed the evolutionary history of both populations using one nuclear and two mitochondrial genes. The sub‐Saharan taxon was fragmented in two isolated populations (West and East) whose mitochondrial genes were distant by 2.3%. The Palearctic population was included in the East African clade and its genes were close or identical to those of a population from Central Ethiopia, where the species was discovered for the first time. Similarly, in Africa, the alleles of the nuclear gene were distributed mainly in two West and East clades, whereas some Palearctic alleles belonged to the West clade. The Palearctic population originated therefore from East and West Africa and is the progeny of the cross between these two African populations. The main species concepts were in agreement, leading to the conclusion that the three populations are still conspecific. In the surveyed regions, the species therefore does not include two subspecies but three isolated populations. The Palearctic population suffered from severe bottlenecks that resulted in the fixation of one East African mitochondrial genome and the large reduction in its genetic diversity compared to the African populations. The data suggest that natural colonization of the Palearctic region was more plausible than human introduction. The allelic distribution of the Palearctic population was similar to that of species that survived the last glaciation. It is concluded that the African populations expanded during the last interglacial, crossed the Sahara and mixed in North Africa where fixation of the East mitochondrial genome occurred. The species then colonized Europe westward through only one eastern entrance. The coalescent‐based estimate of the time to the ancestor of the Palearctic population was 108 000 years, which is consistent with this scenario. © 2011 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2011, 103 , 904–922.     

Water-Stress Induced Changes in Concentrations of Proline and Other Solutes in Growing Regions of Young Barley Leaves

Riazi, A., Matsuda, K. and Arslan, A. 1985. Water-stress inducedchanges in concentrations of proline and other solutes in growingregions of young barley leaves.—J. exp. Bot. 36: 1716–1725. Young, intact barley Hordeum vulgare L. cv. ‘Arivat’seedlings stressed with PEG or NaCl were measured for waterstatus and levels of proline, sugars and inorganic cations ingrowing (basal 1.0 cm) and other areas of leaves. In growingregions, reductions in _n were found within 1 h in seedlingsstressed with PEG (–0.8 M Pa) but 4 h were required beforeproline increased and proline accounted for less than 5% ofthe osmotic adjustment after 24 h. Increases in proline occurredto a lesser extent in expanded mid-blade regions where osmoticadjustment was less. After one or more days stress, prolinelevels in basal tissues were 10 x higher than in mid-blade tissues,and proline increases in these and intervening tissues occurredwithout loss of turgor. When seedlings were stressed for extendedperiods with mild to moderate concentrations of PEG, prolineelevations in basal to mid-blade areas were proportional toreductions in tissue and _n NaCl-stress led to similar responsesexcept prohne increases per unit decrease in _x, were 2–3x greater than in PEG-stressed tissues. Time-course studiesshowed levels of inorganic cations were not altered in the growingareas during the first few h of PEG-induced stress, but glucoseincreased as _x, decreased. The results showed that proline increaseis not the cause but could be a consequence of osmotic adjustment,and its increase is not due to cell death. They also providedindependent evidence that stress responses of growing tissuesdiffer substantially from expanded areas in young barley leaves. Key words: Proline, water stress, growing regions     

Karyological notes on eight species of Achillea L. (Asteraceae, Santolinoideae) from Turkey

The chromosome number and morphology of eight species belonging to the section Santolinoideae of the genus Achillea L. (Asteraceae) were investigated using karyological techniques. The species studied were Achillea cucullata (Hausskn.) Bornm., A. vermicularis Trin., A. monocephala Boiss. & Bal., A. boissieri (Hausskn.) Bornm., A. santolina L., A. gypsicola Hub.-Mor., A. goniocephala Boiss. & Bal., and A. spinulifolia Fenzl ex Boiss. In these species, the chromosome numbers were 2 n  = 18 in A. vermicularis , A. monocephala , and A. boissieri , 2 n  = 18A + 1B in A. spinulifolia , 2 n  = 36 in A. cucullata and A. santolina , and 2 n  = 54 in A. gypsicola and A. goniocephala . All of the chromosomes had median point (M), median region (m), or submedian (sm) centromeres. An increase in asymmetry was not observed in the karyotypes of the species.  © 2006 The Linnean Society of London, Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society , 2006, 151 , 573–580.     

Vitamins A, C, and E and β-Carotene Content in Seeds of Seven Species of Vicia L.

To determine the vitamins A, C, and E and β-carotene content of Vicia species that can be used in animal feed, a high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method was used to investigate the vitamin and β-carotene content in mature and immature seeds of seven Vicia species (Vicia anatolica Turrill., V. ervilia (L.) Willd., V. michauxii Sprengel, V. mollis Boiss. et Hausskn. ex Boiss., V. noeana Reuter ex Boiss., V. peregrina L., and V. sericocarpa Fenzl.), which are useful plants in animal feed in the eastern Anatolia region in Turkey. The vitamin content was found to differ between mature and immature seeds. The levels of vitamins A, C, and E and β-carotene were higher in mature seeds than in immature seeds (P ＜ 0.01).     

A new species of Halocnemum M.Bieb. (Amaranthaceae) from southern Turkey

Halocnemum yurdakulolii Yaprak is described as the second species of the previously monotypic genus Halocnemum. The species is endemic to the Göksu Delta in southern Turkey. The main morphological characteristics that separate H. yurdakulolii from H. strobilaceum (Pall.) M.Bieb. are growth form and spike morphology. Apart from these morphological differences, the species show a clear genetic differentiation. © 2008 The Linnean Society of London, Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 2008, 158 , 716–721.     

Airborne Pollen Grains of Burdur, Turkey

The pollen grains in the atmosphere of Burdur have been studied for a two-year period (1996 through 1997) with a Durham sampler. A total of 11881 pollen grains belonging to 39 taxa have been identified and recorded with some unidentified ones. Of them, 5726 were identified in 1996 and 6155 in 1997. Of the total pollen grains, 76.51% were arboreal, 21.62% non-arboreal and 1.87% unidentified. The majority of the investigated pollen grains were from Pinus L., Cupressaceae, Gramineae, Quercus L., Platanus L., Chenopodiaceae/Amaranthaceae, Salix L., Cedrus L., Compositae, Juglans L. and Urticaceae respectively. The highest level of pollen concentration was in May.     

Hesperis turkmendaghensis (sect. Hesperis) (Cruciferae/Brassicaceae), a new species from the Central Anatolia region, Turkey

Hesperis turkmendaghensis A.Duran & A.Ocak sp. nov. (Cruciferae) is described and illustrated from Anatolia, Turkey. The species grows under mixed forest, open forest and shady slopes in Türkmen Dağı (B3 Eskişehir) in Central Anatolia. It is closely related to H. matronalis L. ssp. matronalis , an endemic confined to Central Anatolia. Diagnostic morphological characters are discussed. Notes are also presented on its ecology, biogeography and conservation status. In addition, the pollen characteristics and seed coat surface of H. turkmendaghensis and H. matronalis are examined by SEM.   © 2005 The Linnean Society of London, Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society , 2005, 147 , 239–247.     

Vagus nerve stimulation suppresses generalized seizure activity and seizure-triggered postictal cardiac rhythm changes in rats

In the present study, we investigated the effects of vagus nerve stimulation (VNS), a proposed treatment for patients with intractable epilepsy, on cardiac rhythm following seizures induced by pentylenetetrazole (PTZ) in Wistar rats. After a baseline recording of electroencephalogram (EEG), electrocardiogram (ECG) and blood pressure (BP), rats in the first group received a single convulsive dose of PTZ (70 mg/kg) (Group 1). In the other two groups, the Wistar rats were implanted with a cuff electrode on the left cervical vagus nerve. One day after surgery, rats in the second group were treated with VNS (Group 2), whereas rats in the third group were connected to the stimulator but did not receive VNS (Group 3). Ten minutes after VNS onset, 70 mg/kg dose of PTZ was injected. EEG, ECG and BP were continuously recorded during post-injection period. Seizure severity was scored behaviorally. Then, baseline, ictal and postictal periods were analyzed for cardiac rhythms, seizure severity and blood pressure variability. PTZ treatment induced tonic-clonic seizure activity in all animals of Group 1 and Group 3. In these groups a marked increase of mean arterial blood pressure (MABP) but a significant decrease in heart rate and PP interval fluctuations was observed at postictal period. However, in the VNS-treated group the seizure scores and cardiac parameter returned to the baseline level. Present results emphasize that VNS effectively reduces seizure severity and suppress the seizure-induced cardiac rhythm changes.