Shades of white: The Petunia long corolla tube clade evolutionary history.

Delimiting species is challenging in recently diverged species, and adaptive radiation is fundamental to understanding the evolutionary processes because it requires multiple ecological opportunities associated with adaptation to biotic and abiotic environments. The young Petunia genus (Solanaceae) is an excellent opportunity to study speciation because of its association with pollinators and unique microenvironments. This study evaluated the phylogenetic relationships among a Petunia clade species with different floral syndromes that inhabit several environments.

Transcription Factors Evolve Faster Than Their Structural Gene Targets in the Flavonoid Pigment Pathway.

Dissecting the relationship between gene function and substitution rates is key to understanding genome-wide patterns of molecular evolution. Biochemical pathways provide powerful systems for investigating this relationship because the functional role of each gene is often well characterized. Here, we investigate the evolution of the flavonoid pigment pathway in the colorful Petunieae clade of the tomato family (Solanaceae).

How diverse can rare species be on the margins of genera distribution?

Different genetic patterns have been demonstrated for narrowly distributed taxa, many of them linking rarity to evolutionary history. Quite a few species in young genera are endemics and have several populations that present low variability, sometimes attributed to geographical isolation or dispersion processes. Assessing the genetic diversity and structure of such species may be important for protecting them and understanding their diversification history.

Development of microsatellites for Verbenoxylum reitzii (Verbenaceae), a tree endemic to the Brazilian Atlantic Forest.

Premise Of The Study: Microsatellite markers were developed for Verbenoxylum reitzii (Verbenaceae), a tree endemic to the Brazilian Atlantic Forest, to investigate their usefulness in population genetic studies. The loci were tested for cross-amplification in the related genera Recordia and Duranta. •

Methods And Results: Eleven polymorphic microsatellite markers were isolated from an enriched library of V.