Reading between the vines: Hosts as islands for extreme holoparasitic plants.

Premise Of The Study: Partitioning of population genetic variation in plants may be affected by numerous factors including life history and dispersal characteristics. In parasitic plants, interactions with host populations may be an additional factor influencing partitioning. To test for hierarchical population genetic patterns related to obligate endoparasitism, we studied three species of Rafflesiaceae, which grow as extremely reduced endophytes infecting Tetrastigma vines in Southeast Asia.

Increased phylogenetic resolution within the ecologically important Rhizopogon subgenus Amylopogon using 10 anonymous nuclear loci.

Rhizopogon species are ecologically significant ectomycorrhizal fungi in conifer ecosystems. The importance of this system merits the development and utilization of a more robust set of molecular markers specifically designed to evaluate their evolutionary ecology. Anonymous nuclear loci (ANL) were developed for R.

Microsatellite marker development for the coastal dune shrub Prunus maritima (Rosaceae).

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Premise Of The Study: Microsatellite primers were developed in the beach plum, Prunus maritima, to investigate the genetic composition of remaining populations in need of conservation and, in future studies, to determine its relation to P. maritima var. gravesii.

Characterization of microsatellite markers for pinedrops, Pterospora andromedea (Ericaceae), from Illumina MiSeq sequencing.

Premise Of The Study: Pterospora andromedea (Ericaceae) is a mycoheterotrophic plant endemic to North America with a disjunct distribution. Eastern populations are in decline compared to western populations. Microsatellite loci will allow comparison of genetic diversity in endangered to nonthreatened populations.

Microsatellite primers for the fungi Rhizopogon kretzerae and R. salebrosus (Rhizopogonaceae) from 454 shotgun pyrosequencing.

Premise Of The Study: Rhizopogon kretzerae and R. salebrosus (Rhizopogonaceae) are ectomycorrhizal fungi symbiotic with pines and the mycoheterotrophic plant Pterospora andromedea (Ericaceae). Microsatellite loci will allow population genetic study of fungal hosts to P.

An efficient technique for primer development and application that integrates fluorescent labeling and multiplex PCR.

Premise Of The Study: Development of genetic markers can be costly and time-consuming, especially when multiple primer pairs are fluorescently labeled. This step was streamlined by combining two techniques in the same PCR reaction: (1) custom-labeling of primers by the investigator and (2) multiplexing multiple primers together in the same reaction. •

Methods And Results: This technique was successfully used to develop microsatellite markers in several plant species.

Development of microsatellite markers for the medicinal plant Isodon rubescens (Lamiaceae) and related species.

Premise Of The Study: Microsatellite markers were developed for the medicinal plant Isodon rubescens to investigate genetic variability of the species and, in future studies, to assess its relation to the content of pharmacologically active chemicals produced by the plant.

Methods And Results: Eleven primer pairs were identified and tested in multiple populations of I. rubescens and related species (I.

Cryptic bracts facilitate herbivore avoidance in the mycoheterotrophic plant Monotropsis odorata (Ericaceae).

Plant coloration, shown to play a dynamic role in animal attraction, has been proposed as a means of defense, although these reports lack experimental evidence. This study empirically assesses defensive coloration in the mycoheterotrophic plant, Monotropsis odorata, which produces stems and flowers covered by dried vegetative bracts. Field studies were conducted using an experimental group of plants with bracts removed and a control group to evaluate the frequency of and fitness impacts associated with herbivory.

Comparative analysis of the reproductive ecology of Monotropa and Monotropsis: Two mycoheterotrophic genera in the Monotropoideae (Ericaceae).

Studies of mycoheterotrophs, defined as plants that obtain carbon resources from associated mycorrhizal fungi, have fundamentally contributed to our understanding of the importance and complexity of symbiotic ecological interactions. However, to date, the reproductive ecology of these organisms remains empirically understudied, with existing literature presenting hypotheses about traits including a generalist pollination syndrome and autogamous self-pollination. To address this gap in our knowledge of the reproductive ecology of mycoheterotrophic plants, we comparatively analyzed three species of two monotropoid genera, Monotropa and Monotropsis.