Present, past and future of the European rock fern Asplenium fontanum: combining distribution modelling and population genetics to study the effect of climate change on geographic range and genetic diversity.

Background And Aims: Climate change is expected to alter the geographic range of many plant species dramatically. Predicting this response will be critical to managing the conservation of plant resources and the effects of invasive species. The aim of this study was to predict the response of temperate homosporous ferns to climate change.

The importance of Anatolian mountains as the cradle of global diversity in Arabis alpina, a key arctic-alpine species.

Background And Aims: Anatolia is a biologically diverse, but phylogeographically under-explored region. It is described as either a centre of origin and long-term Pleistocene refugium, or as a centre for genetic amalgamation, fed from distinct neighbouring refugia. These contrasting hypotheses are tested through a global phylogeographic analysis of the arctic-alpine herb, Arabis alpina.

Dynamics of polyploid formation and establishment in the allotetraploid rock fern Asplenium majoricum.

Background And Aims: Successful establishment of newly formed polyploid species depends on several interlinked genetic and ecological factors. These include genetic diversity within and among individuals, chromosome behaviour and fertility, novel phenotypes resulting from novel genomic make-up and expression, intercytotypic and interspecific competition, and adaptation to distinct habitats. The allotetraploid rock fern Asplenium majoricum is known from one small population in Valencia, Spain, and several larger populations on the Balearic island of Majorca.

Use of rbcL and trnL-F as a two-locus DNA barcode for identification of NW-European ferns: an ecological perspective.

Although consensus has now been reached on a general two-locus DNA barcode for land plants, the selected combination of markers (rbcL + matK) is not applicable for ferns at the moment. Yet especially for ferns, DNA barcoding is potentially of great value since fern gametophytes--while playing an essential role in fern colonization and reproduction--generally lack the morphological complexity for morphology-based identification and have therefore been underappreciated in ecological studies. We evaluated the potential of a combination of rbcL with a noncoding plastid marker, trnL-F, to obtain DNA-identifications for fern species.

Mixed mating system in the fern Asplenium scolopendrium: implications for colonization potential.

Background And Aims: Human-mediated environmental change is increasing selection pressure for the capacity in plants to colonize new areas. Habitat fragmentation combined with climate change, in general, forces species to colonize areas over longer distances. Mating systems and genetic load are important determinants of the establishment and long-term survival of new populations.

Intramolecular aryl transfer to thionium ions in an approach to alpha-arylacetamides.

An intramolecular aryl transfer to thionium ions has been exploited in a fluorous synthesis of alpha-arylacetamides.

Formation of N-heterocycles by the reaction of thiols with glyoxamides: exploring a connective Pummerer-type cyclisation.

The reaction of thiols with glyoxamides provides a convenient method for the generation of thionium ions and the initiation of Pummerer-type reactions. When the glyoxamides contain tethered aromatic nucleophiles, N-heterocycles are formed by a thionium ion cyclisation. The scope and mechanism of the connective Pummerer-type process has been investigated using a range of thiols, Lewis acids and both mono- and bis-glyoxamides.

Diversity arrays technology (DArT) for pan-genomic evolutionary studies of non-model organisms.

Background: High-throughput tools for pan-genomic study, especially the DNA microarray platform, have sparked a remarkable increase in data production and enabled a shift in the scale at which biological investigation is possible. The use of microarrays to examine evolutionary relationships and processes, however, is predominantly restricted to model or near-model organisms.

Methodology/principal Findings: This study explores the utility of Diversity Arrays Technology (DArT) in evolutionary studies of non-model organisms.

Hotspots of diversity in a clonal world--the Mediterranean moss Pleurochaete squarrosa in Central Europe.

Diversity patterns of the dioecious haploid Mediterranean moss Pleurochaete squarrosa were analysed from Central and Northwest Europe using nuclear and chloroplast DNA sequencing and enzyme electrophoresis. Across 69 populations, 38 distinct haploid multilocus genotypes (MLGs) were detected, but nearly all populations were clonal. Only five MLGs occurred in more than two regions, and two diversity hotspots were detected.

Genetic structure of the widespread and common Mediterranean bryophyte Pleurochaete squarrosa (Brid.) Lindb. (Pottiaceae) - evidence from nuclear and plastidic DNA sequence variation and allozymes.

The Mediterranean Basin as one the world's most biologically diverse regions provides an interesting area for the study of plant evolution and spatial structure in plant populations. The dioecious moss Pleurochaete squarrosa is a widespread and common bryophyte in the Mediterranean Basin. Thirty populations were sampled for a study on molecular diversity and genetic structure, covering most major islands and mainland populations from Europe and Africa.

Origin of the endemic fern genus Diellia coincides with the renewal of Hawaiian terrestrial life in the Miocene.

The enigmatic fern genus Diellia, endemic to the Hawaiian archipelago, consists of five extant and one recently extinct species. Diellia is morphologically highly variable, and a unique combination of characters has led to several contrasting hypotheses regarding the relationship of Diellia to other ferns. A phylogenetic analysis of four chloroplast loci places Diellia within 'black-stemmed' rock spleenworts of the species-rich genus Asplenium, as previously suggested by W.