Species Relationship and Population Differentiation In Stellaria L. (Caryophyllaceae) Of Iran Using Scot Molecular Marker and Morphological Data

Recognition of species is essential in a variety of domains, most remarkably biology, biogeography, ecology, as well as conservation. The genus Stellaria L. (Caryophyllaceae) has over 120 species spread across Europe and Asia's temperate zones. According to the most remarkable current treatments, nine species recognize Stellaria in Iran. These species are categorized into two types. Despite the broad distribution of several Stellaria species in Iran, no research on their genetic variability, method of divergence, or dispersion trends is accessible. As a result, we conducted genetic and morphological research on six Stellaria species and two of their closest relatives gathered from various habitats in Iran. This research aims to 1) Can SCoT markers be utilized to recognize Stellaria species? 2) What are the genetic characteristics of the mentioned taxa in Iran? and 3) To examine the interrelation of the species. In this research, ten SCoT markers were employed for molecular analysis, and 112 accessions were utilized for morphological study. The genetic distances were calculated using the Jaccard similarity coefficient, and descriptive data on the populations were used to estimate genetic parameters. There were 98 polymorphic bands all over. The integration of morphological and SCoT data demonstrated that the Stellaria species of Iran could be delimited and recognized. The Stellaria species are genetically unique; however, they share some similar alleles, according to AMOVA and STRUCTURE analyses. Bangladesh J. Plant Taxon. 28(2): 317-328, 2021 (December)

Biosystematic Study in Some Dracocephalum Species (Lamiaceae) Based on Morphology and Anatomy in Iran

The genus Dracocephalum L. (Lamiaceae) with about 60 to 70 species is a genus in the sub-tribe Nepetinae, tribe Mentheae of Lamiaceae family, native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. They are mostly perennial herbs, and rarely annual. Flora Iranica reports 8 Dracocephalum species and the Flora of Iran reports 10 Dracocephalum species in Iran out of which, 4 species are endemic. We collected 7 Dracocephalum species and studied species delimitation and species relationship by morphometric and anatomic results. The species were efficiently delimited by morphological and anatomical characters. Morphological and anatomical characters revealed closer affinity between D. moldavica and D. subcapitatum and D. thymiflorum were placed with distance from these species.

Aerofilum fasciculatum gen. nov., sp. nov. (Oculatellaceae) and Euryhalinema pallustris sp. nov. (Prochlorotrichaceae) isolated from an Indian mangrove forest

Two novel cyanobacteria (AP3 and AP3b) with thin cells and simple morphology were isolated from two islands of the Indian Sundarbans. The 16S rRNA phylogeny data revealed the distinct lineage of AP3b which was nearest to the clade incorporating the genus Oculatella and Tildeniella. Strain AP3 shared a common ancestor with the species Euryhalinema mangrovii. Additionally, the novel 16S rRNA gene sequences of strains AP3 and AP3b showed similarities about 98% and 93% respectively compared to those of established genera or species to which they were phylogenetically related. Furthermore, the folding patterns of semi-conservative structures like D1-D1’, Box-B and V2 helices of 16S-23S ITS region for both strains AP3 and AP3b displayed significant variations and uniqueness when compared with their respective reference strains (Euryhalinema mangrovii for AP3 and all the genera of Oculatellaceae for AP3b). Strain AP3 shared similar morphological features with its reference strain which confirmed its inter-species relationship. The diagnostic features of AP3b including the presence of necridic cells, aerotopes and a cluster-like growth pattern were found to be very contrasting. Altogether, these results substantiated the establishment of strain AP3b as a novel mono-specific genus named Aerofilum fasciculatum and strain AP3 as the second novel species under the genus Euryhalinema, referred to as Euryhalinema pallustris.

About species relationship of Galium trifidum section Aparinoides in Asian Russia

The morphological features of representatives of the section Aparinoides (Rubiaceae) are presented. In AsianRussia, the section is represented by five species: Galium palustre, G. trifidum, G. baicalense, G. ruprechtii, G. brandegeei.It was revealed that closely related species of the Aparinoides section differ in the shape and pubescence of the leaf, inflorescence, pubescence of peduncles, the location of pedicels relative to the branches, the number of corolla lobes, the shapeof the corolla lobes, and sculpture of the mericarp pericarp. Morphological characters can be used to differentiate closelyrelated species of the Aparinoides section.

Comparative and phylogenetic analyses of the chloroplast genomes of species of Paeoniaceae

Plants belonging to family Paeoniaceae are not only economically important ornamental plants but also medicinal plants used as an important source of traditional Chinese medicine. Owing to the complex network evolution and polyploidy evolution of this family, its systematics and taxonomy are controversial and require a detailed investigation. In this study, three complete chloroplast genomes of sect. Paeonia, one of the sections of Paeonia, were sequenced and then analysed together with 16 other published chloroplast genomes of Paeoniaceae species. The total lengths of the chloroplast genomes of these species were 152,153–154,405 bp. A total of 82–87 protein-coding genes, 31–40 tRNA genes and 8 rRNA genes were annotated. Bioinformatics analysis revealed 61–74 simple sequence repeats (SSRs) in the chloroplast genomes, most of which have A/T base preference. Codon usage analysis showed that A/U-ending codons were more positive than C/G-ending codons, and a slight bias in codon usage was observed in these species. A comparative analysis of these 19 species of Paeoniaceae was then conducted. Fourteen highly variable regions were selected for species relationship study. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the species of sect. Paeonia gathered in one branch and then divided into different small branches. P. lactiflora, P. anomala, P. anomala subsp. veitchii and P. mairei clustered together. P. intermedia was related to P. obovata and P. obovata subsp. willmottiae. P. emodi was the sister to all other species in the sect. Paeonia.

Within-species relationship of patchiness to both abundance and occupancy, as exemplified by seagrass macrobenthos

For the first time, intraspecific relationships between the macroecological metrics patchiness (P) and both abundance (A) and occupancy (O) were investigated in a faunal assemblage. As a companion study to recent work on interspecific P, A and O patterns at the same localities, intraspecific patterns were documented within each of the more dominant invertebrates forming the seagrass macrobenthos of warm–temperate Knysna estuarine bay (South Africa) and of sub-tropical Moreton Bay (Australia). As displayed interspecifically, individual species showed strong A–O patterns (mean scaling coefficient − 0.76 and mean R2 > 0.8). All P–O relations were negative and most (67%) were statistically significant, although weaker (mean R2 0.5) than A–O ones; most P–A ones were also negative but fewer (43%) achieved significance, and were even weaker (mean R2 0.4); 33% of species showed no significant interrelations of either O or A with P. No species showed only a significant P–A relationship. Compared with interspecific P–A–O data from the same assemblages, power–law scaling exponents were equivalent, but R2 values were larger. Larviparous species comprised 70% of the total studied, but 94% of those displaying significant patchiness interrelationships; 5 of the 9 showing no P–A or P–O relationships, however, were also larviparous. At Knysna, though not in Moreton Bay, larviparous species also showed higher levels of occupancy than non-larviparous ones, whilst non-larviparous species showed higher levels of patchiness. Dominant Moreton Bay species, but not those at Knysna, exhibited homogeneously sloped P–O relationships.

Species Identification and Relationship of Sea Cucumber species from Pulau Tinggi and Sedili Kechil, Johor Based on Ossicle Shape

Sea cucumbers are an abundant echinoderm group in Malaysia which provides commercial and medicinal values to local people. Due to the lack of data on sea cucumbers status in Johor coastal seawaters, this study was conducted. This study aimed to identify the species and relationship of sea cucumber from two selected Johor coastal seawater; Pulau Tinggi and Sedili Kechil based on ossicle shape. The current study recorded 53 individuals of sea cucumbers, of which 23 individuals were from Pulau Tinggi, Mersing District and 30 individuals were from Sedili Kechil, Kota Tinggi District. A number of 10 species of sea cucumber were found in the coastal waters of Pulau Tinggi, Mersing and three species in Sedili Kechil, Kota Tinggi, Johor. A total of 10 ossicle shapes were observed and extracted from the sea cucumber samples namely button, perforated plate, table, C-shaped rod, rosette, anchor, spider, I-shaped rod, boomerang, and J-shaped rod. The species relationship based on ossicle shapes was analysed using clustering option of PAST (PAleontological STatistics) software version 4.03. The analysis concluded that two groups of sea cucumber families i.e. Holothuriidae and Stichopodidae were present, although S. chloronotus clustered closer with the members of family Holothuriidae. Although more specimens are required to generate better conclusive results, the outcomes provided updated data on sea cucumber species in Johor seawater.

Higher Elevations Tend to Have Higher Proportion of Plant Species With Glandular Trichomes

Glandular trichomes are well known to participate in plant chemical and physical defenses against herbivores, especially herbivorous insects. However, little is known about large-scale geographical patterns in glandular trichome occurrence. Herbivory pressure is thought to be higher at low elevations because of warmer and more stable climates. We therefore predicted a higher proportion of species with glandular trichomes at low elevations than at higher elevations. We compiled glandular trichome data (presence/absence) for 6,262 angiosperm species from the Hengduan Mountains (a global biodiversity hotspot in southwest China). We tested the elevational gradient (800–5,000 m a.s.l.) in the occurrence of plant species with glandular trichomes, and its correlations with biotic (occurrence of herbivorous insects) and abiotic factors, potentially shaping the elevational gradient in the occurrence of glandular trichomes. We found a significantly positive relationship between elevation and the occurrence of glandular trichomes, with the proportion of species having glandular trichomes increasing from 11.89% at 800 m a.s.l. to 17.92% at above 4,700 m. This cross-species relationship remained significant after accounting for phylogenetic relationships between species. Herbivorous insect richness peaked at mid-elevations and its association with the incidence of glandular trichomes was weak. Mean annual temperature was the most important factor associated negatively with glandular trichomes. Our results do not support the hypothesis that plant defenses decrease with increasing elevation. In contrast, a higher proportion of plant species with glandular trichome toward higher elevations is observed. Our results also highlight the importance of considering the simultaneous influences of biotic and abiotic factors in testing geographical variation in multifunctional plant defenses.