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Vasconcellea pubescens A. DC., commonly referred to as mountain papaya, belongs to the Caricaceae family and is native to the Andean highlands. In Indonesia, mountain papaya can be found on the Dieng Plateau and has become one of the typical processed products from the Dieng area. The aim of the study is to explore the diversity and phenetic relationship of mountain papaya from the Dieng Plateau based on morphological markers. This study is important to provide information in guiding future conservation efforts. 18 samples were collected from three areas with different altitudes in the Dieng Plateau. In addition, it proved valuable results by elucidating patterns of variation, enabling the identification of distinct groups. A total of 18 samples were collected from three areas with varying altitudes in the Dieng Plateau. Morphological analysis used 22 characters with The Clustering Analysis Method, Principal Component Analysis (PCA), and Diversity Analysis using Multivariate Statistical Package (MVSP) software version 3.1A. The results of cluster analysis showed that mountain papaya accessions were grouped into two main clusters and five sub-clusters. Cluster grouping based on sex distribution characters, flower stalk length, and inflorescence density; there is no grouping based on geographical location or altitude. The Shannon's Index Value (H') for mountain papaya shows moderate phenetic diversity. This suggests that the mountain papaya community remains stable within its substrate and its environmental parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pemphis acidula is a wild plant in rocky or sandy coastal areas and mangrove ecosystems. Different geographic characteristics may affect plant adaptability and have an impact on the emergence of various genotypes. This study was performed to reveal the phenetic relationship and genetic variation of P. acidula in 3 different areas in Tomini Bay, Gorontalo Province, Indonesia. We took 3 samples from each location and analysed them using 14 morphological characters and molecular approaches based on ISSR markers and ITS gene. The results showed that P. acidula on Olele had bigger sizes in some morphological features compared to the plants in other study areas. The phenetic analysis showed that P. acidula at Biluhu and Dulanga were more closely related, although P. acidula at the 3 locations had 100% similarity. Genetic variation analysis showed the highest genetic similarity based on ISSR markers was found in Dulanga and Biluhu samples (76.8%). Phylogenetic based on ITS gene revealed that Olele samples were in the same clade with P. acidula accession from GenBank (genetic distance 0-0.19%), while Biluhu samples were a sister group (genetic distance 24.97-25.03%) even though their percentage identity corresponds to P. acidula (81.34%). Plant adaptation to different habitat conditions may affect the genetic diversity of P. acidula. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vasconcellea pubescens A. DC., commonly referred to as mountain papaya, belongs to the Caricaceae family and is native to the Andean highlands. In Indonesia, mountain papaya can be found on the Dieng Plateau and has become one of the typical processed products from the Dieng area. The aim of the study is to explore the diversity and phenetic relationship of mountain papaya from the Dieng Plateau based on morphological markers. This study is important to provide information in guiding future conservation efforts. 18 samples were collected from three areas with different altitudes in the Dieng Plateau. In addition, it proved valuable results by elucidating patterns of variation, enabling the identification of distinct groups. A total of 18 samples were collected from three areas with varying altitudes in the Dieng Plateau. Morphological analysis used 22 characters with The Clustering Analysis Method, Principal Component Analysis (PCA), and Diversity Analysis using Multivariate Statistical Package (MVSP) software version 3.1A. The results of cluster analysis showed that mountain papaya accessions were grouped into two main clusters and five sub-clusters. Cluster grouping based on sex distribution characters, flower stalk length, and inflorescence density; there is no grouping based on geographical location or altitude. The Shannon's Index Value (H') for mountain papaya shows moderate phenetic diversity. This suggests that the mountain papaya community remains stable within its substrate and its environmental parameters.

Genus Lonicera has members that have opposite, narrowly elliptic to obovate leaves and yellow-white, red, or purple-red corollas together with capitate stigmas and undulated calyxes. According to Wendelbo (1965) in Flora Iranica, the 19 members of Lonicera are classified into two subgenera, i.e., Lonicera and Chamaecerasus, and three sections, i.e., Isika, Isoxylosteum, and Coeloxylosteum. The four studied species belong to subgenus Chamae­cerasus and sections Isika and Coeloxylosteum. The taxonomy and phylogeny of this genus is highly complicated and controversial. The present study was done by the use of phenetic analyses of morphology together with Bayesian analyses of molecular data (ITS sequences) to illustrate the species relationships, taxonomic classification, and monophyly versus paraphyly of the species in genus Lonicera. We used seven Lonicera species for molecular studies, for which nrDNA-ITS sequences were newly obtained. Successive reweighting with rescaled consistency index was used to conduct the molecular examination, which showed close similarities among the results of maximum likelihood, maximum parsimony, and Bayesian methods based on the ITS dataset were observed. This study showed that in general, it is possible to differentiate the species via morphological features. Phylogenetic relationships within Lonicera were revealed, and ITS-based phylogenetic trees and morphological characters were in agreement.

Tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) is a plant used as a mixture of cigarettes, and recreational media especially for men. This study aimed to identify variations, and determine the relationship between tobacco cultivars in Central Java and Yogyakarta based on macromorphological and micromorphological characters. Sampling locations are determined by surveying locations in both regions. Tobacco samples found include 5 cultivars in Central Java namely 'Mantili', 'Uler Magetan', 'Garut', ‘Gober Boyolali’, 'Manila', and 3 cultivars in Yogyakarta namely 'Siluk', 'Java', and 'Virginia'. Characterization with 23 qualitative macromorphological characters including leaves, and stems, with 9 qualitative and quantitative micromorphological characters including trichome and stomata. Descriptive data analysis is done to obtain the typical character of each cultivar, followed by numerical analysis including scoring characters processed with MVSP (Multi Variate Statistical Package), clustering with UPGMA (Unweighted Pair Group Method with Averages), and calculation of similarity coefficients with Simple matching formula. The results showed variations in the macromorphological characters including the shape of the leaf lamina, the base of the leaf, the absence of leaf stalks, and type of leaf venation. Tobacco has anisositic stomata, and varies in terms of length, width, and density of stomata. Tobacco trichomes are glandular. The result dendrograms form two clusters (A and B) with the similarity index of each cluster above 0.80. Cultivars with close relationships such as 'Siluk'-'Java', and far relationship like 'Java'-'Manila'.

Inferring evolutionary relationships among organisms has been a fundamental problem in evolutionary biology. The current phylogenetic molecular methods serve as the baseline model to test new evolutionary hypotheses with taxonomic purposes. Leishmaniinae trypanosomatids subfamily includes protozoan parasites of clinical importance to humans. They have an intricate taxonomic history defined by morphological elements, host range, and molecular phylogenies. Unraveling the increasing diversity of this group has shown limitations in reconstructing the true evolutionary relationships among Trypanosomatidae species. Toward the goal of inferring evolutionary relationships that help to resolve phylogenetic and taxonomic controversies among parasites of the subfamily Leishmaniinae, Mule et al. propose the method PhyloQuant as a valuable approach, based on differential protein expression obtained from high throughput mass spectrometry data. Employing a pioneering methodological approach, Mule et al. assess the taxonomic problem for species hypothesis within Leishmaniinae, from quantitative phenetic protein expression profiles, in contrast to the standard multilocus phylogenetic approaches., (© 2024 The Author(s). PROTEOMICS published by Wiley‐VCH GmbH.)

Glaucium is mainly distributed from Atlantic Europe to Central Asia. The genus comprises two sections and 23 species: sect. Acropetala Mory with four species, four subspecies and two varieties and sect. Glaucium with 19 species, eight subspecies and 16 varieties. Species identification is fundamentally important within the fields of biology, biogeography, ecology and conservation. There are 10 species including 4 subspecies and 14 varieties of Glaucium in Iran. Taxonomy and phylogeny of the genus is highly complicated and controversial. The present study was done by use of phenetic analyses of morphological characters as well as Bayesian analyses of molecular data (ITS sequences) to illustrate the species relationships, taxonomic classification, monophyly versus paraphyly of the species in the genus Glaucium. We used ten Glaucium species for molecular studies, of which, nrDNA, ITS sequences were newly obtained for 7 species. The molecular analysis, based on successive reweighting by rescaled consistency index, revealed that Maximum parsimony, maximum likelihood and Bayesian methods gave very similar results based on ITS dataset. In general, the present study revealed that the species could be differentiated by morphological characters. PCA and cluster analysis (Ward's method) carried out for morphological traits divided the Glaucium species in to two cluster. Phylogenetic relationships within Glaucium are known and ITSbased phylogenetic trees and morphological characters were in concordance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study was conducted in Kurdistan region of Iraq, the field trips from all geographical districts of the region have been doneuring the years (2016-2018). The species of Valerianaceae family have been collected from the Jabal Sinjar (MJS), Amadiya (MAM), Rowanduz (MRO), Sulaimaniya (MSU), Erbil (FAR), Kirkuk (FKI), Upper Jazeera (FUJ), and Persian Foothills (FPF) districts within the studied area. The various characters of morphological, anatomical, palynological and cytological studies have been analyzed. The achieved data were processed by MVSP windows program, and the different dendrograms are constructed for each cluster attributes to determine the various relationships among the studied species.

Myrtaceae family is widely distributed in Asia has been the largest group of plant; mainly trees and few shrubs. Distributed all over the world in tropical and subtropical areas. Syzygium is the largest genus with economical value found all over the Malaysian Peninsular. Evolutionary relationships within the Syzygium is unclear and there are currently no reliable criteria to divide the genus into manageable entities for systematic study. Species of Syzygium is the richest genus of woody plants in South East Asia with approximately 1000 or more species but little is known about the genus. Syzygium polyanthum Wight is one of the favourites Ulam that have been consumed for ages in Peninsular Malaysia and also as herbal medicine. The species is widely misunderstood due to extreme morphological variability, similarity in aroma and flavor. The species is substituted or adulterated with several other species. The study was aimed to construct phenetic tree and unsupervised multivariate analysis from morphological and anatomical the data matrix. Phenetic analysis, Principal component and hierarchical cluster analysis revealed they are two different cultivars species but inter variation exited among cultivars of same species. The above documented information has added new taxonomic information with regard to the identification of the cultivars in Peninsular Malaysia. The study recommends further study on de novo sequence of Serai kayu and Serai kayu hutan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Taro (Colocasia spp.) is an aroid plant which has long been cultivated in Kalimantan. This plant is considered as one of the oldest forms of cultivated plants in the region. Information about its morphological variability is needed to develop taro breeding population as future alternative crop. The aim of this research was to determine the morphological characters variability of taro in Kalimantan, Indonesia based on phenetic analysis approach. Leaf, petiole, stolon and corm samples were collected in all Indonesian provinces of Kalimantan. Similarity index was measured using the gower general similarity coefficient and cluster analysis was carried using the unweighted pair group method using arithmetic average (UPGMA). A dendrogram and principal component analysis (PCA) were constructed using Multivariate Statistical Program v.3.1 software. Around 123 accessions had been collected and evaluated using 39 morphological traits. Taro in Kalimantan consists of C. esculenta, C. affinis, Colocasia sp and Colocasia wild type. C. esculenta is the most widely used as staple food by local residents in Kalimantan. It has two botanical varieties. Fifty two from all the accessions are local cultivars that developed from C. esculenta varieties. Cluster analysis revealed Coefficient Similarity of taro ranging from 0.615 to 0.974, and divided into two major clusters. The first cluster has Colocasia sp as its single subgroup, while the second cluster has six subgroups including C. esculenta, C. affinis and Colocasia wild type. In Kalimantan, taro leaf especially petiole colour has significant influent in taro grouping. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Africa is the birthplace of the species Homo sapiens , and Africans today are genetically more diverse than other populations of the world. However, the processes that underpinned the evolution of African populations remain largely obscure. Only a handful of late Pleistocene African fossils (∼50-12 Ka) are known, while the more numerous sites with human fossils of early Holocene age are patchily distributed. In particular, late Pleistocene and early Holocene human diversity in Eastern Africa remains little studied, precluding any analysis of the potential factors that shaped human diversity in the region, and more broadly throughout the continent. These periods include the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), a moment of extreme aridity in Africa that caused the fragmentation of population ranges and localised extinctions, as well as the ‘African Humid Period’, a moment of abrupt climate change and enhanced connectivity throughout Africa. East Africa, with its range of environments, may have acted as a refugium during the LGM, and may have played a critical biogeographic role during the heterogene`ous environmental recovery that followed. This environmental context raises a number of questions about the relationships among early Holocene African populations, and about the role played by East Africa in shaping late hunter-gatherer biological diversity. Here, we describe eight mandibles from Nataruk, an early Holocene site (∼10 Ka) in West Turkana, offering the opportunity of exploring population diversity in Africa at the height of the ‘African Humid Period’. We use 3D geometric morphometric techniques to analyze the phenotypic variation of a large mandibular sample. Our results show that (i) the Nataruk mandibles are most similar to other African hunter-fisher-gatherer populations, especially to the fossils from Lothagam, another West Turkana locality, and to other early Holocene fossils from the Central Rift Valley (Kenya); and (ii) a phylogenetic connection may have existed between these Eastern African populations and some Nile Valley and Maghrebian groups, who lived at a time when a Green Sahara may have allowed substantial contact, and potential gene flow, across a vast expanse of Northern and Eastern Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anthurium Schott is one of the commercial ornamental plants in Indonesia. This genus has a high morphological variation amongst its species. This study aims to determine the similarity relationship amongst Anthurium based on morphological characters including stems, leaves, and inflorescences. This study was carried out from June to July 2012 in several locations in Purwokerto and Baturraden area, and Balai Benih Tanaman Pangan dan Hortikultura (B2TPH) Banyumas Regency. This study used explorative method with purposive random sampling. The results of the analysis using the UPGMA (Unweighted Pair Group Method with Arithmetic Mean) showed that there were 17 taxa which can be classified into 4 groups. Group I consisted of A. andraeanum “Renoir Pink”, A. andraeanum “Safari”, A. andraeanum “White”, A. andraeanum “Tropical”, A. andraeanum “cv. 1”, A. andraeanum “Amigo”, and A. nymphaeifolium. Group II consisted of A. pedatoradiatum ssp. helleborifolium, A. crystallinum, A. andicola “Kuku Bima” and A. andicola “Red List”. Group III consisted of A. crassinervium “Crispimarginatum” and A. plowmanii. Group IV consisted of A. hookeri “Garuda”, A. hookeri “Red Hookeri”, A. bonplandii ssp. guayanum, and A. jenmanii. Group I was the sister group of Group II, as well as Group III to Group IV. The closest similarity relationship was between A. andraeanum “Renoir Pink” and A. andraeanum “Safari”, whereas the farthest one was between A. bonplandii ssp. guayanum and A. andraeanum “Tropical”.

Relationship construction has a very important position in classification process for arranging taxonomy of organism. In the world of taxonomy, there are two the most familiar relationship diagram, cladogram and phenogram. In every construction activity, a researcher is always facing character state data from taxa that becomes components of the diagram. Calculation that is used for construction is often incorporate iterative or repetitive process that needs time and precision. The existence of calculating tools that produces both text and graphical output are hopefully decrease time and error during construction. Basic algorithm that is used in calculation is for phylogenetic construction by Kluge and Farris in 1969,for phenetic construction using cluster analysis with slight modification. Basic common algorithm used in the software is by calculating two dimensional arrays of taxa x characters matrix and creating distance or similarity matrix. In more detail the program creates one dimensional array of taxonomical object and each object has some other one dimensional array containing data commonly exist in a taxonomic unit. The relationship between one object and theother are regulated by an object that created by class representing taxonomic tree. Cladogram is constructed by calculating nearest distance between each taxon (OTU) and creating one HTU in every bifurcation. Phenogram is constructed agglomeratively by searching highest similarity between taxon then grouped into new taxon. Program calculates numerical data after we do character scoring. Final result for each user may be different; this may be due to decision by user during construction process. This paper hopefully attracts people from systematic computation to develop further into open source software and multi-platform feature.

Mediante un análisis de clasificación fenética, se discuten las afinidades en la flora genérica de los piñonares mexicanos. El estudio se sustentó en el registro de 438 géneros de plantas vasculares de 32 piñonares mexicanos caracterizados por distintas especies como Pinus cembroides, P. johannis, P. maximartinezii, P. monophylla, P. quadrifolia, P. nelsonii, P. culminicola y P. lagunae. Se elaboró una matriz de datos presencia/ausencia de los géneros en los 32 piñonares, cada uno de los cuales se consideró como una Unidad Geográfica Operativa. Se estimaron 2 índices de semejanza entre las comunidades piñoneras, y después se agruparon mediante el procedimiento UPGMA; los grupos formados se representaron en un dendrograma. Los piñonares se relacionaron, en general, por cercanía geográfica y por su localización en una misma provincia fisiográfica. Los piñonares de Baja California caracterizados por P. quadrifolia formaron un grupo compacto, lo mismo que aquellos de P. cembroides de Chihuahua y de P. maximartinezii de Zacatecas. En el grupo de San Luis Potosí se conjuntaron comunidades de P. cembroides y de P. johannis; mientras que las propias de P. nelsonii no formaron un grupo coherente; los piñonares del suroeste de Coahuila están muy relacionados, pero tienen diferencias con los de más al norte de este estado. El piñonar de P. culminicola de Nuevo León es el más diferente de las otras comunidades de piñoneros.Using phenetic classification, we analyze the similarity of the generic flora of Mexican pinyon pine forests. Methods included records of 438 genera of vascular plants from 32 communities of pinyon pines such as Pinus cembroides, P. johannis, P. maximartinezii, P. monophylla, P. quadrifolia, P. nelsonii, P. culminicola, and P. lagunae. A matrix of presence/absence of genera in 32 communities was performed, and 2 indices of similarity between communities were estimated; we then applied UPGMA to classify the communities in groups, and finally these groups were represented by a dendrogram. In general, the communities were grouped by geographic area and by pinyon pine species, as well as location in the same physiographic province. It was observed that pinyon pine communities of Baja California with P. quadrifolia formed a close group, as well as the P. cembroides communities of Chihuahua and P. maximartinezii of Zacatecas. One group of San Luis Potosí included P. cembroides and P. johannis. Pinus nelsonii communities did not form a coherent group. Those of southwestern Coahuila were cosely related, but they were different from the pinyon pines in the north of this state. Pinus culminicola communities of Nuevo León were the most different with respect to others.

A numerical phenetic analysis of data obtained from populations of the Olinia rochetiana A.Juss. complex occurring in South Africa (Mpumalanga and Limpopo Provinces) revealed the existence of two forms: 1, a shrubby form (up to 2.5 m tall), with thick terminal branches, coriaceous leaves with a tinge of red on margins (towards the apices),short inflorescence axes, peduncles and deeply red pedicels and floral tubes/hypanthia: and 2, a slender tree form, measuring more than 4 m tall with slender terminal branches, glossy and slightly thin, papery leaves, margin colour the same as the entire lamina, and the inflor­escence axes, peduncles, pedicels and hypanthia pale green to creamy white. Differences in floral features between the twoforms correlate with differences observed in vegetative features. The two forms occupy distinct ecological niches and show tolerances and preferences for different environmental conditions such as soil type,elevation and humidity. An identificationkey for the two forms is presented.

The objectives of this study were to determine whether the fossils discovered in Asia belong to one or several taxa, to identify them and to compare the distances between them to the distances between actual groups and species of anthropoids. For this purpose, we have used new geometric morphometric methods. Twenty three dimensional landmarks were digitized on 110 skulls: 18 fossils from Asia dated between 1,150,000 years and 6,000 BC, 31 modern Homo sapiens, 31 chimpanzees and 30 gorillas. Landmarks were registered by Generalized Procruste Analysis. We used a logical and objective method with three steps. 1) The taxa variabilities were explored by using several distance indices (variance, Euclidean and Manhattan distances). 2) We have chosen not to arbitrarily group fossils in established taxonomic categories: Principal component analysis (PCA) and hierarchical classification methods (UPGMA and NJ) were applied to identify subgroups for each of the four taxa. Finally, Mahalanobis distances between identified groups and subgroups were calculated and compared between each other. The overall variability was larger for the fossil group than for any of the three actual species, although the difference was statistically significant only for the comparison to the modern H. sapiens. Classification and PCA analysis identified two subgroups within the fossil group: one with an H. sapiens affinity and the other with an H. erectus affinity. The Mahalanobis distances were ordered as follows (decreasing order): gorilla/modern H. sapiens, chimpanzee/modern H. sapiens, chimpanzee/gorilla which was very similar to the distance between modern H. sapiens and H. erectus. This last distance was similar to the one between fossil H. sapiens and H. erectus. Distances between modern and fossil H. sapiens and between subgroups of actual species were similar and less than the preceding ones. We finally concluded that the fossils belong to two different taxa. The first (fossil H. sapiens) belongs to the same taxon as modern H. sapiens and the second, H. erectus, is different.

Abstract: Malvales is an order of flowering plants with a controversial circumscription. The relationships between taxa, particularly Malvaceae, Bombacaceae, Sterculiaceae, and Tiliaceae, are not well delineated. Several studies have reported the fatty acid compositions of Malvaceae plants but not for taxonomic purposes. In the present study, the fatty acid composition of oilseeds from seven species belonging to the Malvaceae family was determined by capillary gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS), and the quantitative distribution of fatty acids was analyzed by a cluster analysis with Euclidean Distance and UPGMA. The oil content in the seeds was very low (8.3–11.8%). The profile of fatty acids showed that there were two distinct groups: species rich in palmitic acid (Herissantia tiubae, Sidastrum paniculatum and Sida rhombifolia) and species rich in linoleic acid (other Sida species). The fatty acid profiles found for Sida species are consistent with other reported data. Although our data support a distinction between Sida and Sidastrum, more species should be analyzed to evaluate the real taxonomic value of differences in fatty acid content for distinguishing Malvaceae. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous circumscriptions of Olinia rochetiana A. Juss. ( Oliniaceae) presented a taxonomically variable and widespread species complex in central and tropical East Africa. Results of numerical phenetic analyses of morphological variation within O. rochetiana sensu lato indicate the existence of four taxa which are recognisable at specific rank corresponding to O. huillensis Welw. ex A. & R. Fern., O. ruandensis Gilg, O. rochetiana A. Juss. sensu stricto and O. usambarensis Gilg ex Engl. The analyses also indicate that O. huillensis, hitherto reported to occur only in Angola, occurs widely in southern Africa and shows geographic segregates characterised as O. huillensis Welw. subsp. huillensis, O. huillensis subsp. burttdavii Sebola and O. huillensis subsp. discolor Sebola (Map 2). The major delimiting characters were found to be the shapes of petals and leaves, presence or absence of indumentum and the degree of hairiness on floral parts, and the form of inflorescence units (i.e. being either compact or spreading). Phenetic and ecological concepts of species are applied at the specific and subspecific ranks, respectively. Keys to distinguish between the species and infraspecific taxa are presented, and full descriptions and citations of examined specimens are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the present investigation was to compare similarities and differences in immune response among Echinacea species, which are commonly used to treat upper respiratory infections. The investigation involved two components: acquisition of immunomodulatory data reported here for the first time, and combined phenetic analysis of these data along with previous reports. Experimental data were obtained by stimulating human PBMC in vitro with extracts from Echinacea spp. and assaying production of three cytokines (interleukin-1β [IL-1β], interleukin-2 [IL-2], and tumor necrosis factor-α [TNF-α]). Phenetic analyses were employed to compare responses across the entire data set, including UPGMA (Unweighted Pair Group Method with Arithmetic Mean) and neighbor-joining methods. In the immune experiments conducted for this investigation, E. angustifolia, E. paradoxa, E. purpurea, E. simulata, and E. tennesseensis extracts significantly augmented IL-1β and TNF-α production, whereas no extracts significantly modulated IL-2. All phenetic methods produced similar dendrograms, revealing two species pairs (E. angustifolia + E. simulata and E. pallida + E.sanguinea) where both species cluster tightly and have similar immune-response profiles. These two species-pairs are maximally dissimilar from each other. The remaining species (E. paradoxa, E. purpurea, and E. tennesseensis) occupy intermediate positions in the dendrogram. Our results suggest that Echinacea spp. act heterogeneously on immune function. The utility of these data for science and industry is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Male Badarian crania were analyzed using the generalized distance of Mahalanobis in a comparative analysis with other African and European series from the Howells's database. The study was carried out to examine the affinities of the Badarians to evaluate, in preliminary fashion, a demic diffusion hypothesis that postulates that horticulture and the Afro-Asiatic language family were brought ultimately from southern Europe. (The assumption was made that the southern Europeans would be more similar to the central and northern Europeans than to any indigenous African populations.) The Badarians show a greater affinity to indigenous Africans while not being identical. This suggests that the Badarians were more affiliated with local and an indigenous African population than with Europeans. It is more likely that Near Eastern/southern European domesticated animals and plants were adopted by indigenous Nile Valley people without a major immigration of non-Africans. There was more of cultural transfer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Velvetbean (Mucuna sp.) is a self-pollinated crop classified within the Leguminosae. Using AFLP markers, gene diversity and phenetic relationships were estimated in a collection of 40 velvetbean accessions from cultivated species and different eco-geographic regions. Eleven selective primer combinations generated a total of 508 amplification products. The average number of scorable fragments was 23 per primer combination. A total of 251 polymorphic markers was detected. The polymorphisms obtained ranged from 36% to 61% with an average of 49%. The final phenetic trees were constructed using Nei and Li’s coefficient of similarity with UPGMA. Other clustering algorithms were examined and all had high co-phenetic correlations, indicating the goodness of fit for the resulting phylogenetic trees. The phenetic tree as well as principal component analysis (PCA) separated the 40 velvetbean accessions into two main clusters. Bootstrap and Jackknife analyses were completed and their values indicated strong to moderate support for the two main clusters. This grouping confirmed the existing phenological difference with regard to maturity. The high values of the similarity coefficients observed (0.87 to 0.97) imply that the accessions used in this study are similar. The level of genetic variability detected within the velvetbean accessions with AFLP analysis suggests that it is a reliable, efficient, and effective marker technology for determining genetic relationships in velvetbean. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By virtue of their low vagility, flightless insects are useful indicators of biogeographical history. Relationships of the flightless dung beetle genus, Gyronotus, are of particular interest due to its Gondwanaland ancestry, distinctive relict distribution along the south-eastern seaboard of Africa, and its restriction to forests which are seriously threatened by exploitation. Because of the limited number of diagnostic morphological characters, it was necessary to code morphometric data in order to conduct distance and cladistic parsimony analysis of interspecific relationships in Gyronotus. There was a good correlation between relationships indicated by the dendrograms/cladograms and those determined by an examination of aedeagus character states both of which indicate a disjunction between south and east African species and a broad separation between northern and southern South African species. Comparison of the bilaterally asymmetrical aedeagi of Gyronotus with the symmetrical aedeagi of the sister genus, Anachalcos Hope, suggests geographical polarization of character states from greater plesiomorphy in east African Gyronotus to greater apomorphy in South African species, particularly in the southernmost element in which the aedeagus shows extreme asymmetry. Furthermore, body shape follows a similar geographical gradient in that the three Gyronotus species of tropical east Africa are significantly more elongate than the three ovoid, lowland/afromontane species of South Africa. An examination of historical factors suggests that this spatially-restricted distribution is the relict of a very old tropical lowland pattern. In extant taxa, the phylogenetic polarization is towards one of five main centres of afrotropical forest biodiversity in the geologically old Eastern Arc and the adjoining lowland forest (Swahili centre of endemism). Survivors from old lineages may be one reason for such centres of high biodiversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phenetic investigations were undertaken to evaluate differences between the cloud forest endemic Viola domingensis of the Dominican Republic and the morphologically similar V. macloskeyi of continental North America. Cluster, principal components (PCA), and canonical variates analyses (CVA) of leaf characters and of ratios derived from them consistently separate V. macloskeyi subsp. macloskeyi of the Pacific states from V. domingensis and transcontinental V. macloskeyi subsp. pallens. However, all analyses portray the latter two as extensively intergradient extremes of a continuum, with V. domingensis plants tending to be smaller. Phenetic analyses of capsule and seed features, which are often divergent among other species of subsect. Stolonosae, show V. domingensis to be nested within a broader V. macloskeyi subsp. pallens. Similarly, floral morphology does not provide observable differences between the pair. Results support the synonymy of V. domingensis under V. macloskeyi subsp. pallens and reveal that it represents a disjunct outlier of an otherwise continental North American violet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chloroplast DNA (cpDNA) restriction site analysis of nine species of Daucus (covering four of five sections) and nine carrot accessions was done using 14 Petunia cpDNA clones as probes and 10 restriction enzymes. Cladistic analysis yielded a phylogeny generally concordant with a recent morphological classification. A cpDNA insertion-deletion mutation was found in the cultivated carrots (probe P10– Bgl II digest). Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) restriction site analysis of the same material using four maize mtDNA clones as probes and 10 enzymes exhibited extensive mitochondrial diversity in Daucus, both within and between sections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]