Genetic Diversity and Phylogeography of the Relict Tree Fern : Influence of Clonality and Breeding System on Genetic Variation.

The tree fern , a threatened Iberian-Macaronesian endemism, represents the sole European species of the order Cyatheales. Considered a Tertiary relict of European Palaeotropical flora, its evolutionary history and genetic diversity, potentially influenced by presumed high clonal propagation, remain largely unknown. This study elucidates the phylogeographic history of , assessing the impact of vegetative reproduction on population dynamics and genetic variability.

Identification of Candidate Genes Involved in the Determinism of Pollen Grain Aperture Morphology by Comparative Transcriptome Analysis in Papaveraceae.

In the last decade, certain genes involved in pollen aperture formation have been discovered. However, those involved in pollen aperture shape remain largely unknown. In , the interaction during the tetrad development stage of one member of the ELMOD protein family, ELMOD_E, with two others, MCR/ELMOD_B and ELMOD_A, can change the morphology of apertures from colpus (elongated) to pore (round).

Phylogeographical Analyses of a Relict Fern of Palaeotropical Flora (): Distribution and Diversity Model in Relation to the Geological and Climate Events of the Late Miocene and Early Pliocene.

Fern phylogeographic studies have mostly focused on the influence of the Pleistocene climate on fern distributions and the prevalence of long-distance dispersal. The effect of pre-Pleistocene events on the distributions of fern species is largely unexplored. Here, we elucidate a hypothetical scenario for the evolutionary history of , hypothesised to be of Tertiary palaeotropical flora with a peculiar perennial gametophyte.

Macaronesia Acts as a Museum of Genetic Diversity of Relict Ferns: The Case of (Athyriaceae).

Macaronesia has been considered a refuge region of the formerly widespread subtropical lauroid flora that lived in Southern Europe during the Tertiary. The study of relict angiosperms has shown that Macaronesian relict taxa preserve genetic variation and revealed general patterns of colonization and dispersal. However, information on the conservation of genetic diversity and range dynamics rapidly diminishes when referring to pteridophytes, despite their dominance of the herbaceous stratum in the European tropical palaeoflora.

The Role of INAPERTURATE POLLEN1 as a Pollen Aperture Factor Is Conserved in the Basal Eudicot (Papaveraceae).

Pollen grains show an enormous variety of aperture systems. What genes are involved in the aperture formation pathway and how conserved this pathway is in angiosperms remains largely unknown. () encodes a protein of unknown function, essential for aperture formation in Arabidopsis, rice and maize.

Influence of the Quaternary Glacial Cycles and the Mountains on the Reticulations in the Subsection of the Genus .

Late Neogene and Quaternary climatic oscillations have greatly shaped the genetic structure of the Mediterranean Basin flora, with mountain plant species tracking warm interglacials/cold glacials by means of altitudinal shifts instead of broad latitudinal ones. Such dynamics may have enhanced population divergence but also secondary contacts. In this paper, we use a case example of subsection of (comprising three narrowly distributed endemic species, , , and ) to test for reticulate evolution and recurrent hybridizations between nearby populations.

INP1 involvement in pollen aperture formation is evolutionarily conserved and may require species-specific partners.

Pollen wall exine is usually deposited non-uniformly on the pollen surface, with areas of low exine deposition corresponding to pollen apertures. Little is known about how apertures form, with the novel Arabidopsis INP1 (INAPERTURATE POLLEN1) protein currently being the only identified aperture factor. In developing pollen, INP1 localizes to three plasma membrane domains and underlies formation of three apertures.

Comparative exine development from the post-tetrad stage in the early-divergent lineages of Ranunculales: the genera Euptelea and Pteridophyllum.

Studies of pollen wall development produce a great deal of morphological data that supplies useful information regarding taxonomy and systematics. We present the exine development of Euptelea and Pteridophyllum, two taxa whose pollen wall development has never previously been studied using transmission electron microscopy. Both genera are representatives of the two earliest-diverging families of the order Ranunculales and their pollen data are important for the diagnosis of the ancestral pollen features in eudicots.

Development of polymorphic microsatellite markers for the Killarney Fern (Vandenboschia speciosa, Hymenophyllaceae).

Premise Of The Study: We characterize 10 microsatellite loci in the endangered fern Vandenboschia speciosa (Hymenophyllaceae), enabling studies on the genetic population structure of this Macaronesian-European species using DNA hypervariable markers.

Methods And Results: Ten primer sets were developed and tested on 47 individuals in a total of two Iberian populations of V. speciosa.

Evolutionary history of fumitories (subfamily Fumarioideae, Papaveraceae): An old story shaped by the main geological and climatic events in the Northern Hemisphere.

Fumitories (subfamily Fumarioideae, Papaveraceae) represent, by their wide mainly northern temperate distribution (also present in South Africa) a suitable plant group to use as a model system for studying biogeographical links between floristic regions of the Northern Hemisphere and also the Southern Hemisphere Cape region. However, the phylogeny of the entire Fumarioideae subfamily is not totally known. In this work, we infer a molecular phylogeny of Fumarioideae, which we use to interpret the biogeographical patterns in the subfamily and to establish biogeographical links between floristic regions, such as those suggested by its different inter- and intra-continental disjunctions.

Multiple origins and chromosomal novelty in the allotetraploid Tragopogon castellanus (Asteraceae).

Tragopogon includes two classic examples of recently formed allopolyploid species in North America: T. mirus and T. miscellus.

Satellite-DNA diversification and the evolution of major lineages in Cardueae (Carduoideae Asteraceae).

In a previous work, we characterized the HinfI satellite DNA family in the subtribe Centaureinae (Cardueae) demonstrating that a "library" of eight HinfI subfamilies would exist in the common ancestor of all Centaureinae, which were differentially amplified in different lineages. Now, we extend our study by analyzing a total of 219 additional repeats from fifteen species belonging to Carlininae, Echinopsinae and Carduinae, and comparing them to those of Centaureinae. Most HinfI sequences belonged to the subfamily II, although a few sequences of other subfamilies were detected in some species.

Phylogeny of the Centaurea group (Centaurea, Compositae) - geography is a better predictor than morphology.

The Centaurea group is part of the Circum-Mediterranean Clade (CMC) of genus Centaurea subgenus Centaurea, a mainly Mediterranean plant group with more than 200 described species. The group is traditionally split on morphological basis into three sections: Centaurea, Phalolepis and Willkommia. This division, however, is doubtful, especially in light of molecular approaches.

Differential spreading of HinfI satellite DNA variants during radiation in Centaureinae.

Background And Aims: Subtribe Centaureinae appears to be an excellent model group in which to analyse satellite DNA and assess the influence that the biology and/or the evolution of different lineages have had on the evolution of this class of repetitive DNA. Phylogenetic analyses of Centaureinae support two main phases of radiation, leading to two major groups of genera of different ages. Furthermore, different modes of evolution are observed in different lineages, reflected by morphology and DNA sequences.

Phylogeny of the tribe Fumarieae (Papaveraceae s.l.) based on chloroplast and nuclear DNA sequences: evolutionary and biogeographic implications.

Premise Of The Study: Little research has been done at the molecular level on the tribe Fumarieae (Papaveraceae). Papaveraceae is a model plant group for studying evolutionary patterns despite the lack of a reference phylogeny for this tribe. We investigated the phylogenetic relationships within the tribe to complete the molecular data for this family in order to help understand its character evolution and biogeographic pattern.

Concerted evolution of satellite DNA in Sarcocapnos: a matter of time.

SarkOne is a genus-specific satellite-DNA family, isolated from the genomes of the species of the genus Sarcocapnos. This satellite DNA is composed of repeats with a consensus length of 855 bp and a mean G+C content of 52.5%.

Study on Cortinarius subgenus Telamonia section Hydrocybe in Europe, with especial emphasis on Mediterranean taxa.

In this paper we have attempted to clarify the taxonomy and nomenclature of thirteen taxa of the genus Cortinarius subgenus Telamonia (sections Hydrocybe, Fraternii) well represented in the southwestern Mediterranean area of Europe (C. atrocoeruleus, C. bombycinus, C casimiri, C.

Eight polymorphic microsatellite markers in the Andalusian belladonna (Atropa baetica, Solanaceae).

We report on the isolation and characterization of eight microsatellite markers from enriched libraries for the critically endangered Atropa baetica. These are the first microsatellite loci reported for Atropa species. The total number of alleles found was 18, the expected heterozygosity ranged from 0.

Satellite-DNA evolutionary patterns under a complex evolutionary scenario: the case of Acrolophus subgroup (Centaurea L., Compositae) from the western Mediterranean.

Within the genus Centaurea (subtribe Centaureinae, tribe Cardueae, Compositae) hybridizations and reticulate-evolution phenomena have widely been recognized. This is especially true in the taxa included in the subgroup Acrolophus from the western Mediterranean area, in which recurrent hybridizations of parapatric ("microallopatric") lineages within the geographical range of a primary radiation have been suggested. The subgroup Acrolophus includes taxa from three sections (i.

Reticulate evolution in the Acrolophus subgroup (Centaurea L., Compositae) from the western Mediterranean: origin and diversification of section Willkommia Blanca.

Section Willkommia (Centaurea, Compositae) is endemic to the east-central portion of the Iberian Peninsula and northwestern Africa. The section has been included with sections Acrolophus and Phalolepis in the informal subgroup Acrolophus. We have used a molecular phylogenetic approach to test the hypothesis proposed by earlier authors that the diversification of section Willkommia involved a schizoendemic process from an ancestral syngameon.