Search

The evolutionary processes that shape the unique biodiversity of the Neotropical Chaquean Domain are still poorly understood, and choosing an appropriate model to address evolutionary questions is essential for understanding the current patterns of Chaquean diversity. We used the Turnera sidoides autopolyploid complex as a model to assess current and past environmental factors and the processes that shaped and maintain its intraspecific variation in the Chaquean Domain. Based on current and past niche modelling, cytogeographical and genetic divergence analyses, we provide strong evidence that the T. sidoides complex has been in an active process of intraspecific allopatric diversification at the diploid level since the early Pleistocene. Further diversification of the complex involved the emergence of independent polyploid series in each morphologically divergent lineage. Cytotypes in each series do not differ in diagnostic morphological traits, but are reproductively isolated and have different ecological requirements. Currently, each subspecies/morphotype and cytotype are true species according to the biological, evolutionary and ecological concepts; however, they are still considered to be the same morphological species. Our study has clarified the effect of the complex processes of diversification occurring in the Chaquean Domain on T. sidoides and that much diversity is overlooked when only the morphological species concept is considered when estimating the diversity of Neotropical ecoregions.

Background Peanut smut is a disease caused by the fungus Thecaphora frezii Carranza & Lindquist to which most commercial cultivars in South America are highly susceptible. It is responsible for severely decreased yield and no effective chemical treatment is available to date. However, smut resistance has been identified in wild Arachis species and further transferred to peanut elite cultivars. To identify the genome regions conferring smut resistance within a tetraploid genetic background, this study evaluated a RIL population {susceptible Arachis hypogaea subsp. hypogaea (JS17304-7-B) × resistant synthetic amphidiploid (JS1806) [A. correntina (K 11905) × A. cardenasii (KSSc 36015)] × A. batizocoi (K 9484)4×} segregating for the trait. Results A SNP based genetic map arranged into 21 linkage groups belonging to the 20 peanut chromosomes was constructed with 1819 markers, spanning a genetic distance of 2531.81 cM. Two consistent quantitative trait loci (QTLs) were identified qSmIA08 and qSmIA02/B02, located on chromosome A08 and A02/B02, respectively. The QTL qSmIA08 at 15.20 cM/5.03 Mbp explained 17.53% of the phenotypic variance, while qSmIA02/B02 at 4.0 cM/3.56 Mbp explained 9.06% of the phenotypic variance. The combined genotypic effects of both QTLs reduced smut incidence by 57% and were stable over the 3 years of evaluation. The genome regions containing the QTLs are rich in genes encoding proteins involved in plant defense, providing new insights into the genetic architecture of peanut smut resistance. Conclusions A major QTL and a minor QTL identified in this study provide new insights into the genetic architecture of peanut smut resistance that may aid in breeding new varieties resistant to peanut smut.

Capsicum comprises 35 species of chili peppers and five of them are cultivated worldwide as spices or vegetables. Diploid karyotypes based in x = 12 and x = 13 are common in Capsicum and the constitutive heterochromatin (cHet) is of particular interest in the genus since it is largely variable, particularly its highly GC-rich fraction. However, the repetitive DNA components of this heterochromatic regions are unknown. Given the co-localization of rDNA loci with the CMA+DAPI– heterochromatic bands, we tested the hypothesis that the highly GC-rich cHet fraction is composed of the whole 18S-25S ribosomal DNA (rDNA) unit or some of its components. Here we report on a novel satellite for Capsicum and Solanaceae composed of the complete rDNA unit. We physically mapped six Capsicum derived specific 18S-25S rDNA probes that covered the entire span of the rDNA unit and analysed a DraI restriction product on eight chromosomally different taxa of Capsicum, representative of the major phylogenetic clades of chili peppers. The co-localization of every gene and spacer probes of the 18S-25S rDNA unit suggest their structural function as a major repetitive component of the highly GC-rich cHet in Capsicum species with x = 12. In addition, analyses of the clones derived from restriction assays in C. pubescens suggested that the differential functional status of 18S-25S rDNA loci (nucleolar organizer regions -NORs- or cHet) in this species is related to a divergence in a short sequence upstream the regulatory transcription initiation site (TIS) of the intergenic spacer (IGS). The results here provided evidence that an rDNA mega satellite played a significant role in the evolution of the karyotype features of x = 12 Capsicum species. The finding of a mega satellite family derived from the whole rDNA unit is a novelty for plant genomes. Fil: Grabiele, Mauro. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Nordeste. Instituto de Biología Subtropical. Universidad Nacional de Misiones. Instituto de Biología Subtropical; Argentina Fil: Debat, Humberto Julio. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro de Investigaciones Agropecuarias. Instituto de Patología Vegetal; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina Fil: Scaldaferro, Marisel Analía. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; Argentina Fil: Aguilera, Patricia Mabel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Nordeste. Instituto de Biología Subtropical. Universidad Nacional de Misiones. Instituto de Biología Subtropical; Argentina Fil: Moscone, Eduardo Alberto. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; Argentina Fil: Seijo, José Guillermo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Nordeste. Instituto de Botánica del Nordeste. Universidad Nacional del Nordeste. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias. Instituto de Botánica del Nordeste; Argentina Fil: Ducasse, Daniel Adrián. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro de Investigaciones Agropecuarias. Instituto de Patología Vegetal; Argentina

Peanut smut caused by Thecaphora frezii Carranza & Lindquist has been an issue for farmers and the peanut industry (Arachis hypogaea L.) in Argentina since the mid-1990s. This disease causes pod malformation due to hypertrophy of seed tissues; in addition, colonized cells filled with teliospores give seeds a smutted mass appearance. Incidence may reach up to 52% in commercial plots, with up to 35% yield losses. Cultural management strategies and chemical treatment have not been effective; therefore, growing resistant varieties is likely to be the most effective control method for this disease. This study is aimed to identify sources of resistance in wild Arachis and to develop pre-breeding materials for transferring the trait to cultivated peanut. After 3 yr of field trials using a randomized complete block design, the seven accessions of wild species assayed were resistant to smut. An amphidiploid [A. correntina(Burkart) Krapov. & W.C. Greg. × A. cardenasii Krapov. & W.C. Greg.] × A. batizocoi Krapov. & W.C. Greg.)4× was obtained and subsequently crossed with and experimental line of A. hypogaea for the development of a recombinant inbred line (RIL) population (89 lines). The RIL population showed a high phenotypic variability for resistance to peanut smut. The amphidiploid and 22 RILs were highly resistant, illustrating the effective transmission of resistance to peanut smut from the wild diploids into A. hypogaea. The development of RILs with resistance derived from wild species is a significant step towards the development of new peanut cultivars with different sources of resistance to peanut smut. Fil: de Blas, Francisco Javier. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; Argentina Fil: Bressano, Marina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba; Argentina Fil: Teich, Ingrid. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro de Investigaciones Agropecuarias. Instituto de Fisiología y Recursos Genéticos Vegetales; Argentina Fil: Balzarini, Monica Graciela. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba; Argentina Fil: Arias, Renee S.. United States Department of Agriculture; Estados Unidos Fil: Manifesto, María. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro de Investigación de Recursos Naturales. Instituto de Recursos Biológicos; Argentina Fil: Costero, Beatriz. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba; Argentina Fil: Oddino, Claudio Marcelo. Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto; Argentina Fil: Soave, Sara Josefina. Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto; Argentina Fil: Soave, Juan A.. Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto; Argentina Fil: Buteler, Mario I.. Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto; Argentina Fil: Massa, Alicia N.. No especifíca; Fil: Seijo, José Guillermo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Nordeste. Instituto de Botánica del Nordeste. Universidad Nacional del Nordeste. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias. Instituto de Botánica del Nordeste; Argentina

Smut disease caused by the fungal pathogen Thecaphora frezii Carranza & Lindquist is threatening the peanut production in Argentina. Fungicides commonly used in the peanut crop have shown little or no effect controlling the disease, making it a priority to obtain peanut varieties resistant to smut. In this study, recombinant inbred lines (RILs) were developed from three crosses between three susceptible peanut elite cultivars (Arachis hypogaea L. subsp. hypogaea) and two resistant landraces (Arachis hypogaea L. subsp. fastigiata Waldron). Parents and RILs were evaluated under high inoculum pressure (12000 teliospores g -1 of soil) over three years. Disease resistance parameters showed a broad range of variation with incidence mean values ranging from 1.0 to 35.0% and disease severity index ranging from 0.01 to 0.30. Average heritability (h 2 ) estimates of 0.61 to 0.73 indicated that resistance in the RILs was heritable, with several lines (4 to 7 from each cross) showing a high degree of resistance and stability over three years. Evidence of genetic transfer between genetically distinguishable germplasm (introgression in a broad sense) was further supported by simple-sequence repeats (SSRs) and Insertion/Deletion (InDel) marker genotyping. This is the first report of smut genetic resistance identified in peanut landraces and its introgression into elite peanut cultivars. This is an open access article, free of all copyright, and may be freely reproduced, distributed, transmitted, modified, built upon, or otherwise used by anyone for any lawful purpose. The work is made available under the Creative Commons CC0 public domain dedication. Fil: Bressano, Marina. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro de Investigación en Ciencias Veterinarias y Agronómicas. Instituto de Fitopatología y Fisiología Vegetal; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba; Argentina Fil: Massarini, Alicia. Usda Ars National Peanut Research Laboratory; Estados Unidos. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ingeniería. Postgrado-Maestría en Política y Gestión de la Ciencia y Tecnología; Argentina Fil: Arias, Renee S.. Usda Ars National Peanut Research Laboratory; Estados Unidos Fil: de Blas, Francisco Javier. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; Argentina Fil: Oddino, Claudio Marcelo. Criadero El Carmen; Argentina Fil: Faustinelli, Paola Carmen. Usda Ars National Peanut Research Laboratory; Estados Unidos Fil: Soave, Sara Josefina. Criadero El Carmen; Argentina Fil: Soave, Juan H.. Criadero El Carmen; Argentina Fil: Pérez, Maria A.. Universidad Católica de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias; Argentina Fil: Sobolev, Victor S.. Usda Ars National Peanut Research Laboratory; Estados Unidos Fil: Lamb, Marshall C.. Usda Ars National Peanut Research Laboratory; Estados Unidos Fil: Balzarini, Monica Graciela. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba; Argentina. Instituto Nacional de Tecnologia Agropecuaria. Centro de Investigaciones Agropecuarias. Unidad de Fitopatologia y Modelizacion Agricola. - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas. Centro Cientifico Tecnologico Conicet - Cordoba. Unidad de Fitopatologia y Modelizacion Agricola.; Argentina Fil: Buteler, Mario I.. Criadero El Carmen; Argentina Fil: Seijo, José Guillermo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Nordeste. Instituto de Botánica del Nordeste. Universidad Nacional del Nordeste. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias. Instituto de Botánica del Nordeste; Argentina

Purpose: To locate transient chromosome aberrations on a selected pepper cultivar and determine the tracing efficiency of different cytogenetic methods. Materials and methods: Seeds from Capsicum baccatum var. pendulum cultivar ‘Cayenne’ were treated with an acute dose of X-rays (300 Gy) and chromosome aberrations were analysed by different cytogenetic methods [Feulgen, silver staining for nucleolus organizer regions (silver positive nucleolus organizing regions or AgNOR), fluorescent banding, fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and meiotic analysis]. Results: A rearranged chromosome carrying two nucleolus organizing regions (NOR) induced by ionizing radiation was detected in the cultivar, with the occurrence of a small reciprocal exchange between a chromosome of pair no. 1 and another chromosome of pair no. 3, both carrying active NOR in short arms and associated chromomycin A positive/diamidino-phenylindole negative (CMA+/DAPI−) heterochromatin. Meiotic analysis showed a quadrivalent configuration, confirming a reciprocal translocation between two chromosomes. Conclusions: The use of X-rays in Capsicum allowed us to develop and identify a pepper line with structural rearrangements between two NOR-carrying chromosomes. We postulate that all the cytological techniques employed in this research were efficient in the search for chromosome aberrations. Particularly, Feulgen and AgNOR were the most suitable in those cases of transient rearrangements, whereas fluorescent banding and FISH were appropriate for intransitive ones. Fil: Scaldaferro, Marisel Analía. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Córdoba. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal (p); Argentina Fil: Grabiele, Mauro. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Córdoba. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal (p); Argentina Fil: Seijo, Jose Guillermo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Nordeste. Instituto de Botánica del Nordeste (i); Argentina Fil: Debat, Humberto Julio. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Agropecuarias. Centro de Investigaciones de Ciencias Veterinarias y Agronómicas. Instituto de Fitopatologia y Fisiologia Vegetal; Argentina Fil: Romero, María Victoria. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Córdoba. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal (p); Argentina Fil: Ducasse, Daniel Adrián. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Agropecuarias. Centro de Investigaciones de Ciencias Veterinarias y Agronómicas. Instituto de Fitopatologia y Fisiologia Vegetal; Argentina Fil: Prina, Alberto Raul. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Agropecuarias. Centro de Investigación de Ciencias Veterinarias y Agronómicas. Instituto de Genética; Argentina Fil: Moscone, Eduardo Alberto. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Córdoba. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal (p); Argentina

Fil: Roggero Luque, Juan Manuel. Universidad Nacional del Nordeste. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales y Agrimensura; Argentina. Fil: Roggero Luque, Juan Manuel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Botánica del Nordeste; Argentina. Fil: Moreno, Ercilia María Sara. Universidad Nacional del Nordeste. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales y Agrimensura; Argentina. Fil: Moreno, Ercilia María Sara. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Botánica del Nordeste; Argentina. Fil: Kovalsky, Ivana Evelín. Universidad Nacional del Nordeste. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales y Agrimensura; Argentina. Fil: Kovalsky, Ivana Evelín. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Botánica del Nordeste; Argentina. Fil: Seijo, José Guillermo. Universidad Nacional del Nordeste. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias; Argentina. Fil: Seijo, José Guillermo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Botánica del Nordeste; Argentina. Fil: Solís Neffa, Viviana Griselda. Universidad Nacional del Nordeste. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales y Agrimensura; Argentina. Fil: Solís Neffa, Viviana Griselda. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Botánica del Nordeste; Argentina. Turnera sidoides is an autopolyploid complex of obligate outcrossing perennial herbs. It includes five subspecies and five morphotypes in which diploid to octoploid cytotypes were found. Based on phenetic analyses of the complex and karyotype data of polyploid cytotypes, it has been hypothesized that morphological and chromosome differentiation of T. sidoides occurred at the diploid level. To test this hypothesis, we present the first detailed chromosome analysis of diploid populations of three subspecies and four morphotypes. CMA+/DAPI− bands were restricted to secondary constrictions (except in the andino morphotype) and varied in number and position among taxa. By contrast, DAPI staining was uniform in all the materials investigated. The number and position of 45S rDNA loci were coincident with the CMA+/DAPI− bands associated with secondary constrictions. Only one pair of 5S rDNA loci was detected in all the taxa (except in subsp. holosericea), but its position was variable. The identified chromosome markers varied among the three subspecies analyzed, but they were more conserved among the morphotypes of subsp. pinnatifida. Cluster analysis of these chromosome markers supports the current taxonomic arrangement of diploids and demonstrates that structural chromosome changes would have led or accompanied the initial differentiation of T. sidoides at the diploid level. Le Turnera sidoides représente un complexe d’espèces autopolyploïdes comprenant des plantes pérennes a` allofécondation stricte. Cette espèce compte cinq sous-espèces et cinq types morphologiques au sein desquels des cytotypes diploïdes et octoploïdes ont été rencontrés. Sur la base d’analyses phénétiques au sein de ce complexe et de données caryotypiques chez les cytotypes polyploïdes, il a été proposé que la différenciation morphologique et caryo typique chez le T. sidoides serait survenue a` l’état diploïde. Pour tester cette hypothèse, les auteurs présentent la première analyse chromosomique détaillée de populations diploïdes au sein de trois sous-espèces et de quatre types morphologiques. Les marquages CMA+/DAPI− étaient limités aux constrictions secondaires (sauf au sein du type mor phologique andino) et tant le nombre que la position des bandes étaient variables entre les taxons. Au contraire, le marquage au DAPI était uniforme chez tous les échantillons examinés. Le nombre et la position des locus d’ADNr 45S coïncidaient avec les bandes CMA+/DAPI− associées aux constrictions secondaires. Seule une paire de locus d’ADNr 5S a été détectée chez tous les taxons (sauf chez la sous-espèce holoserica), mais sa position était variable. Les marqueurs permettant l’identification des chromosomes variaient entre les trois sous-espèces étudiées, mais ils étaient davantage conservés au sein des types morphologiques de la sous-espèce pinnatifida. Une analyse de groupement de ces marqueurs chromosomiques amontré que des changements structuraux au sein des chromosomes auraientmené ou accompagné la différenciation initiale au sein du T. sidoides a` l’état diploïde. [Traduit par la Rédaction]

The 5S and the 18S-25S rRNA genes were physically mapped by fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) in all botanical varieties of cultivated peanut Arachis hypogaea (2n = 4x = 40), in the wild tetraploid A. monticola, and in seven wild diploid species considered as putative ancestors of the tetraploids. A detailed karyotype analysis including the FISH signals and the heterochromatic bands was carried out. Molecular cytogenetic landmarks are provided for the construction of a FISH-based karyotype in Arachis species. The size, number, and chromosome position of FISH signals and heterochromatic bands are similar in all A. hypogaea varieties and A. monticola, but vary among the diploid species. Genome constitution of the species is discussed and several chromosome homeologies are established. The bulk of the chromosome markers mapped, together with data on geographical distribution of the taxa, suggest that peanut originated upon domestication of A. monticola and evidence that the diploids A. duranensis and A. ipaensis are the most probable ancestors of both tetraploid species. Allopolyploidy could have arisen by a single event or, if by multiple events, always from the same diploid species. Fil: Seijo, José Guillermo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; Argentina Fil: Lavia, Graciela Inés. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Nordeste. Instituto de Botánica del Nordeste. Universidad Nacional del Nordeste. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias. Instituto de Botánica del Nordeste; Argentina Fil: Fernandez, Aveliano. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Nordeste. Instituto de Botánica del Nordeste. Universidad Nacional del Nordeste. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias. Instituto de Botánica del Nordeste; Argentina Fil: Krapovickas, Antonio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Nordeste. Instituto de Botánica del Nordeste. Universidad Nacional del Nordeste. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias. Instituto de Botánica del Nordeste; Argentina Fil: Ducasse, Daniel Adrián. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro de Investigaciones Agropecuarias. Instituto de Patología Vegetal; Argentina Fil: Moscone, Eduardo Alberto. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; Argentina

The mechanism of polyad formation in Mimosa bimucronata (DC.) Kuntze is described and its significance in the reproductive biology is discussed. In this species c. 500 complexes of two coupled pollen mother cells (PMCs) per pollen sac are formed after the last mitotic division of the sporogenous tissue. All the pollen grains of each complex remain attached and form a bitetrad. This mechanism leads to the formation of many polyads per pollen sac. On this basis, we propose that in Mimosa the number of pollen grains per polyad (eight or 16) is determined by the number of cells that remain attached after the last mitotic divisions of the sporogenous tissue. Concerning the biological significance of the polyads in M. bimucronata, we find that the number of pollen grains per polyad is correlated with the number of ovules per ovary, and that the internal dimensions of the pit-shaped stigma are sufficient just for one polyad to be localized in it. Based on the number of polyads per flower this species has a high pollen/ovule ratio characteristic of xenogamous plants, in opposition to that expected for plants with composite pollen dispersal units. In contrast, it has low pollination efficiency, low fruit set, a 1/1 relationship between the pollen grains of a polyad and the number of ovules per ovary, and high seed set per fruit. These facts support the hypothesis that the occurrence of polyads in M. bimucronata would be an adaptation helping to ensure high seed set following a single cross pollination event. © 2004 The Linnean Society of London, Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 2004, 144, 343–349.

The karyotypes of 10 species and one variety of South American Lathyrus were determined and compared with those obtained of five entities from the Northern Hemisphere. Although all the species have a chromosome number of 2n = 14, they could be differentiated by their karyotype formula and quantitative parameters of the karyotypes. Phenetic distance and principal component analysis showed that in spite of the differences observed among entities, they can be grouped in clusters that coincide with the taxonomic sections established by F. K. Kupicha and with the life cycle of the species. South American species form a homogeneous group and can be distinguished by the presence of a subtelocentric pair, which has a macrosatellite in the long arm, and the lack of a short metacentric pair characteristic of most species of the Northern Hemisphere. From an evolutionary point of view, variation in total chromosome length without major changes in the karyotype formula suggests that changes in the amounts of genomic DNA are proportional to the relative length of each chromosome arm and that species of Notolathyrus evolved in a concerted fashion. Variation in genome size, however, is congruent with morphological variation of some reproductive organs as well as with the life cycle and minimum generation time, as predicted by the nucleotype hypothesis.

This study constitutes the first investigation of cyanogenesis variation within the Turnera sidoides autopolyploid complex. The qualitative and quantitative analysis carried out in 38 populations showed that the five subspecies of the complex are cyanogenic, although the levels of cyanide released varied both between and within subspecies. Between the subspecies, carnea, holosericea and integrifolia showed higher values of HCN released than subspecies pinnatifida and sidoides. Within subspecies, there is a tendency toward an increment of mean cyanide values with ploidy levels and different hypotheses are considered in order to explain this variation. The study of cyanogenesis in populations from different geographical areas cultivated under uniform greenhouse conditions showed that, in the widespread subspecies pinnatifida, HCN variation may also reflect the action of different selection pressures, since populations having dissimilar cyanide levels grow in different phytogeographical provinces with different climatic regimes. On the other hand, the fact that the variation of HCN released was greater between populations from different geographical areas than that observed between diploid and tetraploid populations of the same area provides additional evidence for the multiple origins of polyploids of the T. sidoides complex. © 2003 The Linnean Society of London, Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 2003, 141, 85–94.

En el marco de los estudios evolutivos que se desarrollan en el complejo autopoliploide Turnera sidoides (x= 7) se realizó un muestreo sistemático en el noroeste de su área de distribución. Se hallaron 6 poblaciones con flores de color salmón y 35 con flores amarillas de la subsp. pinnatifida. La distribución de estas poblaciones está asociada con variables climáticas y espaciales. Las poblaciones que presentan flores de color salmón viven en los bosques semiáridos (Provincia Biogeográfica del Chaco Boreal) y las de flores amarillas en los valles interandinos (Provincia Biogeográfica Boliviano-Tucumana). Todas las poblaciones analizadas son diploides. Los resultados obtenidos sustentan el modelo de diversificación alopátrica de las poblaciones con diferente color de flores a nivel diploide, probablemente favorecido por el sistema de barreras orográficas y los cambios climáticos surgidos a partir del levantamiento de los Andes y de las glaciaciones del Cuaternario. Además, el análisis evidencia que el noroeste del área de T. sidoides constituye un importante centro de variación de la subsp. pinnatifida y es el mayor centro de diploides hasta ahora detectado