Search results for "Feature"

Ecological and historical determinants of population genetic structure and diversity in the Mediterranean shrubRosmarinus officinalis(Lamiaceae)

2015

Population genetic studies of widespread Mediterranean shrubs are scarce compared with those of trees and narrow endemics or studies from phylogeographical perspectives, despite the key role these species may play in Mediterranean ecosystems. Knowledge on the effect of ecological factors in shaping their genetic patterns is also limited. In this study we investigate genetic diversity and population structure across 18 populations of Rosmarinus officinalis, a Mediterranean shrubland plant. Populations were sampled along two elevational gradients, one each on calcareous and siliceous soils in a mountain system in the eastern Iberian Peninsula, to decipher the effect of ecological factors on t…

Limonium albuferae (Plumbaginaceae), a new polyploid species from the Eastern Iberian Peninsula

2016

A new species from Limonium (Plumbaginaceae), L. albuferae sp. nov., is described from the saline-sandy soils in the saltmarshes of the Eastern Iberian Peninsula (Devesa Albufera, Valencia province, Spain). The new species is triploid (2n = 26) and is closely related to the Western Mediterranean L. girardianum from which it morphologically differs by the major robustness, and overall dimensions of leaves, inflorescences, spikes and spikelets, and by the comparative smaller size of the outer and middle bracts.

Getting there and around: Host range oscillations during colonization of the Canary Islands by the parasitic nematode Spauligodon

2016

Episodes of expansion and isolation in geographic range over space and time, during which parasites have the opportunity to expand their host range, are linked to the development of host-parasite mosaic assemblages and parasite diversification. In this study, we investigated whether island colonization events lead to host range oscillations in a taxon of host-specific parasitic nematodes of the genus Spauligodon in the Canary Islands. We further investigated whether range oscillations also resulted in shifts in host breadth (i.e., specialization), as expected for parasites on islands. Parasite phylogeny and divergence time estimates were inferred from molecular data with Bayesian methods. H…

Hybridization, ecogeographical displacement and the emergence of new lineages – A genotyping‐by‐sequencing and ecological niche and species distribut…

2021

Ecogeographical displacement of homoploid hybrid lineages from their parents is well documented and considered an important mechanism to achieve reproductive isolation. In this study, we investigated the origin of the flowering plant species Sempervivum tectorum in the Massif Central (France) through homoploid hybridization between lineages of the species from the Rhine Gorge area (Germany) and the Pyrenees (France). We used genotyping-by-sequencing genetic data as evidence for the hybrid origin of the Massif Central lineage, and WorldClim climatic data and soil pH and soil temperature data collected by us for ecological niche and species distribution modelling. We could show that the Massi…

Unraveling Salt Tolerance in Halophytes: A Comparative Study on Four Mediterranean Limonium Species with Different Geographic Distribution Patterns

2017

[EN] We have performed an extensive study on the responses to salt stress in four related Limonium halophytes with different geographic distribution patterns, during seed germination and early vegetative growth. The aims of the work were twofold: to establish the basis for the different chorology of these species, and to identify relevant mechanisms of salt tolerance dependent on the control of ion transport and osmolyte accumulation. Seeds were germinated in vitro, in the presence of increasing NaCl concentrations, and subjected to ¿recovery of germination¿ tests; germination percentages and velocity were determined to establish the relative tolerance and competitiveness of the four Limoni…

Through predators’ eyes: phenotype–environment associations in shore crab coloration at different spatial scales

2017

We thank Emil Aaltonen Foundation providing a young scientist grant for this research (O.N.). MS and AEL were supported by a Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) David Phillips Research Fellowship (BB/G022887/1).

Take a Trip Through the Plant and Fungal Transportome of Mycorrhiza

2016

International audience; Soil nutrient acquisition and exchanges through symbiotic plant–fungus interactions in the rhizosphere are key features for the current agricultural and environmental challenges. Improved crop yield and plant mineral nutrition through a fungal symbiont has been widely described. In return, the host plant supplies carbon substrates to its fungal partner. We review here recent progress on molecular players of membrane transport involved in nutritional exchanges between mycorrhizal plants and fungi. We cover the transportome, from the transport proteins involved in sugar fluxes from plants towards fungi, to the uptake from the soil and exchange of nitrogen, phosphate, p…

Seasonal genetic variation associated with population dynamics of a poecilogonous polychaete worm

2017

Poecilogonous species show variation in developmental mode, with larvae that differ both morphologically and ecologically. The spionid polychaete Pygospio elegans shows variation in developmental mode not only between populations, but also seasonally within populations. We investigated the consequences of this developmental polymorphism on the spatial and seasonal genetic structure of P. elegans at four sites in the Danish Isefjord‐Roskilde‐Fjord estuary at six time points, from March 2014 until February 2015. We found genetic differentiation between our sampling sites as well as seasonal differentiation at two of the sites. The seasonal genetic shift correlated with the appearance of new s…

Soil microbiome of primeval forest ecosystems in Transkarpathia

2018

The aim of this study was to investigate the soil microbiome of primeval forest ecosystems, namely the structure of microbial communities,the number of major ecological-functional groups, functional parameters such as: soil toxicity, as well as enzymatic activity of the soil by the level of catalase and invertase. To analyze the successional processes in the soil microbiocenosis due to the influence of endogenous and exogenous factors. To estimate the integrity of microbial communities in different edaphotopes of primeval forest ecosystems. Methods. Microbiological studies of soil were carried out according to generally accepted methods in soil microbiology. Enzymatic activity of the soil: …

2018

One of the most relevant characteristics of the extant Southern Ocean fauna is its resiliency to survive glacial processes of the Quaternary. These climatic events produced catastrophic habitat reductions and forced some marine benthic species to move, adapt or go extinct. The marine benthic species inhabiting the Antarctic upper continental shelf faced the Quaternary glaciations with different strategies that drastically modified population sizes and thus affected the amount and distribution of intraspecific genetic variation. Here we present new genetic information for the most conspicuous regular sea urchin of the Antarctic continental shelf, Sterechinus neumayeri. We studied the pattern…