scholarly journals Evaluating the monophyly of Mammillaria series Supertextae (Cactaceae)

PhytoKeys ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 177 ◽  
pp. 25-42
Author(s):  
Cristian R. Cervantes ◽  
Silvia Hinojosa-Alvarez ◽  
Ana Wegier ◽  
Ulises Rosas ◽  
Salvador Arias

Mammillaria (Cactaceae) taxonomy has been historically problematic due to the morphological variability and sympatry of the species. This has led to several proposals for infrageneric classification, including subgeneric, section and series categories. Mammillaria ser. Supertextae is one of 15 series and is made up of a variable set of species that are mainly distributed in southern Mexico and Central America. However, the phylogenetic relationships within M. ser. Supertextae and its relationship to other Mammillaria taxa are far from fully understood. Here we attempt to elucidate these relationships using complete terminal sampling and newly obtained chloroplast marker sequences and comparing them to Mammillaria species sequences from GenBank. Our phylogenetic analyses showed that M. ser. Supertextae comprises a well-supported monophyletic group that diverged approximately 2.1 Mya and has M. ser. Polyacanthae as its sister group; however, relationships within M. ser. Supertextae remain unresolved. The topology obtained within M. ser. Supertextae must also be interpreted under the distribution shared by these taxa, but it is difficult to differentiate ancestral polymorphisms from possible introgression, given the short time elapsed and the markers used. Our results show that the infrageneric units of M. haageana and M. albilanata can be considered independent evolutionary units. We also suggest that the relationship between M. haageana and M. albilanata is convoluted because their distribution overlaps (mainly towards southern Mexico), with genetic differences that possibly indicate they represent more than two taxonomic entities. One possible explanation is that there could still be gene flow between these taxa, and we might be witnessing an ongoing speciation process.

Phytotaxa ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 321 (2) ◽  
pp. 151
Author(s):  
SEDIGHEH NIKZAT SIAHKOLAEE ◽  
MASOUD SHEIDAI ◽  
MOSTAFA ASSADI ◽  
ZAHRA NOORMOHAMMADI

The genus Acer L. has about 156 species which are distributed in Asia, Europe, Northern Africa and North America. The species of Acer show extensive morphological and molecular diversity and the species that co-occur may hybridize; therefore, sometimes the species delimitation turns out to be difficult. Eight Acer (maple) species have been reported in Iran. The velvet maple—Acer velutinum Boiss (1846: 28)—is one of the largest maples in the world and the most frequent maple species in Iran. Morphologically speaking, two varieties have been cited for this species. Due to the extensive morphological variability, however, the researchers encounter difficulty delimiting these two varieties. Against this backdrop, the present study was performed with the aim to delimit two varieties of Acer velutinum by using both morphological and molecular approaches. It also aimed to proffer data on the genetic diversity of this species in the country. Nighty-four plant specimens of A. velutinum were randomly collected within 14 geographical populations at four provinces in Hyrcanian forests of Iran. The PsbA-trnHGUG intergenic spacer sequence of cp-DNA and the ISSR molecular markers along with the morphometric analysis and image analysis of the leaf shape were used. The numerical and phylogenetic analyses of the tree specimens from the presumed varieties of A. velutinum—based on morphology, image analysis of leaf shape, ISSR and cp-DNA—did not delimit these varieties; hence, A. velutinum was considered to have a high level of intergrading morphological variability. The population genetic study revealed significant molecular differences among the studied populations. The STRUCTURE plot and gene flow analysis (Nm), nevertheless, revealed some degree of shared alleles among the populations. The Mantel tests demonstrated significant correlation between the geographical and genetic distance of the studied populations; it further signaled the fact that the gene flow occurred mainly between the coterminous populations.


1973 ◽  
Vol 51 (4) ◽  
pp. 461-468 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dennis M. Power ◽  
J. R. Tamsitt

Variation was assessed in the neotropical bat Phyllostomus discolor from a number of morphometric characters (length of one limb bone and eight cranial measurements). Sexual dimorphism is significant and is attributable to subtle differences in shape rather than to differences in size. Geographic variation among 13 samples of males and 8 samples of females indicated pronounced phenetic heterogeneity among populations within and west of the Andes Mountains, through Central America, and into southern Mexico. Populations east of the Andes Mountains are more homogeneous. Range disruption during the Pleistocene and past and present topographical hindrances to gene flow may be responsible in part for observed patterns of variation.


2019 ◽  
Vol 44 (4) ◽  
pp. 930-942
Author(s):  
Geraldine A. Allen ◽  
Luc Brouillet ◽  
John C. Semple ◽  
Heidi J. Guest ◽  
Robert Underhill

Abstract—Doellingeria and Eucephalus form the earliest-diverging clade of the North American Astereae lineage. Phylogenetic analyses of both nuclear and plastid sequence data show that the Doellingeria-Eucephalus clade consists of two main subclades that differ from current circumscriptions of the two genera. Doellingeria is the sister group to E. elegans, and the Doellingeria + E. elegans subclade in turn is sister to the subclade containing all remaining species of Eucephalus. In the plastid phylogeny, the two subclades are deeply divergent, a pattern that is consistent with an ancient hybridization event involving ancestral species of the Doellingeria-Eucephalus clade and an ancestral taxon of a related North American or South American group. Divergence of the two Doellingeria-Eucephalus subclades may have occurred in association with northward migration from South American ancestors. We combine these two genera under the older of the two names, Doellingeria, and propose 12 new combinations (10 species and two varieties) for all species of Eucephalus.


Paleobiology ◽  
10.1666/12001 ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
pp. 323-344 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlo Meloro ◽  
Sarah Elton ◽  
Julien Louys ◽  
Laura C. Bishop ◽  
Peter Ditchfield

Mammalian carnivores are rarely incorporated in paleoenvironmental reconstructions, largely because of their rarity within the fossil record. However, multivariate statistical modeling can be successfully used to quantify specific anatomical features as environmental predictors. Here we explore morphological variability of the humerus in a closely related group of predators (Felidae) to investigate the relationship between morphometric descriptors and habitat categories. We analyze linear measurements of the humerus in three different morphometric combinations (log-transformed, size-free, and ratio), and explore four distinct ways of categorizing habitat adaptations. Open, Mixed, and Closed categories are defined according to criteria based on traditional descriptions of species, distributions, and biome occupancy. Extensive exploratory work is presented using linear discriminant analyses and several fossils are included to provide paleoecological reconstructions.We found no significant differences in the predictive power of distinct morphometric descriptors or habitat criteria, although sample splitting into small and large cat guilds greatly improves the stability of the models. Significant insights emerge for three long-canine cats:Smilodon populator,Paramachairodus orientalis, andDinofelissp. from Olduvai Gorge (East Africa).S. populatorandP. orientalisare both predicted to have been closed-habitat adapted taxa. The false “sabertooth”Dinofelissp. from Olduvai Gorge is predicted to be adapted to mixed habitat. The application of felid humerus ecomorphology to the carnivoran record of Olduvai Gorge shows that the older stratigraphic levels (Bed I, 1.99–1.79 Ma) included a broader range of environments than Beds II or V, where there is an abundance of cats adapted to open environments.


Author(s):  
Timothy L Collins ◽  
Jeremy J Bruhl ◽  
Alexander N Schmidt-Lebuhn ◽  
Ian R H Telford ◽  
Rose L Andrew

Abstract Golden everlasting paper daisies (Xerochrysum, Gnaphalieae, Asteraceae) were some of the earliest Australian native plants to be cultivated in Europe. Reputedly a favourite of Napoléon Bonaparte and Empress Joséphine, X. bracteatum is thought to have been introduced to the island of St Helena in the South Atlantic during Napoléon’s exile there. Colourful cultivars were developed in the 1850s, and there is a widely held view that these were produced by crossing Xerochrysum with African or Asian Helichrysum spp. Recent molecular phylogenetic analyses and subtribal classification of Gnaphalieae cast doubt on this idea. Using single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) data, we looked for evidence of gene flow between modern cultivars, naturalized paper daisies from St Helena and four Xerochrysum spp. recorded in Europe in the 1800s. There was strong support for gene flow between cultivars and X. macranthum. Paper daisies from St Helena were genotypically congruent with X. bracteatum and showed no indications of ancestry from other species or from the cultivars, consistent with the continuous occurrence of naturalized paper daisies introduced by Joséphine and Napoléon. We also present new evidence for the origin of colourful Xerochrysum cultivars and hybridization of congeners in Europe from Australian collections.


2012 ◽  
Vol 25 (6) ◽  
pp. 418 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roy E. Halling ◽  
Mitchell Nuhn ◽  
Todd Osmundson ◽  
Nigel Fechner ◽  
James M. Trappe ◽  
...  

Harrya is described as a new genus of Boletaceae to accommodate Boletus chromapes, a pink-capped bolete with a finely scabrous stipe adorned with pink scabers, a chrome yellow base and a reddish-brown spore deposit. Phylogenetic analyses of large-subunit rDNA and translation elongation factor 1α confirmed Harrya as a unique generic lineage with two species, one of which is newly described (H. atriceps). Some Chinese taxa were recently placed in a separate genus, Zangia, supported by both morphology and molecular data. Multiple accessions from Queensland, Australia, support the synonymy of at least three species in a separate Australian clade in the new genus, Australopilus. The truffle-like Royoungia is also supported as a separate lineage in this clade of boletes. Even though it lacks stipe characters, it possesses the deep, bright yellow to orange pigments in the peridium. Additional collections from Zambia and Thailand represent independent lineages of uncertain phylogenetic placement in the Chromapes complex, but sampling is insufficient for formal description of new species. Specimens from Java referable to Tylopilus pernanus appear to be a sister group of the Harrya lineage.


Insects ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 232
Author(s):  
Nan Zhou ◽  
Yanling Dong ◽  
Pingping Qiao ◽  
Zhaofu Yang

To understand mitogenome characteristics and reveal phylogenetic relationships of the genus Ostrinia, including several notorious pests of great importance for crops, we sequenced the complete mitogenomes of four species: Ostrinia furnacalis (Guenée, 1854), Ostrinia nubilalis (Hübner, 1796), Ostrinia scapulalis (Walker, 1859) and Ostrinia zealis (Guenée, 1854). Results indicate that the four mitogenomes—O. furnacalis, O. nubilalis, O. scapulalis, and O. zealis—are 15,245, 15,248, 15,311, and 15,208 bp in size, respectively. All four mitogenomes are comprised of 37 encoded genes and a control region. All 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs) initiate with ATN and terminate with TAN, with the exception of cox1 that starts with CGA, and cox1, cox2, and nad5 that terminate with an incomplete codon T. All transfer RNA genes (tRNAs) present the typical clover-leaf secondary structure except for the trnS1 (AGN) gene. There are some conserved structural elements in the control region. Our analyses indicate that nad6 and atp6 exhibit higher evolution rates compared to other PCGs. Phylogenetic analyses based on mitogenomes using both maximum likelihood (ML) and Bayesian inference (BI) methods revealed the relationship (O. palustralis + (O. penitalis + (O. zealis + (O. furnacalis + (O. nubilalis + O. scapulalis))))) within Ostrinia.


Author(s):  
Diomaris E.S. Jurecska ◽  
Chloe E. Lee ◽  
Kelly B.T. Chang ◽  
Elizabeth Sequeira

Abstract The purpose of this article is to examine the relationship between intelligence (IQ) and self-efficacy in children and adolescents living in the United States and Nicaragua. The sample consisted of 90 (46 male, 44 female) students (mean age=11.57 years, SD=3.0 years) referred by school administrators and faculty. United States (US) participants (n=27) resided in rural counties in the Northwest. The other group consisted of 63 students from Central America. A comparison between groups revealed that in the US, sample higher grades and IQ scores are typically associated with higher levels of self-efficacy. However in the Nicaraguan sample, both IQ scores and grades were not associated with self-efficacy, although age was correlated with self-efficacy. Results suggest that the construct of self-efficacy might change depending on whether one belongs to an individualistic or collectivistic society. Additionally, the effects of socioeconomic factors might influence perceived ability even more than intellectual abilities.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document