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In flowering plants, pollinators contribute to gene flow while they also respond to variation in plant traits together determined by genetic, epigenetic and environmental sources of variation. Consequently, a correlation between abundance and diversity of pollinators and the genetic and epigenetic characteristics of plant populations such as diversity or distinctiveness is expected. However, no study has explored these long-term dimensions of plant–pollinator interactions. Mediterranean narrow endemics often exhibit unexpectedly high levels of population genetic and epigenetic diversity. We hypothesize that pollinators may contribute to explain this pattern. Specifically, given the higher sensitivity of small, isolated population to gene flow, we expect a stronger association of pollinators with population genetic and epigenetic variability in narrow endemics than in widely distributed congeners. We studied five pairs of congeneric plant species, consisting of one narrow endemic with a restricted distribution and one widespread congener, found in the Sierra de Cazorla mountains (SE Spain). We characterized the pollinators in up to three populations per species to estimate their diversity and visitation rates. Additionally, we calculated the genetic and epigenetic diversity and distinctiveness of each population using AFLP markers and methylation-sensitive AFLP markers (MSAP), respectively. We assessed the relationship between pollinator diversity and visitation rates. The diversity of pollinators did not vary according to the plant´s distribution range, but visitation rate was higher in widespread species. As predicted, only narrow endemics showed a significant association between pollinators and their population genetic and epigenetic characteristics. Specifically, higher pollinator diversity and visitation rates entailed higher population genetic diversity and lower epigenetic distinctiveness. This work shows the importance of investigating the relationship betwee

Las sierras Béticas, con una extensión inferior al 8% de la Península ibérica, contienen el 45% de su flora. Hay casos como el de Sierra Nevada, que representando sólo el 0,4% de la superficie peninsular, contiene el 25% de su flora, alcanzando en las cumbres un 30-40% de endemismos. Con una aproximación multidisciplinar, abordamos la dimensión de la diversidad biológica que albergan, los mecanismos y procesos que la han originado y sustentado y qué amenazas afectan a esta concentración regional tan elevada de biodiversidad., The Betic ranges, with an area of less than 8% of the Iberian Peninsula, contain 45% of its flora. There are cases such as the Sierra Nevada range, which represents only 0.4% of the peninsular surface but contains 25% of its flora, reaching 30-40% endemism in the summits. With a multidisciplinary approach, we address the dimension of the biological diversity they host, the mechanisms and processes that originated and sustained it, and the threats affecting this biodiversity hotspot.

Changes in epigenetic states can allow individuals to cope with environmental changes. If such changes are heritable, this may lead to epigenetic adaptation. Thus, it is likely that in sessile organisms such as plants, part of the spatial epigenetic variation found across individuals will reflect the environmental heterogeneity within populations. The departure of the spatial epigenetic structure from the baseline genetic variation can help in understanding the value of epigenetic regulation in species with different breadth of optimal environmental requirements. Here we hypothesize that in plants with narrow environmental requirements epigenetic variability should be less structured in space given the lower variability in suitable environmental conditions. We performed a multispecies study that considered seven pairs of congeneric plant species, each encompassing a narrow endemic with habitat specialization and a widespread species. In three populations per species we used AFLP and methylation-sensitive AFLP markers to characterise the spatial genetic and epigenetic structures. Narrow endemics showed a significantly lower epigenetic than genetic differentiation between populations. Within populations, epigenetic variation was less spatially structured than genetic variation, mainly in narrow endemics. In these species, structural equation models revealed that such pattern was associated to a lack of correlation between epigenetic and genetic information. Altogether, these results show a greater decoupling of the spatial epigenetic variation from the baseline spatial genetic pattern in endemic species. These findings highlight the value of studying genetic and epigenetic spatial variation to better understand habitat specialisation in plants.

This dataset includes three files containing data on: (i) Quantitative importance of Andrena bees as pollinators of insect-pollinated plants; (ii) Thermal parameters for Andrena and other bees estimated under experimental laboratory conditions; (iii) Thermal measurements for Andrena and other bees taken in the field.

[ES] El acceso a la información preexistente es clave para el desarrollo científico. Las publicaciones científicas referidas a una temática concreta o un lugar constituyen un repositorio esencial del conocimiento adquirido para ese tema o lugar. Se presenta aquí una colección de literatura científica publicada desde principio del s. XX que contiene información de referencia o datos relativos al Parque Natural Sierras de Cazorla, Segura y Las Villas (Jaén) en la disciplina de la Ecología. La colección completa consta de tres catálogos sobre Botánica, Ecología y Zoología. Este trabajo es fruto de la labor pionera de recopilación bibliográfica llevada a cabo por uno de sus autores, Carlos M Herrera, revisando revistas de ámbito nacional e internacional durante décadas y facilitando su difusión en su página web. El catálogo se presenta aquí en dos formatos (xml, pdf) para hacerlo accesible a la comunidad científica de forma estandarizada. La colección de documentos permanece además como recurso accesible para uso docente y de investigación en la web: www.plant-animal.es., [EN] Access to available data is key for scientific development. Scientific publications referring to a specific topic or geographical region constitute an essential repository of the knowledge acquired for that topic or region. We present here a collection of scientific literature published since the beginning of the 20th century that contains reference information or data related to the Natural Park Sierras de Cazorla, Segura and Las Villas (Jaén) in the discipline of Ecology. The complete collection consists of three catalogs of Botany, Ecology and Zoology. This work is the result of the pioneering bibliographic compilation work carried out by one of the authors, Carlos M Herrera, who reviewed national and international journals for decades and facilitated the way to access these publications through his website. The catalogue is presented in two formats (xml, pdf) to make it accessible to the scientific community in a standardized way. The collection of documents remains also as an accessible resource for teaching and research use on the web: www.plant-animal.es.

[ES] El acceso a la información preexistente es clave para el desarrollo científico. Las publicaciones científicas referidas a una temática concreta o un lugar constituyen un repositorio esencial del conocimiento adquirido para ese tema o lugar. Se presenta aquí una colección de literatura científica publicada desde principio del s. XX que contiene información de referencia o datos relativos al Parque Natural Sierras de Cazorla, Segura y Las Villas (Jaén) en la disciplina de la Ecología. La colección completa consta de tres catálogos sobre Botánica, Ecología y Zoología. Este trabajo es fruto de la labor pionera de recopilación bibliográfica llevada a cabo por uno de sus autores, Carlos M Herrera, revisando revistas de ámbito nacional e internacional durante décadas y facilitando su difusión en su página web. El catálogo se presenta aquí en dos formatos (xml, pdf) para hacerlo accesible a la comunidad científica de forma estandarizada. La colección de documentos permanece además como recurso accesible para uso docente y de investigación en la web: www.plant-animal.es., [EN] Access to available data is key for scientific development. Scientific publications referring to a specific topic or geographical region constitute an essential repository of the knowledge acquired for that topic or region. We present here a collection of scientific literature published since the beginning of the 20th century that contains reference information or data related to the Natural Park Sierras de Cazorla, Segura and Las Villas (Jaén) in the discipline of Ecology. The complete collection consists of three catalogs of Botany, Ecology and Zoology. This work is the result of the pioneering bibliographic compilation work carried out by one of the authors, Carlos M Herrera, who reviewed national and international journals for decades and facilitated the way to access these publications through his website. The catalogue is presented in two formats (xml, pdf) to make it accessible to the scientific community in a standardized way. The collection of documents remains also as an accessible resource for teaching and research use on the web: www.plant-animal.es.

This dataset includes three files containing (i) Epigenotypic data of maternal modules, (ii) phenotypic data of maternal modules, and (iii) phenotypic data of greenhouse subprogenies for different modules of 15 adult, wild-grown, field-sampled plants of the shrub Lavandula latifolia.

[ES] El acceso a la información preexistente es clave para el desarrollo científico. Las publicaciones científicas referidas a una temática concreta o un lugar constituyen un repositorio esencial del conocimiento adquirido para ese tema o lugar. Se presenta aquí una colección de literatura científica publicada desde principio del s. XX que contiene información de referencia o datos relativos al Parque Natural Sierras de Cazorla, Segura y Las Villas (Jaén) en la disciplina de Botánica. Este trabajo es fruto de la labor pionera de recopilación bibliográfica llevada a cabo por uno de sus autores, Carlos M Herrera, revisando revistas de ámbito nacional e internacional durante décadas y facilitando su difusión en su página web. El catálogo se presenta aquí en dos formatos (xml, pdf) para hacerlo accesible a la comunidad científica de forma estandarizada. La colección de documentos permanece además como recurso accesible para uso docente y de investigación en la web: www.plant-animal.es., [EN] Access to available data is key for scientific development. Scientific publications referring to a specific topic or geographical region constitute an essential repository of the knowledge acquired for that topic or region. We present here a collection of scientific literature published since the beginning of the 20th century that contains reference information or data related to the Natural Park Sierras de Cazorla, Segura and Las Villas (Jaén) in the discipline of Botany. This work is the result of the pioneering bibliographic compilation work carried out by one of the authors, Carlos M Herrera, who reviewed national and international journals for decades and facilitated the way to access these publications through his website. The catalogue is presented in two formats (xml, pdf) to make it accessible to the scientific community in a standardized way. The collection of documents remains also as an accessible resource for teaching and research use on the web: www.plant-animal.es.

Increasing evidence supports a major role for abiotic stress response in the success of plant polyploids, which usually thrive in harsh environments. However, understanding the ecophysiology of polyploids is challenging due to interactions between genome doubling and natural selection. Here, we investigated physiological responses, gene expression, and the epiphenotype of two related Dianthus broteri cytotypes—with different genome duplications (4× and 12×) and evolutionary trajectories—to short extreme temperature events (42/28 °C and 9/5 °C). The 12× cytotype showed higher expression of stress-responsive genes (SWEET1, PP2C16, AI5L3, and ATHB7) and enhanced gas exchange compared with 4×. Under heat stress, both ploidies had greatly impaired physiological performance and altered gene expression, with reduced cytosine methylation. However, the 12× cytotype exhibited remarkable physiological tolerance (maintaining gas exchange and water status via greater photochemical integrity and probably enhanced water storage) while down-regulating PP2C16 expression. Conversely, 4× D. broteri was susceptible to thermal stress despite prioritizing water conservation, showing signs of non-stomatal photosynthetic limitations and irreversible photochemical damage. This cytotype also presented gene-specific expression patterns under heat, up-regulating ATHB7. These findings provide insights into divergent stress response strategies and physiological resistance resulting from polyploidy, highlighting its widespread influence on plant function.

DNA cytosine methylation is an epigenetic mechanism involved in regulation of plant responses to biotic and abiotic stress and its ability to change can vary with the sequence context in which a cytosine appears (CpG, CHG, CHH, where H = Adenine, Thymine, Cytosine). Quantification of DNA methylation in model plant species is frequently addressed by Whole Genome Bisulfite Sequencing (WGBS), which requires a good-quality reference genome. Reduced Representation Bisulfite Sequencing (RRBS) is a costeffective potential alternative for ecological research with limited genomic resources and large experimental designs. In this study, we provide for the first time a comprehensive comparison between the outputs of RRBS and WGBS to characterize DNA methylation changes in response to a given environmental factor. In particular, we used epiGBS (recently optimized RRBS) and WGBS to assess global and sequence-specific differential methylation after insect and artificial herbivory in clones of Populus nigra cv. ’italica’. We found that, after any of the two herbivory treatments, global methylation percentage increased in CHH, and the shift was detected as statistically significant only by epiGBS. As regards to loci-specific differential methylation induced by herbivory (cytosines in epiGBS and regions in WGBS), both techniques indicated the specificity of the response elicited by insect and artificial herbivory, together with higher frequency of hypo-methylation in CpG and hyper-methylation in CHH. Methylation changes were mainly found in gene bodies and intergenic regions when present at CpG and CHG and in transposable elements and intergenic regions at CHH context. Thus, epiGBS succeeded to characterize global, genome-wide methylation changes in response to herbivory in the Lombardy poplar. Our results support that epiGBS could be particularly useful in large experimental designs aimed to explore epigenetic changes of non-model plant species in response to multiple environmental

DNA cytosine methylation is an epigenetic mechanism involved in regulation of plant responses to biotic and abiotic stress and its ability to change can vary with the sequence context in which a cytosine appears (CpG, CHG, CHH, where H = Adenine, Thymine, Cytosine). Quantification of DNA methylation in model plant species is frequently addressed by Whole Genome Bisulfite Sequencing (WGBS), which requires a good-quality reference genome. Reduced Representation Bisulfite Sequencing (RRBS) is a cost-effective potential alternative for ecological research with limited genomic resources and large experimental designs. In this study, we provide for the first time a comprehensive comparison between the outputs of RRBS and WGBS to characterize DNA methylation changes in response to a given environmental factor. In particular, we used epiGBS (recently optimized RRBS) and WGBS to assess global and sequence-specific differential methylation after insect and artificial herbivory in clones of Populus nigra cv. 'italica'. We found that, after any of the two herbivory treatments, global methylation percentage increased in CHH, and the shift was detected as statistically significant only by epiGBS. As regards to loci-specific differential methylation induced by herbivory (cytosines in epiGBS and regions in WGBS), both techniques indicated the specificity of the response elicited by insect and artificial herbivory, together with higher frequency of hypo-methylation in CpG and hyper-methylation in CHH. Methylation changes were mainly found in gene bodies and intergenic regions when present at CpG and CHG and in transposable elements and intergenic regions at CHH context. Thus, epiGBS succeeded to characterize global, genome-wide methylation changes in response to herbivory in the Lombardy poplar. Our results support that epiGBS could be particularly useful in large experimental designs aimed to explore epigenetic changes of non-model plant species in response to multiple environme

A sound biological education at early schooling stages is highly desirable for individual understanding of the nature of science and comprehension of evolutionary theory. Making accessible the concepts to young minds is notwithstanding key and playful learning linked to artistic projects can be useful to reach this goal. Here, we propose a set of activities structured into three units that can be developed at school. They use music as a playful learning tool to support students’ motivation to discover the building blocks of genetic code, genetic variation and epigenetic regulation. Familiarity with these core molecular concepts will smooth their future understanding of the evolutionary process. A final activity programmed for a general audience can also contribute to better value scientific knowledge among the local population. And, it will potentially inspire some young girls and boys in orienting their future career development towards science

The remarkable capacity of bryophytes to tolerate extremely challenging abiotic conditions allows us to enhance our understanding of the diversity of molecular mechanisms involved in plant stress response. Here, we used next generation sequencing to study DNA methylation and gene expression changes in plants from four populations of the metallophyte moss Scopelophila cataractae experimentally exposed to either Cd or Cu. These populations previously showed differences in tolerance to both metals, so here, we aimed to investigate the molecular basis of this phenotypic differentiation. We found no evidence of genetic differentiation among the populations studied. The epigenetic data, however, showed limited but significant population-specific changes in DNA methylation in response to both metals. Exposure to acute Cu stress in the laboratory led to the downregulation of genes involved in heavy metal tolerance in both the more and the less tolerant populations, but this response was quantitatively higher in the most tolerant. We propose that chronic exposure to varying levels of heavy metals in the field led to potentially non-genetically-based intraspecific differentiation for heavy metal tolerance in S. cataractae. The most tolerant plants invested more in constitutive protection and were more efficient at entering a conservative state when faced with acute Cu stress

Intraindividual epigenetic mosaicism is probably widespread among long-lived plants, yet its ecological significance as a potential source of variation in fitness-related traits in plant populations remains virtually unexplored. This paper examines the hypothesis that extant epigenetic variation within plants can have both current and transgenerational fecundity correlates which could eventually translate into fitness variations among different parts of the same individual and their respective offspring. Five modules, each consisting of a terminal branchlet bearing one inflorescence and its subtending leaves, were collected from each of 15 wild-growing Lavandula latifolia (Lamiaceae) plants. They were characterized epigenotypically by the methylation state of methylation-sensitive amplified fragment length polymorphism (MS-AFLP) markers, and phenotypically by fecundity-related traits (inflorescence length, and size, number and mass of seeds produced). Seeds from the different modules were sown in the greenhouse and resulting ‘subprogenies’ characterized phenotypically (germination probability and time to emergence, seedling size, susceptibility to fungal disease). All plants sampled were internally heterogeneous with regard to the methylation state of 1%–13% of MS-AFLP markers. Predictable relationships were found between epigenotypic and phenotypic variation across the extant modules of individual L. latifolia shrubs. Phenotypes of subprogenies from different modules of the same plant grown under homogeneous conditions in the greenhouse were predictably related to the epigenotype of the maternal module which produced the seeds. Synthesis. The variable epigenotypes of different modules in the same plant not only predicted extant phenotypic variation among the modules themselves, but also phenotypic differences among the subprogenies produced by different modules. These relationships linking intraplant epigenotypic mosaicism with both extant and transgenerational het

Plant metabolic pathways and gene networks involved in the response to herbivory are well-established, but the impact of epigenetic factors as modulators of those responses is less understood. Here, we studied the role of DNA cytosine methylation on phenotypic responses after short-term herbivory in Thlaspi arvense plants with two contrasting flowering phenotypes. We investigated the effect of experimental demethylation and herbivory treatments following a 2x3 factorial design. First, half the seeds were submerged in a water solution of the demethylating agent 5-azacytidine and the other half only in water, as controls. Then, we assigned control and demethylated plants to three herbivory categories (i) insect herbivory, (ii) artificial herbivory, and (iii) undamaged plants. The effects of the demethylation and herbivory treatments were assessed by quantifying genome-wide global DNA cytosine methylation, concentration of leaf glucosinolates, final stem biomass, fruit and seed production, and seed size. For most of the plant traits analysed, individuals from the two plant-types responded differently. In late-flowering plants, global DNA methylation did not differ between control and demethylated plants but it was significantly reduced by herbivory. Conversely, in early-flowering plants, demethylation at seed stage was still evident in leaf genomes of reproductive individuals whereas herbivory did not affect their global DNA methylation. In late-flowering plants, artificial herbivory imposed a stronger reduction than insect herbivory in global DNA methylation and final stem biomass, and induced higher concentration of aliphatic glucosinolates. In early-flowering plants, the effects of herbivory were non-significant for the same traits. Finally, the effect of herbivory on reproductive parameters varied with the level of demethylation and the plant flowering-type. The complexity of our results suggests that the genetic background of experimental plants can affect the res

Plant metabolic pathways and gene networks involved in the response to herbivory are well-established, but the impact of epigenetic factors as modulators of those responses is less understood. Here, we studied the role of DNA cytosine methylation on phenotypic responses after short-term herbivory in Thlaspi arvense plants with two contrasting flowering phenotypes. We investigated the effect of experimental demethylation and herbivory treatments following a 2x3 factorial design. First, half the seeds were submerged in a water solution of the demethylating agent 5-azacytidine and the other half only in water, as controls. Then, we assigned control and demethylated plants to three herbivory categories (i) insect herbivory, (ii) artificial herbivory, and (iii) undamaged plants. The effects of the demethylation and herbivory treatments were assessed by quantifying genome-wide global DNA cytosine methylation, concentration of leaf glucosinolates, final stem biomass, fruit and seed production, and seed size. For most of the plant traits analysed, individuals from the two plant-types responded differently. In late-flowering plants, global DNA methylation did not differ between control and demethylated plants but it was significantly reduced by herbivory. Conversely, in early-flowering plants, demethylation at seed stage was still evident in leaf genomes of reproductive individuals whereas herbivory did not affect their global DNA methylation.

This dataset includes: (i) global DNA cytosine methylation estimates (= percentage of all genomic cytosines that are methylated), obtained by reverse phase HPLC with spectrofluorimetric detection; and (ii) the scoring (presence/absence) of individual methylation-sensitive AFLP markers (MS-AFLP), for different modules of three adult, wild-grown, field-sampled plants of the shrub Lavandula latifolia.

Anthropogenic activities have increased exposure to heavy metal pollution in previously uncontaminated ecosystems, threatening plant communities. Considering that phenotypic variation underlies rapid adjustment to challenging environmental conditions in natural populations, the study of variation in traits related to plant response to heavy metal stress provides valuable insight into the likelihood of a population's survival. This paper investigates patterns of intraspecific phenotypic variation for heavy metal accumulation and tolerance in bryophytes, one of the most resilient and relatively understudied plant taxa. We examined two moss species with contrasting affinities for heavy metals: the heavy metal specialist Scopelophila cataractae, and the facultative metallophyte Ceratodon purpureus. We sampled four populations of S. cataractae in close microhabitats with different contamination levels of Cd and Cu, one population of C. purpureus in an urban area, and separate lab-maintained male and female isolates from one population of C. purpureus growing in axenic conditions. After clonally propagating all populations under control, Cd and Cu treatments, we measured plant fitness, oxidative damage, and Cd and Cu accumulation. Scopelophila cataractae isolates from microhabitats with higher levels of metals in the field (Sc2, Sc3) were more tolerant than those collected in less contaminated microhabitats (Sc1, Sc4). Sc2 and Sc3 accumulated significantly less Cu in the leaves compared to the stem which could limit damage to their main photosynthetic organs and contribute to the observed differences in Cu tolerance. In contrast C. purpureus showed intraspecific differences in tolerance to Cd and Cu, but not in accumulation. These differences arose among isolates that had never been exposed to heavy metals before. We also report the first evidence for sexual dimorphism for Cd tolerance in this species, with females being more tolerant than males. Altogether, our results p

The ecological dynamics of co-flowering communities are largely mediated by pollinators. However, current understanding of pollinator-mediated interactions primarily relies on how co-flowering plants influence attraction of shared pollinators, and much less is known about plant–plant interactions that occur via heterospecific pollen (HP) transfer. Invaded communities in particular can be highly affected by the transfer of alien pollen, but the strength, drivers and fitness consequences of these interactions at a community scale are not well understood. Here we analyse HP transfer networks in nine coastal communities in the Yucatan Mexico that vary in the relative abundance of invasive flowers to evaluate how HP donation and receipt varies between native and alien plants. We further evaluate whether HP donation and receipt are mediated by floral traits (e.g. display, flower size) or pollinator visitation rate. Finally, we evaluated whether post-pollination success (proportion of pollen tubes produced) was affected by alien HP receipt and whether the effect varied between native and alien recipients. HP transfer networks exhibit relatively high connectance (c. 15%), suggesting high HP transfer within the studied communities. Significant network nestedness further suggests the existence of species that predominantly act as HP donors or recipients in the community. Species-level analyses showed that natives receive 80% more HP compared to alien species, and that alien plants donate 40% more HP than natives. HP receipt and donation were mediated by different floral traits and such effects were independent of plant origin (native or alien). The proportion of alien HP received significantly affected conspecific pollen tube success in natives, but not that of alien species. Synthesis. Our results suggest that HP transfer in invaded communities is widespread, and that native and alien species play different roles within HP transfer networks, which are mediated by a different