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Genomic signatures of local adaptation have been identified in many species but remain sparsely studied in amphibians. Here, we explored genome‐wide divergence within the Asiatic toad, Bufo gargarizans, to study local adaptation and genomic offset (i.e., the mismatch between current and future genotype‐environment relationships) under climate warming scenarios. We obtained high‐quality SNP data for 94 Asiatic toads from 21 populations in China to study spatial patterns of genomic variation, local adaptation, and genomic offset to warming in this wide‐ranging species. Population structure and genetic diversity analysis based on high‐quality SNPs revealed three clusters of B. gargarizans in the western, central‐eastern, and northeastern portions of the species' range in China. Populations generally dispersed along two migration routes, one from the west to the central‐east and one from the central‐east to the northeast. Both genetic diversity and pairwise FST were climatically correlated, and pairwise FST was also correlated with geographic distance. Spatial genomic patterns in B. gargarizans were determined by the local environment and geographic distance. Global warming will increase the extirpation risk of B. gargarizans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: There has been a surge of interest on velocity-based training (VBT) in recent years. However, it remains unclear whether VBT is more effective in improving strength, jump, linear sprint and change of direction speed (CODs) than the traditional 1RM percentage-based training (PBT). Objectives: To compare the training effects in VBT vs. PBT upon strength, jump, linear sprint and CODs performance. Data sources: Web of science, PubMed and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI). Study eligibility criteria: The qualified studies for inclusion in the meta-analysis must have included a resistance training intervention that compared the effects of VBT and PBT on at least one measure of strength, jump, linear sprint and CODs with participants aged ≥16 yrs. and be written in English or Chinese. Methods: The modified Pedro Scale was used to assess the risk of bias. Random-effects model was used to calculate the effects via the mean change and pre-SD (standard deviation). Mean difference (MD) or Standardized mean difference (SMD) was presented correspondently with 95% confidence interval (CI). Results: Six studies met the inclusion criteria including a total of 124 participants aged 16 to 30 yrs. The differences of training effects between VBT and PBT were not significant in back squat 1RM (MD = 3.03kg; 95%CI: -3.55, 9.61; I2 = 0%) and load velocity 60%1RM (MD = 0.02m/s; 95%CI: -0.01,0.06; I2 = 0%), jump (SMD = 0.27; 95%CI: -0.15,0.7; I2 = 0%), linear sprint (MD = 0.01s; 95%CI: -0.06, 0.07; I2 = 0%), and CODs (SMD = 0.49; 95%CI: -0.14, 1.07; I2 = 0%). Conclusion: Both VBT and PBT can enhance strength, jump, linear sprint and CODs performance effectively without significant group difference. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Utricularia lihengiae, a new species from the Dulongjiang region of northwest Yunnan, China, is here described and illustrated. The new species belongs to the section Oligocista and is similar to U. bifida L. and U. scandens Benj., from which it can be easily distinguished by the dark purple stripe on the corolla. The new species also differs in its shorter inflorescence and the shape of the calyx lobes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China is a major producer and consumer of green tea and possesses numerous high-quality tea cultivars, which can be used to make green tea. However, the green teas produced from these tea cultivars vary markedly in aroma. In this study, a sensory evaluation method and headspace solid-phase microextraction combined with GC-MS were employed to determine the primary substances that contribute to the aromas and key differences in the aroma components of green tea produced from 20 tea cultivars. The results revealed 57 major volatile components, among which aldehydes, alcohols, and esters were the most prevalent. For the volatile components, the linalool, nonanal, and geraniol contents were the highest, followed by dimethyl sulfide, methyl salicylate, heptanal, and caproicacidhexneylester. The volatile components varied considerably among the green tea samples, and some contained substances with a high content that gave off unique aromas. The correlation analysis revealed significant correlations between the sensory evaluation scores and contents of linalool, geraniol, methyl salicylate, cis-linalool oxide, 3-carene, phenethyl alcohol, limonene, (Z)-3-cis-3-hexenyl isovalerate, citral, (E)-β-ocimene, alcohols, esters, and alkenes, as well as between the sensory evaluation scores and total volatile component contents. Aromatic substances with the highest odor activity values were, in descending order, linalool, capraldehyde, dimethyl sulfide, β-ionone, geraniol, nonanal, heptanal, (E)-2-nonenal, and caproicacidhexneylester. These substances were the major contributors to aroma formation in the green tea samples. The principal component analysis and orthogonal projections to the latent structure-discriminant analysis suggested that the 20 tea cultivars could be grouped into 6 categories and that the high content of linalool, nonanal, and geraniol substantially contributed to the categorization of the tea cultivars. A key variable analysis revealed that 23 volatile components played a critical role in the categorization of the tea cultivars. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article describes Cremastra malipoensis, a rare species of Orchidaceae that occurs in southeastern Yunnan, China, near the border of Vietnam. A taxonomic key to the species of the genus is provided. It shows that C. malipoensis is most similar to Cremastra appendiculata, but the inflorescences and flowers of the two species show obvious differences. It is suggested that while the two species are sympatric, their asynchronous flowering provides a reproductive barrier.

Nine natural populations of the rare evergreen tree Magnolia cathcartii (Magnoliaceae) were sampled across its natural range, and amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) markers were used to assess genetic variation within and among populations. Three ex situ populations were also surveyed to determine whether conservation plantings include the entire genetic diversity of the species. Genetic diversity within the natural populations was very low (0.122 for Nei’s gene diversity), and the southeast populations had the highest diversity. The ex situ populations had a lower diversity than the mean diversity for all populations, and none of the ex situ populations reached the levels of diversity found in their source populations. Genetic differentiation was high among natural populations ( Gst = 0.247), and an isolation-by-distance pattern was detected. Habitat fragmentation, restricted gene flow, and geitonogamy are proposed to be the primary reasons for the low genetic diversity and high genetic differentiation. More protection is needed, especially for the southeast populations, which possess the highest numbers of unique alleles according to AFLP fragment analyses. The ex situ program was a good first step towards preserving this species, but the current ex situ populations preserve only a limited portion of its genetic diversity. Future ex situ efforts should focus on enhancing the plantings with individuals from southeastern Yunnan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of our study was to better understand seed germination ecology of the spring ephemeral herbaceous perennials, Ixiolirion tataricum, Tulipa iliensis and Scorzonera pusilla, in the temperate desert in the Junggar Basin of northwestern China. Seeds of I. tataricum, T. iliensis and S. pusilla were dormant at maturity but when subjected to cold, dry (2 months at 4°C) followed by cold, wet (≤40 days at 4°C) conditions, they germinated to 100%, 96% and 93%, respectively. After 2 months' dry storage at 48C, seeds germinated to only 11%, 3% and 42%, respectively at 15°C, and no seeds germinated at 30°C. Seeds of the three species were not sensitive to light. Low (,12.7%) and high (21.4%) soil moisture contents suppressed germination. In addition, both final germination percentages and rates of the three species decreased dramatically with a decrease in water potential from 0 to 23.17 MPa. Thus, the low-temperature requirement for dormancy break and germination cues seed germination to occur in early spring when soil moisture is favourable for germination and subsequent seedling establishment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This study focuses on the atmospheric dry deposition flux of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs) in the vicinity of the two municipal solid waste incinerators (MSWIs) located in southern Taiwan. PCDD/Fs in ambient air were taken and analyzed for seventeen 2,3,7,8-substituted PCDD/Fs during November 2004 and July 2005. Results show that the mean concentrations of PCDD/Fs in the ambient air near MSWI-GS and MSWI-RW were 0.090 and 0.097pg I-TEQ/Nm3, respectively. Dry deposition fluxes of total PCDD/Fs were 18.0 and 23.5pg I-TEQ/(m2 d) in the ambient air near MSWI-GS and MSWI-RW, respectively, which were considerably higher than that measured in Guangzhou, China. Annual dry deposition fluxes of total PCDD/Fs in the ambient air near MSWI-GS and MSWI-RW were 189 and 217ng/(m2 year), respectively, which were also much higher than dry deposition of total PCDD/Fs to the Atlantic Ocean. The results of the present study strongly suggest that exposure to PCDD/Fs in this area should be reduced. In addition, parametric sensitivity shows that dry deposition flux of PCDD/Fs is most sensitive to dry deposition velocity of the particle-phase, followed by air temperature and concentration of total suspended particulate but least sensitive to dry deposition velocity of the gas-phase. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Dendrobium wangliangii G. W. Hu, C. L. Long & X. H. Jin, a new species from the north of the Yunnan Province in China is described and illustrated. The morphological differences between the new species and the related species, Dendrobium flexicaule, and its endangered status are discussed. © 2008 The Linnean Society of London, Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 2008, 157, 217–221. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A total of twelve polymorphic microsatellite loci were developed from polyploid endangered species, Omphalogramma vincaeflora (Primulaceae). These loci were screened for variability among 45 individuals from three populations in China. The primers amplified loci with allele number ranging from 3 to 9, with an average of 4.25 per locus. Polymorphism information content ranged from 0.23 to 0.86. Nei's genetic diversity ranged from 0.34 to 0.86. These primers provide an opportunity to use polymorphic DNA markers to study the population genetic structure and its breeding system in this species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background & Aims: Although the prognosis of patients with occult hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection (OBI) is usually benign, a small portion may undergo cirrhosis and subsequently hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We studied the mechanism of life-long Integration of virus DNA into OBI host's genome, of which may induce hepatocyte transformation. Methods: We applied HBV capture sequencing on single cells from an OBI patient who, developed multiple HCC tumors and underwent liver resection in May 2013 at Tongji Hospital in China. Despite with the undetectable virus DNA in serum, we determined the pattern of viral integration in tumor cells and adjacent non-tumor cells and obtained the details of the viral arrangement in host genome, and furthermore the HBV integrated region in cancer genome. Results: HBV captured sequencing of tissues and individual cells revealed that samples from multiple tumors shared two viral integration sites that could affect three host genes, including CSMD2 on chr1 and MED30/EXT1 on chr8. Whole genome sequencing further indicated one hybrid chromosome formed by HBV integrations between chr1 and chr8 that was shared by multiple tumors. Additional 50 poorly differentiated liver tumors and the paired adjacent non-tumors were evaluated and functional studies suggested up-regulated EXT1 expression promoted HCC growth. We further observed that the most somatic mutations within the tumor cell genome were common among the multiple tumors, suggesting that HBV associated, multifocal HCC is monoclonal in origin. Conclusion: Through analyzing the HBV integration sites in multifocal HCC, our data suggested that the tumor cells were monoclonal in origin and formed in the absence of active viral replication, whereas the affected host genes may subsequently contribute to carcinogenesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ecosystem structure determines material circulation, energy flow, and system function. Based on field investigation data in the Sanmen Bay, East China Sea from 2017 to 2018, ecological channel model was constructed by Ecopath, describing energy flow routes and functional characteristics of the Sanmen Bay ecosystem. Results showed that grazing food chain was the main energy circulation channel, and the trophic level of each functional group ranged from 1 to 3.80. Energy flow of the system was mainly concentrated in the first five levels, with an average energy conversion efficiency of 13.0%. Energy conversion efficiency was 12.8% and 14.5% from primary producers and debris, respectively. Connectance index (CI) and system omnivory index (SOI) were 0.40 and 0.24 respectively. Finn's cycling index (FIC) was 0.40, and Finn's mean path length (MPL) was 2.06. The ratio of total primary productivity to total respiration was 13.59. In conclusion, Sanmen Bay ecosystem was immature in material circulation and energy flow. This work is helpful to understand the structural and functional traits of coastal ecosystems in China.

Background: A comprehensive evaluation of the -omic profiles of venom is important for understanding the potential function and evolution of snake venom. Here, we conducted an integrated multi-omics-analysis to unveil the venom-transcriptomic and venomic profiles in a same group of spine-bellied sea snakes (Hydrophis curtus) from the South China Sea, where the snake is a widespread species and might generate regionally-specific venom potentially harmful to human activities. The capacity of two heterologous antivenoms to immunocapture the H. curtus venom was determined for an in-depth evaluation of their rationality in treatment of H. curtus envenomation. In addition, a phylogenetic analysis by maximum likelihood was used to detect the adaptive molecular evolution of full-length toxin-coding unigenes., Results: A total of 90,909,384 pairs of clean reads were generated via Illumina sequencing from a pooled cDNA library of six specimens, and yielding 148,121 unigenes through de novo assembly. Sequence similarity searching harvested 63,845 valid annotations, including 63,789 non-toxin-coding and 56 toxin-coding unigenes belonging to 22 protein families. Three protein families, three-finger toxins (3-FTx), phospholipase A 2 (PLA 2 ), and cysteine-rich secretory protein, were detected in the venom proteome. 3-FTx (27.15% in the transcriptome/41.94% in the proteome) and PLA 2 (59.71%/49.36%) were identified as the most abundant families in the venom-gland transcriptome and venom proteome. In addition, 24 unigenes from 11 protein families were shown to have experienced positive selection in their evolutionary history, whereas four were relatively conserved throughout evolution. Commercial Naja atra antivenom exhibited a stronger capacity than Bungarus multicinctus antivenom to immunocapture H. curtus venom components, especially short neurotoxins, with the capacity of both antivenoms to immunocapture short neurotoxins being weaker than that for PLA 2 s., Conclusions: Our study clarified the venom-gland transcriptomic and venomic profiles along with the within-group divergence of a H. curtus population from the South China Sea. Adaptive evolution of most venom components driven by natural selection appeared to occur rapidly during evolutionary history. Notably, the utility of commercial N. atra and B. multicinctus antivenoms against H. curtus toxins was not comprehensive; thus, the development of species-specific antivenom is urgently needed.

Marine biota, especially commercially important species, serves as a basis for human nutrition. However, millions of tons of plastic litter are produced and enter the marine environment every year, with potential adverse impacts on marine organisms. In the present study, we investigated the occurrence and characteristics of microplastic (MP) pollution in the digestive tracts of 13 species of wild nektons from 20 stations sampled in the South China Sea (SCS) and the Indian Ocean (IO), and assessed the human health risks of MPs. The detection rate of MPs ranged from 0.00% to 50.00% from the SCS, which was dramatically lower than that from the IO (10.00-80.00%). The average abundance of MP was 0.18 ± 0.06 items g wet weight -1 (ww -1 ) in the SCS, which was significantly lower than that in the IO with a concentration of 0.70 ± 0.16 items g ww -1 . Most MPs were fibers in type, black in color, and polyester (PES) in polymer composition in both the SCS and IO. Interestingly, distinct profiles of MP pollution were found between the benthic and pelagic nektons: 1) The predominant MP composition was PES in the benthic nektons, whereas polyamide (PA) accounted for a larger part of the total MP count in the pelagic nektons within the SCS; 2) The abundance of MP in the benthic nektons (0.52 ± 0.24 items individual -1 ) was higher than that in the pelagic nektons (0.30 ± 0.11 items individual -1 ). Accordingly, the mean hazard score of MPs detected in the benthic nektons (220.66 ± 210.75) was higher than that in the pelagic nektons (49.53 ± 22.87); 3) The mean size of the MP in the pelagic nektons (0.84 ± 0.17 mm) was larger than that in the benthic nektons (0.49 ± 0.09 mm). Our findings highlight the need to further investigate the ecological impacts of MPs on wild nekton, especially commercially important species, and its potential implications for human health., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Animals in captivity undergo a range of environmental changes from wild animals. An increasing number of studies show that captivity significantly affects the abundance and community structure of gut microbiota. The northern grass lizard (Takydromus septentrionalis) is an extensively studied lacertid lizard and has a distributional range covering the central and southeastern parts of China. Nonetheless, little is known about the gut microbiota of this species, which may play a certain role in nutrient and energy metabolism as well as immune homeostasis. Here, we examined the differences in the gut microbiota between two groups (wild and captive) of lizards through 16S rRNA sequencing using the Illumina HiSeq platform. The results demonstrated that the dominant microbial components in both groups consisted of Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, and Tenericutes. The two groups did not differ in the abundance of these three phyla. Citrobacter was the most dominant genus in wild lizards, while Morganella was the most dominant genus in captive lizards. Moreover, gene function predictions showed that genes at the KEGG pathway levels2 were more abundant in wild lizards than in captive lizards but, at the KEGG pathway levels1, the differences in gene abundances between wild and captive lizards were not significant. In summary, captivity exerted a significant impact on the gut microbial community structure and diversity in T. septentrionalis, and future work could usefully investigate the causes of these changes using a comparative approach., (© 2020 The Authors. MicrobiologyOpen published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

This study aimed to investigate the association between Serum Uric Acid (UA) to Creatinine (Cr) Ratio (UA/Cr) and metabolic syndrome (MetS) in postmenopausal women.A total of 455 patients with MetS and 457 age- and gender- matched controls were included in the present retrospective study. Serum levels of total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), fasting plasma glucose (FPG), Cr, and UA were measured. We employed logistic regression analysis to investigate the association between serum UA/Cr and MetS in postmenopausal women.Serum UA/Cr levels were significantly higher in patients with MetS than that in control subjects (P < .05). In the correlation analysis, serum UA/Cr showed a significantly positive correlation with age, hypertension, systolic pressure (SBP), diastolic pressure (DBP), Waist, body mass index (BMI), TG, UA and negative correlation with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and Cr (P all < .001). Moreover, multivariate analysis revealed that serum UA/Cr was still an independent risk factor for MetS (OR = 2.928, 95% CI = 2.385-3.596, P < .001) after adjustments for other confounders.Serum UA/Cr are strongly associated with the risk of MetS in postmenopausal Chinese women.

We analyze whole-genome sequencing data from 141,431 Chinese women generated for non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT). We use these data to characterize the population genetic structure and to investigate genetic associations with maternal and infectious traits. We show that the present day distribution of alleles is a function of both ancient migration and very recent population movements. We reveal novel phenotype-genotype associations, including several replicated associations with height and BMI, an association between maternal age and EMB, and between twin pregnancy and NRG1. Finally, we identify a unique pattern of circulating viral DNA in plasma with high prevalence of hepatitis B and other clinically relevant maternal infections. A GWAS for viral infections identifies an exceptionally strong association between integrated herpesvirus 6 and MOV10L1, which affects piwi-interacting RNA (piRNA) processing and PIWI protein function. These findings demonstrate the great value and potential of accumulating NIPT data for worldwide medical and genetic analyses., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The vulnerable Chinese cobra (Naja atra) ranges from southeastern China south of the Yangtze River to northern Vietnam and Laos. Large mountain ranges and water bodies may influence the pattern of genetic diversity of this species. We sequenced the mitochondrial DNA control region (1029 bp) using 285 individuals collected from 23 localities across the species' range and obtained 18 sequences unique to Taiwan from GenBank for phylogenetic and population analysis. Two distinct clades were identified, one including haplotypes from the two westernmost localities (Hekou and Miyi) and the other including haplotypes from all sampling sites except Miyi. A strong population structure was found (Φst = 0.76, P<0.0001) with high haplotype diversity (h = 1.00) and low nucleotide diversity (π = 0.0049). The Luoxiao and Nanling Mountains act as historical geographical barriers limiting gene exchange. In the haplotype network there were two "star" clusters. Haplotypes from populations east of the Luoxiao Mountains were represented within one cluster and haplotypes from populations west of the mountain range within the other, with haplotypes from populations south of the Nanling Mountains in between. Lineage sorting between mainland and island populations is incomplete. It remains unknown as to how much adaptive differentiation there is between population groups or within each group. We caution against long-distance transfers within any group, especially when environmental differences are apparent.

An UHPLC-PDA-ESI/HRMS(n) profiling method was used to identify the glucosinolates and flavonoids of Rorippa indica (Cruciferae), a wild vegetable and Chinese herb used to treat cough, diarrhea, and rheumatoid arthritis. Thirty-three glucosinolates, more than 40 flavonol glycosides, and 18 other phenolic and common organic compounds were identified. The glucosinolates and polyphenols were separated by UHPLC. High-resolution deprotonated molecules provided high accuracy mass values that were used to determine formulas and provide putative identification of the glucosinolates and flavonoids. The fragments from multistage mass spectrometry were used to elucidate the structures. The concentrations of the main components were based on UV peak areas and molar relative response factors with a single calibration standard. This study found this plant to be a rich source for glucosinolates, containing 24 new glucosinolates, including 14 glucosylated glucosinolates that were previously unidentified.

To establish a fingerprint of Xiaochaihu granules sold in the market with HPLC method, and study fingerprints of Xiaochaihu granules produced by different manufacturers and in different batches of the same manufacturer. Seven major index components were identified for the first time. The established method provided an all-around analysis on the quality assessment of Xiaochaihu granules.

We characterize thirteen polymorphic microsatellite loci isolated from Naja atra genomic libraries, which were enriched for AC-motif microsatellites. The thirteen loci were screened on a group of 48 individuals from two populations, one in Yong'an and the other in Ganzhou. These markers revealed a relatively high degree of genetic diversity (4-12 alleles per locus) and heterozygosity (Ho ranged from 0.213-0.854 and He ranged from 0.301-0.838). Tests for departure from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium and for linkage disequilibrium were conducted for each of the two populations separately. After sequential Bonferroni correction, none of the 13 loci showed significant departures from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. Hierarchical analysis of molecular variance indicated that a small but significant (P < 0.001) proportion (16.0%) of the total variation in the microsatellite DNA data were attributable to differences among populations, indicating geographical structuring and restricted gene flow. It could be attributable to the Wuyi mountains in the area having a sufficiently isolating effect to significantly reduce gene flow. Our microsatellite data also showed a low N(m) (1.31) value in the two populations from mainland China. Thus, the Yong'an and Ganzhou populations could be treated as distinct evolutionarily significant units (ESUs). The high level of polymorphism revealed by these microsatellite markers will be useful for the study of gene flow, population structure and evolutionary history of N. atra.

The relationship between offspring size and offspring number is crucial to life history evolution. To examine how these two life history variables are coupled and whether an altered balance between them will result in changes in maternal fitness, we manipulated clutch size of the Chinese cobra (Naja atra) by using the techniques of hormonal manipulation and follicle ablation. Females receiving exogenous follicle-stimulating hormone produced more but smaller eggs, and females undergoing follicle ablation produced fewer but larger eggs. Neither body size (body mass and snout-vent length) at hatching nor egg mass at oviposition had a role in determining hatchling survival and growth. Female hatchlings were more likely to die in early post-hatching days and grew more slowly than male hatchlings. Our data show that: (1) there is a nonlinear continuum of egg size-number trade-offs in N. atra within which there is a single inflexion where the rate at which egg size decreases with increasing clutch size, or clutch size increases with decreasing egg size, is maximized; (2) there is a fixed upper limit to egg size for a given-sized female, and the limit is not determined by her body volume; (3) egg size has no role in determining hatchling survival and growth; and (4) the extent to which females may enjoy reproductive benefits in a given reproductive episode depends on how well egg size and egg number are balanced.

We collected Chinese cobras (Naja atra) from one island (Dinghai) and four mainland (Huangshan, Lishui, Quanzhou, and Baise) populations in southeastern China, and used sequence data derived from the ND2 (1032 bp) and cytochrome b (1117 bp) genes and molecular variance estimates to investigate the population genetic structure of the species. Our sequence data show that: (1) the three eastern (Dinghai, Huangshan, and Lishui) populations are genetically segregated from the two southern (Quanzhou and Baise) populations; (2) the Quanzhou and Baise populations consist of two well-defined subclades, suggesting that the two populations have been well differentiated; (3) N. atra from the Huangshan population do not differ from those from the Lishui population, and lineage sorting in the northeastern part of the cobra's distributional range has not yet been completed because of the young age of Zhoushan Islands. The three eastern populations, the Quanzhou population, and the Baise population should be regarded as different management units (MUs). For these MUs, we suggest that in-situ protection measures should be taken because of their genetic uniqueness. Re-introductions or translocations are required to protect or re-establish natural populations of N. atra , but great care should be taken to enhance or retain local genetic variation.