Two new species of

A new South American species of Salacia (Celastraceae, Salacioideae) found in Colombia and Venezuela, Salacia fugax Lombardi & M.Serna is described here. It is characterized by its indument, small long acuminate leaves with short petioles, branched inflorescences, flowers with an annular-pulvinate disk, and small pyriform fruits. This new species resembles S. mennegana J.Hedin ex Lombardi and S. opacifolia (J.F.Macbr.) A.C.Sm. by its short petioles, leaf shape, slender branched inflorescence, perianth form, and similar disc, but S. fugax differs by its hairs, leaf size and apex, calyx, and fruit size and shape.

Morphological and Herbicide Susceptibility Differences among Strains of Hoary Cress

To understand marine biodiversity in Japanese waters, we have compiled information on the marine biota in Japanese waters, including the number of described species (species richness), the history of marine biology research in Japan, the state of knowledge, the number of endemic species, the number of identified but undescribed species, the number of known introduced species, and the number of taxonomic experts and identification guides, with consideration of the general ocean environmental background, such as the physical and geological settings. A total of 33,629 species have been reported to occur in Japanese waters. The state of knowledge was extremely variable, with taxa containing many inconspicuous, smaller species tending to be less well known. The total number of identified but undescribed species was at least 121,913. The total number of described species combined with the number of identified but undescribed species reached 155,542. This is the best estimate of the total number of species in Japanese waters and indicates that more than 70% of Japan's marine biodiversity remains un-described. The number of species reported as introduced into Japanese waters was 39. This is the first attempt to estimate species richness for all marine species in Japanese waters. Although its marine biota can be considered relatively well known, at least within the Asian-Pacific region, considering the vast number of different marine environments such as coral reefs, ocean trenches, ice-bound waters, methane seeps, and hydrothermal vents, much work remains to be done. We expect global change to have a tremendous impact on marine biodiversity and ecosystems. Japan is in a particularly suitable geographic situation and has a lot of facilities for conducting marine science research. Japan has an important responsibility to contribute to our understanding of life in the oceans.

Plants used traditionally as antimalarials in Latin America: Mining the tree of life for potential new medicines

O. laevimarginata is here described as a new species, and also its asexual morph could not be assigned to an existing taxon. Anamorphic strains were obtained from three teleomorph specimens which were collected at different sites and dates. The anamorph is characterized by cylindric-ellipsoid to oblong conidia, mainly 1-septate, growing either singly or mostly from 2–10 denticles in a capitate arrangement on the tip of conidiophores. These morphological characters are similar to those of the nematophagous anamorph genus Arthrobotrys, but the present isolates lack the ability to produce any trapping devices when contacting with nematodes. Phylogenetic analysis inferred from ITS rDNA sequences on different groups within Orbilia showed that the isolates of O. laevimarginata clustered together in a clade separate from Orbilia crenatomarginata (= Hyalinia crystallina). The two species are close to O. scolecospora and an undescribed species, which all have a crenulate to dentate apothecial margin composed of solid glassy processes. The group clustered distant from those species identified within the nematode-trapping anamorph genera Arthrobotrys, Dactylellina and Drechslerella, but also distant from the non-predacious anamorph genus Dactylella. By combining morphological and phylogenetic analysis, we conclude that the three isolates belong to a single undescribed holomorph species. The morphological differences among the three isolated anamorphic strains, and phylogenetic divergence of nematode-trapping fungi and related species are discussed.

Studies into the evolution and development of leaf shape have connected variation in plant form, function, and fitness. For species with consistent leaf margin features, patterns in leaf architecture are related to both biotic and abiotic factors. However, for species with inconsistent leaf shapes, quantifying variation in leaf shape and the effects of environmental factors on leaf shape has proven challenging. To investigate leaf shape variation in a species with inconsistently shaped leaves, we used geometric morphometric modeling and deterministic techniques to analyze approximately 500 digitized specimens of Capsella bursa-pastoris collected throughout the continental United States over 100 years. We generated a morphospace of the leaf shapes and modeled leaf shape as a function of environment and time. Leaf shape variation of C. bursa-pastoris was strongly associated with temperature over its growing season, with lobing decreasing as temperature increased. While we expected to see changes in variation over time, our results show that the level of leaf shape variation was consistent over the 100 years. Our findings showed that species with inconsistent leaf shape variation can be quantified using geometric morphometric modeling techniques and that temperature is the main environmental factor influencing leaf shape variation.

Treating color patterns in a geometric morphometrics framework reveals rapid rates of color evolution that are explained by a combination of intrinsic organismal features (color variation among patches) and geography within a cosmopolitan radiation of birds.

Over the past decade, ancient genomics has been used in the study of various pathogens. In this context, herbarium specimens provide a precious source of dated and preserved DNA material, enabling a better understanding of plant disease emergences and pathogen evolutionary history. We report here the first historical genome of a crop bacterial pathogen, Xanthomonas citri pv. citri (Xci), obtained from an infected herbarium specimen dating back to 1937. Comparing the 1937 genome within a large set of modern genomes, we reconstructed their phylogenetic relationships and estimated evolutionary parameters using Bayesian tip-calibration inferences. The arrival of Xci in the South West Indian Ocean islands was dated to the 19th century, probably linked to human migrations following slavery abolishment. We also assessed the metagenomic community of the herbarium specimen, showed its authenticity using DNA damage patterns, and investigated its genomic features including functional SNPs and gene content, with a focus on virulence factors.

Isodon (Lamiaceae) is recognized as one of the largest and most taxonomically challenging genera worldwide. Nevertheless, research on the collection and taxonomic biases of Isodon remains limited. This study aimed to investigate the original materials’ status of Isodon, thus providing basic data for research on the systematics, biogeography, and conservation of the genus. Firstly, based on the iPlant database, the Catalogue of Life China, and the Catalogue of Life, the accepted species list of Isodon was obtained. Secondly, original materials of each species of Isodon were found by searching the Chinese Virtual Herbarium (CVH), the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) and the Journal Storage (JSTOR), and the key information of each original material was recorded and analyzed. Finally, principal component analysis and cluster analysis were performed based on morphological characteristics of specimens, and phylogenetic analysis was performed based on the whole chloroplast genomes of Isodon spp. In this study, a total of 491 original materials of 85 species of Isodon were obtained. The type localities covered 18 countries, mainly distributed in the Hengduan Mountains. The preliminary results of morphological cluster analysis of various species in Isodon indicated that fruiting calyx shape and leaf shape can be used to distinguish species and can serve as auxiliary reference indexes for species classification. Inventory completeness remains deficient, and Isodon species collection suffers from the issues of overcollection and undersampling. Consequently, we recommend that the quality and quantity of Isodon collection should be improved to fully enable scientific research and maximize the application value in future collection digitization efforts.

SummaryGoyder, D. J. & Singh, N. P.: Lectotypification of Periploca secamone and Secamone thunbergii (Asclepiadaceae). ‐ Taxon 40: 629–630. 1991. ‐ ISSN 0040‐0262.Periploca secamone L. and Secamone thunbergii E. Meyer, here first lectotypified, are synonyms of Secamone alpini Schultes.

Rapid evolution is likely to be an important mechanism allowing native species to adapt to changed environmental conditions. Many Northern Hemisphere species have undergone substantial recent changes in phenology and morphology. However, we have little information about how native species in the Southern Hemisphere are responding to climate change. We used herbarium specimens from 21 native alpine plant species in Kosciuszko National Park, Australia, to make over 1,500 measurements of plant size, leaf thickness, leaf mass per area, leaf shape, and leaf size across the last 126 years. Only two out of 21 species (9%) showed significant changes in any of the measured traits. The number of changes we observed was not significantly different to what we would expect by chance alone, based on the number of analyses performed. This lack of change is not attributable to methodology—an earlier study using the same methods found significant changes in 70% of species introduced to southeast Australia. Australia's native alpine plants do not appear to be adapting to changed conditions, and because of the low elevation of Australia's mountains, they do not have much scope for uphill migration. Thus, our findings suggest that Australia's native alpine plants are at even greater risk in the face of future climate change than was previously understood.

<p>The genus Helleborus is represented in the Northwestern Balkans by 8 species. Some of them (H. atrorubens, H. foetidus (newcomer, introduced as well as escaped from culture), H. niger, and H. orientalis (newcomer, escaped from culture)) are rather easy for determination and discrimination. While other 4 species (H. dumetorum, H. multifidus, H. odorus, and H. viridis) are really difficult for determination because of their narrow morphological similarity, which also is realized a wide variety in leaf shape. The distribution areas of last 4 species overlap in the Northwestern Balkans, so that there are no really clear borders of their distribution. Dominating species in this region is H. multifidus, and especially common there is its subsp. istriacus. Other 3 species are rare and are therefore often overlooked and the herbarium specimens are frequently misidentified as H. multifidus. Moreover, all these 4 species produce number of hybrids, and as a result all kind of transistions between these taxa could be found. In particular, 11 hybrides could be confirmed for this region. The hybrid between H. dumetorum and H. multifidus is described here as Helleborus ×mucheri.</p>

This study aimed to provide a list of fish species from tributaries of rio das Almas and rio Maranhão basins, in the upper rio Tocantins basin, Goiás State, Brazil. For this study 21 stream stretches were sampled during the dry season in July 2010. A total of 2,279 individuals of 67 species, 19 families and five orders were collected. The most representative families in number of species were Characidae, Loricariidae, and Crenuchidae respectively. The genus Knodus, Hypostomus and Characidium showed the greatest abundance and distribution among the samplings. Poecilia reticulata was considered the only non-native species. The presence of a large number of endemic and undescribed species or with undefined taxonomic situation, in addition to the rapid habitat loss in this region, juts the need for the development of further studies in this basin.

Kenaf (Hibiscus cannabinus L.), in the Malvaceae family, is an important crop for not only fiber production, but also various other industrial materials. We performed phylogenetic analysis and a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of seven agronomic traits: days to flowering, plant height, fresh weight, dry weight, flower color, stem color, and leaf shape, using 96 kenaf genotypes, including gamma-irradiation-derived mutant lines. Genotypes were determined by genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS) and a total of 49,241 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were used in the analysis. Days to flowering, plant height, fresh weight, and dry weight were positively correlated with each other, and stem color was also correlated with fresh weight and dry weight. The phylogenetic analysis divided the 96 lines into nine related groups within two independent groups, and the GWAS analysis detected a total of 49 SNPs for days to flowering, plant height, fresh weight, dry weight, flower color, stem color, and leaf shape with -log10(P) ≥ 4, of which 22 were located in genic regions. The detected SNPs were located in genes with homology ranging from 45% to 96% to plants of the Malvaceae and Betulaceae, and these genes were found to be involved in plant growth and development via various pathways. Our identification of SNP markers related to agronomic traits is expected to help improve the quality of selective breeding programs for kenaf.

Morphological approaches often fail to delimit species in recently derived species complexes. This can be exacerbated in historical collections which may have lost key features in specimen preparation and preservation. Here, we examine the Pedicularis siphonantha complex, endemic to the Mountains of Southwest China. This complex is characterized by its red/purple/pink and long-tubular corolla, and twisted, beaked galea. However, herbarium specimens are often difficult to identify to species. Molecular approaches using nrITS or nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (nrITS) + plastid DNA (ptDNA) have been successfully used for species identification in Pedicularis. To resolve taxonomic confusion in the Pedicularis siphonantha complex, we reconstructed phylogenies of the complex using nrITS and four plastid DNA loci (matK, rbcL, trnH-psbA, and trnL-F). To recover as much of the phylogenetic history as possible, we sampled individuals at the population level. Topological incongruence between the nrITS and ptDNA datasets was recovered in clades including two widely distributed species, Pedicularis milliana and Pedicularis tenuituba. Based on morphological, geographical, and genetic evidence, we suggest that hybridization/introgression has occurred between P. milliana and Pedicularis sigmoidea/Pedicularis sp. 1 in the Yulong Snow Mountain of Lijiang, northwest Yunnan, and between P. tenuituba and Pedicularis leptosiphon in Ninglang, northwest Yunnan. After removing conflicting DNA regions in Pedicularis dolichosiphon (nrITS) and P. milliana (ptDNA), the concatenated nrITS and ptDNA phylogenies distinguish 11 species in the P. siphonantha complex, including two undescribed species, from the Jiaozi and Yulong Snow Mountains, respectively. Phylogeographical analyses indicate that the P. siponantha complex originated from south of the Hengduan Mountains, expanding north to the Himalayas and the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau. Moreover, the uplift of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and climate oscillations may have driven further diversification in the complex.