Search results for " barcoding"
showing 5 items of 85 documents
Biodiversity in the era of the market globalization: some cases from the marine realm
2015
The over-exploitation of the most consumed species has determined an increase in demand of frozen or trasformed fishery products importated from different countries. This caused an increase of food fraud represented by the substitution of a species with another with less eco- nomical value but which presents similar morphological characeristics. The use of modern tools as the DNA barcoding is crucial for traceability of such products and provides the consumer the necessary information about the exact identification of the species and their origin. The Italia and European Union food stuff are controlled thanks to laws, while for many non UE products are not expected any control inspection
Desiccation risk favours prevalence and diversity of tardigrade communities and influences their trophic structure in alpine ephemeral rock pools
2022
AbstractRock pools are ephemeral freshwater habitats characterized by their small size, well-defined boundaries, and periodic desiccation, making them ideal model systems to answer numerous ecological questions. Although there are numerous studies on rock pool fauna around the world, tardigrades have only rarely been recorded. We conducted the first tardigrade-focused study on rock pools by quantitatively extracting and classifying them from rock pools in the Italian Apennines. Rock pools were divided into three types, based on maximum duration of their inundation period. Following the patterns usually observed with rock pool invertebrates, we tested the hypothesis that desiccation has a ne…
Metabarcoding Analysis of Fungal Diversity in the Phyllosphere and Carposphere of Olive (Olea europaea)
2015
The fungal diversity associated with leaves, flowers and fruits of olive (Olea europaea) was investigated in different phenological stages (May, June, October and December) using an implemented metabarcoding approach. It consisted of the 454 pyrosequencing of the fungal ITS2 region and the subsequent phylogenetic analysis of relevant genera along with validated reference sequences. Most sequences were identified up to the species level or were associated with a restricted number of related taxa enabling supported speculations regarding their biological role. Analyses revealed a rich fungal community with 195 different OTUs. Ascomycota was the dominating phyla representing 93.6% of the total…
Plant-herbivorous beetle networks : molecular characterization of trophic ecology within a threatened steppic environment
2015
DNA barcoding facilitates many evolutionary and ecological studies, including the examination of the dietary diversity of herbivores. In this study, we present a survey of ecological associations between herbivorous beetles and host plants from seriously threatened European steppic grasslands. We determined host plants for the majority (65%) of steppic leaf beetles (55 species) and weevils (59) known from central Europe using two barcodes (trnL and rbcL) and two sequencing strategies (Sanger for mono/oligophagous species and Illumina for polyphagous taxa). To better understand the ecological associations between steppic beetles and their host plants, we tested the hypothesis that leaf beetl…
Taxonomy and conservation ofPancratium maritimum(Amaryllidaceae) and relatives in the Central Mediterranean
2015
Pancratium maritimum L. (Amaryllidaceae) is a geophyte occurring in the Mediterranean region, from the Black Sea to part of the Atlantic coast. This plant is receiving much attention from the international scientific community due to its value as a bioindicator, the potential industrial value of its chemical compounds, and its use as a commercial ornamental plant. Plant morphometry and sequences of three plastid DNA regions (rbcL, matK, trnH-psbA) were used to assess the phenotypic and genetic variability of this taxon and its closest congeneric species (in particular Pancratium linosae, from the volcanic island of Linosa) in the Central Mediterranean (Sicily, Tunisia and surrounding island…