Rare fraction of spontaneous flora of the garden and park landscapes of the Middle Pobuzhzhia

On the territory of the garden and park landscapes of the Middle Pobuzhzhia 31 species of higher vascular plants that have national or regional protection status have been revealed or cited in literature. Of these, 9 species are listed in the current edition of the Red Data Book of Ukraine, 10 species have regional protection status in Vinnytsia region and 20 species in Cherkasy region. National Dendrological Park «Sofiyivka» NAS of Ukraine has the largest number of species from the Red Data Book of Ukraine (8 species): Tulipa quercetorum, Euonymus nana, Scopolia carniolica, Allium ursinum, Pulsatilla pratensis, Pulsatilla patens, Trapa natans, Epipactis helleborine, Neottia nidus-avis. Only by one rare species were revealed in the Pechersky (Scopolia carniolica), Sokiletsky (Pulsatilla pratensis), Verkhivsky (Trapa natans) and Kryzhopilsky (Epipactis helleborine) parks. Phytoindication assessment of the identified localities showed that the most of them are on the border or even outside their ecological-coenotic amplitude by one or more factors, which indicates their vulnerability to external influences. Currently, the greatest threat to the existence of species at present is the recreational load, so according to the Law on the Red Data Book of Ukraine, they all need proper protection measures.

Breaking the Limits - Multichromosomal Structure of an Early Eudicot Pulsatilla Patens Mitogenome Reveals Extensive RNA-editing, Longest Repeats and Chloroplast Derived Regions Among Sequenced Land Plant Mitogenomes

Background: The mitogenomes of vascular plants are one of the most structurally diverse molecules. In the present study we characterize mitogenome of a rare and endangered species Pulsatilla patens. We investigated the gene content and its RNA editing potential, repeats distribution and plastid derived sequences.Results: The mitogenome structure of early divergent eudicot, endangered Pulsatilla patens does not support the master chromosome hypothesis, revealing the presence of three linear chromosomes of total length 986 613 bp. The molecules are shaped by the presence of extremely long, exceeding 87 kbp, repeats and multiple chloroplast derived regions including nearly complete inverted repeat. Since the plastid IR content of Ranunculales is very characteristic, the incorporation into mitogenome could be explained rather by intracellular transfer than mitochondrial HGT. The mitogenome contains an almost complete set of genes known from other vascular plants with exception of rps10 and sdh3, the latter being present but pseudogenised. Analysis of long ORFs enabled the identification of genes which are rarely present in plant mitogenomes, including RNA and DNA polymerases, albeit their presence even at species level is variable. Mitochondrial transcripts of P. patens were edited with a high frequency, exceeding the level known in other analyzed angiosperms, despite strict qualification criteria of editing event’s count and analysis of generally less frequently edited leaf transcriptome. The total number of edited sites was 902 and nad4 was identified as the most edited gene with 65 C to U changes. Non-canonical, reverse U to C editing was not detected. Comparative analyses of mitochondrial genes of three Pulsatilla species revealed a level of variation comparable to chloroplast CDS dataset and much higher infrageneric differentiation than in other known angiosperm genera. The variation found in CDS of mitochondrial genes is comparable to values found among Pulsatilla plastomes. Despite a complicated mitogenome structure, 14 single copy regions not splitted by repeats or MTPT of 329 kbp revealed potential for phylogenetic, phylogeographic and population genetics studies by revealing intra- and interspecific collinearity.Conclusions: This studies provides valuable new information about mitochondrial genome of early divergent eudicots, Pulsatilla patens, revealed multi-chromosomal structure and shed new light on mitogenomics of early eudicots.

Impact of Secondary Succession in the Xerothermic Grassland on the Population of the Eastern Pasque Flower (Pulsatilla patens)—Preliminary Studies

We studied the impact of secondary succession in xerothermic grasslands on a population of Pulsatilla patens, a species of European Community interest. We established two permanent plots with a high number of individuals of P. patens in a xerothermic grassland in Southern Poland. We compared two areas, the first in open grassland (plot A), and the second with overgrowing vegetation (plot B). We assessed the population structure as well as the individual traits of the species. The total abundance of P. patens in the open xerothermic grassland was five times higher than in the overgrowing xerothermic grassland. A randomly clustering distribution was noted only in plot A; in plot B a random type of distribution occurred. The density structure of the rosettes was higher in plot A. The mean number of leaves in rosettes of P. patens as well as dimensions of intermediate stems and leaves of the species is strongly correlated with habitat conditions. The shadowing caused by shrubs and trees and high weeds observed in the overgrowing xerothermic grassland negatively impacted on the number of individuals, distribution, structure and morphology of P. patens.

Seasonal patterns of forage quality in six native forb species

The forage value of native forbs is rarely considered in pasture mixtures, even though such species can make up a substantial proportion of the diet of cattle on native rangelands. Incorporating non-leguminous forbs into pasture grazing systems can provide additional ecosystem services such as pollination habitat, and ideally those forbs would also provide some forage value. We therefore assessed the seasonal variation in protein and fiber (NDF and ADF) content of six common Western Canadian native forb and sub-shrub species: yarrow (Achillea millefolium), smooth aster (Symphyotricum laeve), prairie crocus (Pulsatilla patens), prairie rose (Rosa arkansana), Canada goldenrod (Solidago canadensis), and American vetch (Vicia americana). The legume V. americana displayed the highest protein followed by S. canadensis and S. laeve. V. americana also has the highest fiber concentration through the growing season. S. canadensis and S. laeve had lower fiber content; thus, making them a good choice for addition in seed mixes to meet the energy and nutrient requirements of cattle. Forb protein and fiber content showed opposite trends during the growing season. Crude protein decreased while NDF and ADF increased as a general pattern tied to physiological stage and degree of senescence. The promising nutritional profile of some forb species suggests that these species should be considered in pasture mixes.

Vascular plants and bryophytes of the natural monument «Petrovskoe boloto» (Russia, Bryansk Region): the preliminary lists

According to the results of the study of the flora of the natural monument of regional natural monument «Pe-trovskoe swamp» (Russia, Bryansk Region, Mglinsky district), carried out in 2018–2019, annotated lists of vas-cular plants and bryophytes were compiled. The flora of vascular plants includes 367 species from 80 families. The largest number of species is found in the families Asteraceae (40 species), Poaceae (34), Rosaceae (25), Fabaceae (19), Cyperaceae, Lamiaceae and Apiaceae (17), Caryophyllaceae (13), Ranunculaceae (15), Brassi-caceae and Scrophylariaceae (10). 5 of these species are listed in the regional Red Data Book (Krasnaia..., 2016): Diphasiastrum complanatum, Juniperus communis, Lathyrus pisiformis, Pulsatilla patens, Sanicula europaea. Alien species were recorded, including those spreading from cultivated coenoses in nearby settlements: Acer negundo, Amelanchier spicata, Echinocystis lobata, Helianthus tuberosus, Hemerocallis fulva, Hesperis pycnotricha, Levisticum officinalis, Oxalis stricta, Rudbeckia laciniata, Saponaria officinali, Sorbaria sorbifolia. Bryophytes belong to 107 species in 41 families. New localities of mosses listed in the regional Red Data Book were discovered: Homalia trichomanoides, Neckera pennata, Sphagnum jensenii. Indicator species of old-growth forests were noted: Anomodon longifolius, Homalia trichomanoides, Hypnum cupressiforme, Neckera pennata, Stereodon pallescens.

Extracts from Pulsatilla patens target cancer-related signaling pathways in HeLa cells

The purpose of this study was to determine if a methanolic extract of the Pulsatilla patens (L.) Mill. can inhibit the progression of cancer through the modulation of cancer-related metabolic signaling pathways. We analyzed a panel of 13 inducible luciferase reporter gene vectors which expression is driven by enhancer elements that bind to specific transcription factors for the evaluation of the activity of cancer signaling pathways. The root extract of P. patens exhibited strong inhibition of several signaling pathways in HeLa cells, a cervical cancer cell line, and was found to be the most potent in inhibiting the activation of Stat3, Smad, AP-1, NF-κB, MYC, Ets, Wnt and Hdghog, at a concentration of 40 µg/mL. The methanolic extracts of P. patens enhanced apoptotic death, deregulated cellular proliferation, differentiation, and progression towards the neoplastic phenotype by altering key signaling molecules required for cell cycle progression. This is the first study to report the influence of Pulsatilla species on cancer signaling pathways. Further, our detailed phytochemical analysis of the methanolic extracts of the P. patens allowed to deduce that compounds, which strongly suppressed the growth and proliferation of HeLa cancer cells were mainly triterpenoid saponins accompanied by phenolic acids.