Phylogenetic insights into the Salicaceae: The evolution of willows and beyond.

The Salicaceae includes approximately 54 genera and over 1,400 species with a cosmopolitan distribution. Members of the family are well-known for their diverse secondary plant metabolites, and they play crucial roles in tropical and temperate forest ecosystems. Phylogenetic reconstruction of the Salicaceae has been historically challenging due to the limitations of molecular markers and the extensive history of hybridization and polyploidy within the family.

Challenge accepted: Evolutionary lineages versus taxonomic classification of North American shrub willows (Salix).

Premise: The huge diversity of Salix subgenus Chamaetia/Vetrix clade in North America and the lack of phylogenetic resolution within this clade has presented a difficult but fascinating challenge for taxonomists to resolve. Here we tested the existing taxonomic classification with molecular tools.

Methods: In this study, 132 samples representing 46 species from 22 described sections of shrub willows from the United States and Canada were analyzed and combined with 67 samples from Eurasia.

Species delimitation 4.0: integrative taxonomy meets artificial intelligence.

Although species are central units for biological research, recent findings in genomics are raising awareness that what we call species can be ill-founded entities due to solely morphology-based, regional species descriptions. This particularly applies to groups characterized by intricate evolutionary processes such as hybridization, polyploidy, or asexuality. Here, challenges of current integrative taxonomy (genetics/genomics + morphology + ecology, etc.

Long-term impacts of an early childhood shock on human capital: Evidence from the 1999 economic crisis in Ecuador.

This paper provides evidence on the lasting effects of the 1999 economic crisis in Ecuador on human capital formation. We show for children born during the crisis that the negative repercussions are still observable more than 10 years after macroeconomic recovery. Taking advantage of micro-level data collected in 2012 and 2014, we assess long-term impacts on health and education.

Contrasting levels of β-diversity and underlying phylogenetic trends indicate different paths to chemical diversity in highland and lowland willow species.

Diverse specialised metabolites contributed to the success of vascular plants in colonising most terrestrial habitats. Understanding how distinct aspects of chemical diversity arise through heterogeneous environmental pressures can help us understand the effects of abiotic and biotic stress on plant evolution and community assembly. We examined highland and lowland willow species within a phylogenetic framework to test for trends in their chemical α-diversity (richness) and β-diversity (variation among species sympatric in elevation).

Insights into the Taxonomically Challenging Hexaploid Alpine Shrub Willows of Sections and (Salicaceae).

The complex genomic composition of allopolyploid plants leads to morphologically diverse species. The traditional taxonomical treatment of the medium-sized, hexaploid shrub willows distributed in the Alps is difficult based on their variable morphological characters. In this study, RAD sequencing data, infrared-spectroscopy, and morphometric data are used to analyze the phylogenetic relationships of the hexaploid species of the sections and in a phylogenetic framework of 45 Eurasian species.

Evolutionary origin and establishment of a dioecious diploid-tetraploid complex.

Polyploids recurrently emerge in angiosperms, but most polyploids are likely to go extinct before establishment due to minority cytotype exclusion, which may be specifically a constraint for dioecious plants. Here we test the hypothesis that a stable sex-determination system and spatial/ecological isolation facilitate the establishment of dioecious polyploids. We determined the ploidy levels of 351 individuals from 28 populations of the dioecious species Salix polyclona, and resequenced 190 individuals of S.

Genomic evidence for contrasting patterns of host-associated genetic differentiation across shared host-plant species in leaf- and bud-galling sawflies.

Resource specialization and ecological speciation arising through host-associated genetic differentiation (HAD) are frequently invoked as an explanation for the high diversity of plant-feeding insects and other organisms with a parasitic lifestyle. While genetic studies have demonstrated numerous examples of HAD in insect herbivores, the rarity of comparative studies means that we still lack an understanding of how deterministic HAD is, and whether patterns of host shifts can be predicted over evolutionary timescales. We applied genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphism and mitochondrial DNA sequence data obtained through genome resequencing to define species limits and to compare host-plant use in population samples of leaf- and bud-galling sawflies (Hymenoptera: Tenthredinidae: Nematinae) collected from seven shared willow (Salicaceae: Salix) host species.

Evolution of a hybrid zone of two willow species ( L.) in the European Alps analyzed by RAD-seq and morphometrics.

Natural hybridization of plants can result in many outcomes with several evolutionary consequences, such as hybrid speciation and introgression. Natural hybrid zones can arise in mountain systems as a result of fluctuating climate during the exchange of glacial and interglacial periods, where species retract and expand their territories, resulting in secondary contacts. Willows are a large genus of woody plants with an immense capability of interspecific crossing.

Ancient DNA extraction methods for herbarium specimens: When is it worth the effort?

Premise: Herbaria harbor a tremendous number of plant specimens that are rarely used for molecular systematic studies, largely due to the difficulty in extracting sufficient amounts of high-quality DNA from the preserved plant material.

Methods: We compared the standard Qiagen DNeasy Plant Mini Kit and a specific protocol for extracting ancient DNA (aDNA) (the -phenacylthiazolium bromide and dithiothreitol [PTB-DTT] extraction method) from two different plant genera ( and ). The included herbarium materials covered about two centuries of plant collections.

Untying Gordian knots: unraveling reticulate polyploid plant evolution by genomic data using the large Ranunculus auricomus species complex.

Speciation via hybridization and polyploidization is a major evolutionary force in plant evolution but is still poorly understood for neopolyploid groups. Challenges are attributed to high heterozygosity, low genetic divergence, and missing information on progenitors, ploidy, and reproduction. We study the large Eurasian Ranunculus auricomus species complex and use a comprehensive workflow integrating reduced-representation sequencing (RRS) genomic data to unravel reticulate evolution, genome diversity and composition of polyploids.

Highly Diverse Shrub Willows ( L.) Share Highly Similar Plastomes.

Plastome phylogenomics is used in a broad range of studies where single markers do not bear enough information. Phylogenetic reconstruction in the genus is difficult due to the lack of informative characters and reticulate evolution. Here, we use a genome skimming approach to reconstruct 41 complete plastomes of 32 Eurasian and North American species representing different lineages, different ploidy levels, and separate geographic regions.

Chromosome-scale assembly of the genome of Salix dunnii reveals a male-heterogametic sex determination system on chromosome 7.

Sex determination systems in plants can involve either female or male heterogamety (ZW or XY, respectively). Here we used Illumina short reads, Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT) long reads and Hi-C reads to assemble the first chromosome-scale genome of a female willow tree (Salix dunnii), and to predict genes using transcriptome sequences and available databases. The final genome sequence of 328 Mb in total was assembled in 29 scaffolds, and includes 31,501 predicted genes.

Phylogenomic Relationships and Evolution of Polyploid Salix Species Revealed by RAD Sequencing Data.

Polyploidy is common in the genus . However, little is known about the origin, parentage and genomic composition of polyploid species because of a lack of suitable molecular markers and analysis tools. We established a phylogenomic framework including species of all described sections of Eurasian shrub willows.

"When I receive the message, it is a sign of love": symbolic connotations of SMS messages for people living with HIV in Burkina Faso.

Mobile health (mHealth) has gained considerable interest recently due to its potential to improve health outcomes in developing countries with high outreach yet low costs. Several studies have explored the use of short message service (SMS) reminders to improve antiretroviral (ARV) retention and adherence, with mixed results. The majority of these studies has a quantitative nature and employs randomized designs, which do not provide further qualitative insights about other possible impacts of the messages.

A Systematic Review of Mobile Phone Interventions (SMS/IVR/Calls) to Improve Adherence and Retention to Antiretroviral Treatment in Low-and Middle-Income Countries.

The use of mobile health technologies (mHealth) to ameliorate HIV care has considerably risen in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) since 2010. Yet, the discrepancies in the results of accompanying studies warrant an updated and systematic consolidation of all available evidence. We report a systematic review of studies testing whether text/image messages, interactive voice response reminders, or calls promote adherence and retention to antiretroviral therapy (ART) in LMICs.

Adaptation and biomedical transition of people living with HIV to antiretroviral treatment in Burkina Faso.

This article examines the adaptation and biomedical transition of people living with HIV (PLHIV) to antiretroviral treatment (ART) in Burkina Faso. The study employs a representative sample of 3625 randomly selected patients. Subjective and objective measures of health and their predictors are compared for short-term (≤24 months) versus longer-term ART adherents (>24 months) in a cohort study.

The impact of the Ethiopian health extension program and health development army on maternal mortality: A synthetic control approach.

The Ethiopian government has implemented nationwide strategies to improve access to basic health services and enhance health outcomes. The Health Extension Program (HEP) launched in 2003, expanded basic health infrastructure and local human resources. In 2011, the government introduced the Health Development Army (HDA).

RAD-seq reveals genetic structure of the F-generation of natural willow hybrids (Salix L.) and a great potential for interspecific introgression.

Background: Hybridization of species with porous genomes can eventually lead to introgression via repeated backcrossing. The potential for introgression between species is reflected by the extent of segregation distortion in later generation hybrids. Here we studied a population of hybrids between Salix purpurea and S.

RAD sequencing resolved phylogenetic relationships in European shrub willows ( L. subg. and subg. ) and revealed multiple evolution of dwarf shrubs.

The large and diverse genus L. is of particular interest for decades of biological research. However, despite the morphological plasticity, the reconstruction of phylogenetic relationships was so far hampered by the lack of informative molecular markers.

Does health insurance coverage or improved quality protect better against out-of-pocket payments? Experimental evidence from the Philippines.

This paper explores whether health insurance coverage or improved quality at the hospital level protect better against out-of-pocket payments. Using data from a randomized policy experiment in the Philippines, we found that interventions to expand insurance coverage and improve provider quality both had an impact on out-of-pocket payments. The sample consists of 3121 child-patient patient observations across 30 hospitals either at baseline in 2003/04 or at the follow-up in 2007/08.

Ecological range shift in the polyploid members of the South American genus Fosterella (Bromeliaceae).

Background And Aims: The distribution of polyploidy along a relatively steep Andean elevation and climatic gradient is studied using the genus Fosterella L.B. Sm.

Universal health coverage at the macro level: Synthetic control evidence from Thailand.

As more and more countries are moving towards Universal Health Coverage (UHC), it is important to understand the macro level or aggregate impacts of such a policy. We use synthetic control methods to study the impact of UHC, introduced in Thailand in 2001, on various macroeconomic and health outcomes. Thailand is compared to a weighted average of control countries in terms of aggregate health financing indicators, aggregate health outcomes and economic performance, over the period 1995 to 2012.

Misfortunes never come singly: Structural change, multiple shocks and child malnutrition in rural Senegal.

This study considers the two most pronounced shocks Senegalese subsistence farmers struggle with, namely increasing purchase prices and droughts. We assess the relationship of these self-reported shocks with child health in a multi-shock approach to account for concomitance of adverse events from the natural, biological, economic and health sphere. We employ a unique farming household panel dataset containing information on children living in poor, rural households in eight regions of Senegal in 2009 and 2011 and account for structural changes occurring between survey periods due to the large scale, national Nutrition Enhancement Program.