Comparative transcriptome profiling reveals distinct regulatory responses of secondary defensive metabolism in species (Solanaceae) under plant development and herbivory-mediated stress.

Differential expression of genes is key to mediating developmental and stress-related plant responses. Here, we addressed the regulation of plant metabolic responses to biotic stress and the developmental variation of defense-related genes in four species of the genus with variable patterns of metabolite accumulation and development. We combine transcriptome profiling with phylogenomic techniques to analyze gene expression and coexpression in plants subjected to damage by a specialist folivore insect.

Divergence and reticulation in the Mexican white oaks: ecological and phylogenomic evidence on species limits and phylogenetic networks in the Quercus laeta complex (Fagaceae).

Background And Aims: Introgressive hybridization poses a challenge to taxonomic and phylogenetic understanding of taxa, particularly when there are high numbers of co-occurring, intercrossable species. The genus Quercus exemplifies this situation. Oaks are highly diverse in sympatry and cross freely, creating syngameons of interfertile species.

The chromosome-scale genome and the genetic resistance machinery against insect herbivores of the Mexican toloache, Datura stramonium.

Plant resistance refers to the heritable ability of plants to reduce damage caused by natural enemies, such as herbivores and pathogens, either through constitutive or induced traits like chemical compounds or trichomes. However, the genetic architecture-the number and genome location of genes that affect plant defense and the magnitude of their effects-of plant resistance to arthropod herbivores in natural populations remains poorly understood. In this study, we aimed to unveil the genetic architecture of plant resistance to insect herbivores in the annual herb Datura stramonium (Solanaceae) through quantitative trait loci mapping.

Linking Anthropogenic Landscape Perturbation to Herbivory and Pathogen Leaf Damage in Tropical Tree Communities.

Anthropogenic disturbance of tropical humid forests leads to habitat loss, biodiversity decline, landscape fragmentation, altered nutrient cycling and carbon sequestration, soil erosion, pest/pathogen outbreaks, among others. Nevertheless, the impact of these alterations in multitrophic interactions, including host-pathogen and vector-pathogen dynamics, is still not well understood in wild plants. This study aimed to provide insights into the main drivers for the incidence of herbivory and plant pathogen damage, specifically, into how vegetation traits at the local and landscape scale modulate such interactions.

Genomic differentiation and niche divergence in the Hetaerina americana (Odonata) cryptic species complex.

The evolution of reproductive barriers, that is, the speciation process, implies the limitation of gene flow between populations. Different patterns of genomic differentiation throughout the speciation continuum may provide insights into the causal evolutionary forces of species divergence. In this study, we analysed a cryptic species complex of the genus Hetaerina (Odonata).

Nuclear and chloroplast DNA phylogeography reveals high genetic diversity and postglacial range expansion in Quercus mexicana.

Premise: Phylogeographical studies are fundamental for understanding factors that influence the spatial distribution of genetic lineages within species. Population expansions and contractions, distribution shifts, and climate changes are among the most important factors shaping the genetic compositions of populations.

Methods: We investigated the phylogeography of an endemic oak, Quercus mexicana (Fagaceae), which has a restricted distribution in northeastern Mexico along the Sierra Madre Oriental and adjacent areas.

Gone with the wind: Negative genetic and progeny fitness consequences of habitat fragmentation in the wind pollinated dioecious tree Brosimum alicastrum.

Premise: Habitat fragmentation negatively affects population size and mating patterns that directly affect progeny fitness and genetic diversity; however, little is known about the effects of habitat fragmentation on dioecious, wind pollinated trees. We assessed the effects of habitat fragmentation on population sex ratios, genetic diversity, gene flow, mating patterns, and early progeny vigor in the tropical dioecious tree, Brosimum alicastrum.

Methods: We conducted our study in three continuous and three fragmented forest sites in a Mexican tropical dry forest.

Genomic-based microsatellite development for Ternstroemia (Pentaphylacaceae) and transferability to other Ericales.

Background: The genus Ternstroemia is associated with the vulnerable tropical montane cloud forest in Mexico and with other relevant vegetation types worldwide. It contains threatened and pharmacologically important species and has taxonomic issues regarding its species limits. This study describes 38 microsatellite markers generated using a genomic-based approach.

Response to: A paleoecological context to assess the development of oak forest in Colombia: A comment on Zorrilla-Azcué, S., González-Rodríguez, A., Oyama, K., González, M.A. & Rodríguez-Correa, H., The DNA history of a lonely oak: phylogeography in the Colombian Andes. Ecology and Evolution 2021, doi:10.1002/ece3.7529.

In this response, we address comments and clarify the rationale behind the choice of hypotheses aimed to describe the phylogeography in the Colombian Andes. Finally, we explain our disagreement with the conclusions of a previous critique, since these are not necessarily adequate under the implemented population genetics approach.

The role of wood anatomical traits in the coexistence of oak species along an environmental gradient.

Oaks () are a dominant woody plant genus in the northern hemisphere, which occupy a wide range of habitats and are ecologically diverse. We analysed the wood anatomical traits, the variables derived and the relative hydraulic conductivity of 21 oak species to identify their performance according to abiotic factors, leaf phenological patterns and phylogenetic restrictions by analysing the interspecific variation along an environmental gradient. First, we determine the causes of anatomical trait variation in the oaks, analysing the functional trade-offs related to distribution along the environmental gradient.

Genetic imprints of Brosimum alicastrum Sw. in Mexico.

Premise: The mechanisms generating the geographical distributions of genetic diversity are a central theme in evolutionary biology. The amount of genetic diversity and its distribution are controlled by several factors, including dispersal abilities, physical barriers, and environmental and climatic changes. We investigated the patterns of genetic diversity and differentiation among populations of the widespread species Brosimum alicastrum in Mexico.

The DNA history of a lonely oak: phylogeography in the Colombian Andes.

The climatic and geological changes that occurred during the Quaternary, particularly the fluctuations during the glacial and interglacial periods of the Pleistocene, shaped the population demography and geographic distribution of many species. These processes have been studied in several groups of organisms in the Northern Hemisphere, but their influence on the evolution of Neotropical montane species and ecosystems remains unclear. This study contributes to the understanding of the effect of climatic fluctuations during the late Pleistocene on the evolution of Andean mountain forests.

Description of three new species of oak gallwasps of the genus Reinhard from Mexico (Hymenoptera, Cynipidae).

Three new species of oak gall wasps of the genus Reinhard, 1865 (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae: Cynipini) are described from Mexico: Nieves-Aldrey & Castillejos-Lemus, Nieves-Aldrey & Castillejos-Lemus and Nieves-Aldrey & Castillejos-Lemus. The specimens of the first two species were representative of sexual generations and come from the State of Oaxaca, while only a female, collected in the State of Veracruz, is described for . The new species induces galls on and (Fagaceae, section Lobatae, red oaks).

High genetic diversity and stable Pleistocene distributional ranges in the widespread Mexican red oak Née (1801) (Fagaceae).

The Mexican highlands are areas of high biological complexity where taxa of Nearctic and Neotropical origin and different population histories are found. To gain a more detailed view of the evolution of the biota in these regions, it is necessary to evaluate the effects of historical tectonic and climate events on species. Here, we analyzed the phylogeographic structure, historical demographic processes, and the contemporary period, Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) and Last Interglacial (LIG) ecological niche models of , to infer the historical population dynamics of this oak distributed in the Mexican highlands.

Morphological variation of leaf traits in the species complex (Ericales: Penthaphylacaceae) in response to geographic and climatic variation.

Variation in leaf morphology is correlated with environmental variables, such as precipitation, temperature and soil composition. Several studies have pointed out that individual plasticity can largely explain the foliar phenotypic differences observed in populations due to climatic change and have suggested that the environment plays an important role in the evolution of plant species by selecting for phenotypic variation. Thus, the study of foliar morphology in plant populations can help us identify the environmental factors that have potentially influenced the process of species diversification.

Reproductive isolation among three sympatric Achimenes species: pre- and post-pollination components.

Premise: Closely related species occurring in sympatry may experience the negative consequences of interspecific pollen transfer if reproductive isolation (RI) barriers are not in place. We evaluated the importance of pre- and post-pollination RI barriers in three sympatric species of Achimenes (Gesneriaceae), including ecogeographic, phenological, floral isolation, self-pollination, and hybrid viability (fruit and seed set).

Methods: We recorded geographic distribution throughout species ranges and assessed flowering phenology and pollinator visitation at one site in central Mexico.

The role of pollination effectiveness on the attributes of interaction networks: from floral visitation to plant fitness.

Network analysis is a powerful tool to understand community-level plant-pollinator interactions. We evaluated the role of floral visitors on plant fitness through a series of pollination exclusion experiments to test the effectiveness of pollinators of an Ipomoea community in the Pacific coast of Mexico, including: (1) all flower visitors, (2) visitors that contact the reproductive organs, (3) visitors that deposit pollen on stigmas, and (4) visitors that mediate fruit and seed production. Our results show that networks built from effective pollination interactions are smaller, less connected, more specialized and modular than floral visitor networks.

Landscape genomics provides evidence of climate-associated genetic variation in Mexican populations of .

Local adaptation is a critical evolutionary process that allows plants to grow better in their local compared to non-native habitat and results in species-wide geographic patterns of adaptive genetic variation. For forest tree species with a long generation time, this spatial genetic heterogeneity can shape the ability of trees to respond to rapid climate change. Here, we identify genomic variation that may confer local environmental adaptations and then predict the extent of adaptive mismatch under future climate as a tool for forest restoration or management of the widely distributed high-elevation oak species in Mexico.

Direct and legacy effects of plant-traits control litter decomposition in a deciduous oak forest in Mexico.

Background: Litter decomposition is a key process in the functioning of forest ecosystems, because it strongly controls nutrient recycling and soil fertility maintenance. The interaction between the litter chemical composition and the metabolism of the soil microbial community has been described as the main factor of the decomposition process based on three hypotheses: substrate-matrix interaction (SMI), functional breadth (FB) and home-field advantage (HFA). The objective of the present study was to evaluate the effect of leaf litter quality (as a direct plant effect, SMI hypothesis), the metabolic capacity of the microbial community (as a legacy effect, FB hypothesis), and the coupling between the litter quality and microbial activity (HFA hypothesis) on the litter decomposition of two contiguous deciduous oak species at a local scale.

Occurrence of termites (Isoptera) on living and standing dead trees in a tropical dry forest in Mexico.

Termites play a key role as ecosystem engineers in numerous ecological processes though their role in the dynamics of wood degradation in tropical dry forests, particularly at the level of the crown canopy, has been little studied. In this study, we analysed the occurrence of termites in the forest canopy by evaluating the density and proportion of living and standing dead trees associated with termites in deciduous and riparian habitats of the tropical dry forest in Chamela, Mexico. The results indicated that 60-98% of standing dead trees and 23-59% of living trees in Chamela were associated with termites.

Drivers potentially influencing host-bat fly interactions in anthropogenic neotropical landscapes at different spatial scales.

The anthropogenic modification of natural landscapes, and the consequent changes in the environmental conditions and resources availability at multiple spatial scales can affect complex species interactions involving key-stone species such as bat-parasite interactions. In this study, we aimed to identify the drivers potentially influencing host-bat fly interactions at different spatial scales (at the host, vegetation stand and landscape level), in a tropical anthropogenic landscape. For this purpose, we mist-netted phyllostomid and moormopid bats and collected the bat flies (streblids) parasitizing them in 10 sites representing secondary and old growth forest.

Contrasting Patterns of Population History and Seed-mediated Gene Flow in Two Endemic Costa Rican Oak Species.

Lower Central America is an important area to study recent population history and diversification of Neotropical species due to its complex and dynamic geology and climate. Phylogeographic studies in this region are few in comparison with other regions and even less for tree species. The aim of the present study was to characterize the phylogeographic structure in 2 partially co-distributed endemic oak species (Quercus costaricensis and Q.

Evolution of Trichobaris (Curculionidae) in relation to host plants: Geometric morphometrics, phylogeny and phylogeography.

The family Curculionidae (Coleoptera), the "true" weevils, have diversified tightly linked to the evolution of flowering plants. Here, we aim to assess diversification at a lower taxonomic level. We analyze the evolution of the genus Trichobaris in association with their host plants.

Evolutionary Analysis of Pectin Lyases of the Genus Colletotrichum.

Pectin lyases (PNLs) are important enzymes that are involved in plant cell wall degradation during the infection process. Colletotrichum is a diverse genus of fungi, which allows the study of the evolution of PNLs and their possible role in pathogen-host interactions and lifestyle adaptations. The phylogenetic reconstruction of PNLs from Colletotrichum and analysis of selection pressures showed the formation of protein lineages by groups of species with different selection pressures and specific patterns.

Word-wide meta-analysis of Quercus forests ectomycorrhizal fungal diversity reveals southwestern Mexico as a hotspot.

Quercus is the most diverse genus of ectomycorrhizal (ECM) host plants; it is distributed in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, from temperate to tropical regions. However, their ECM communities have been scarcely studied in comparison to those of conifers. The objectives of this study were to determine the richness of ECM fungi associated with oak forests in the Cuitzeo basin in southwestern Mexico; and to determine the level of richness, potential endemism and species similarity among ECM fungal communities associated with natural oak forests worldwide through a meta-analysis.