Article
Plant Sciences
Wei Zhang, Ying Feng Hu, Xiao He, Wei Zhou, Jian Wen Shao
Summary: This study compared the variation in floral traits of central and peripheral populations of the distylous Primula wannanensis, finding that late-opening flowers had significantly reduced flower size and weakened sex-organ reciprocity. Despite the reduced herkogamy, seed set remained high under pollinator-excluded conditions, supporting the hypothesis of delayed autonomous selfing evolution in marginal populations of distylous species.
FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Plant Sciences
Patricia Lu-Irving, Jason G. Bragg, Maurizio Rossetto, Kit King, Mitchell O'Brien, Marlien M. van der Merwe
Summary: Plant mating systems have an impact on the distribution of genetic diversity and the long-term success of populations. In this study, the relationship between genetic diversity and mating systems in two species of Hakea was investigated. The results showed contrasting patterns of genetic diversity between the two species, consistent with their differences in mating systems. The findings suggest that seed collection schemes aiming to maximize genetic diversity should consider the specific mating system of the target species.
Article
Ecology
Stefan Abrahamczyk, Maximilian Weigend, Katrin Becker, Lea Sophie Dannenberg, Judith Eberz, Nayara Atella-Hoedtke, Bastian Steudel
Summary: Many hummingbird-pollinated plant species have evolved independently from bee-pollinated ancestors in different habitats in North and South America. Hummingbird-pollinated species have higher seed set and germination rates in cross-pollinated flowers compared to self-pollinated ones. Hummingbird pollination is more resource efficient in self-incompatible populations.
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2022)
Article
Plant Sciences
Rachel B. Spigler, Rossana Maguina
Summary: The study reveals that changes in stigma morphology and receptivity, timing of autonomous self-pollen deposition, and floral senescence interact to influence the relative benefit of autonomous selfing across floral lifespan. This has implications for the maintenance of mixed mating in S. angularis.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BOTANY
(2022)
Article
Plant Sciences
Koki R. Katsuhara, Yuuya Tachiki, Ryosuke Iritani, Atushi Ushimaru
Summary: The evolution of prior selfing was found to promote coexistence in the context of mutual reproductive interference, as demonstrated in an individual-based model study. The purging of deleterious mutations leading to an evolutionary rescue was observed, with the decline in inbreeding depression as the population selfing rate increased. The study suggests that lower pollinator availability may drive evolutionary shifts to higher selfing rates, neutralizing the negative effects of reproductive interference and allowing for long-term coexistence under moderate pollinator availability.
JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Plant Sciences
Ruth Delgado-Davila, Silvana Marten-Rodriguez
Summary: The study found that self-pollination provided significant reproductive assurance in Ipomoea hederacea populations, with consistent contributions but varying effects across years. Inbreeding depression was not significant in the early stages of progeny development, but had a small negative impact on germination and adult progeny mass. This suggests that reproductive assurance with limited inbreeding depression may play an important role in driving the evolution of self-pollination in the genus Ipomoea.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BOTANY
(2021)
Article
Plant Sciences
Bi-Xian Wu, Li-Na Ma, Nan Xia, Hao Wang, Guo-Xing Cao
Summary: This study aims to determine if monoecious plants can effectively avoid self-interference and promote the evolution of monoecy under the service of pollinators. The results show that pollinator-mediated self-interference significantly reduces selfing, providing potential dynamics for the maintenance and evolution of monoecy.
FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Vania Jimenez-Lobato, Juan Nunez-Farfan
Summary: This study investigated the genetic and phenotypic differences between two populations of the annual insect-pollinated plant Datura inoxia in Mexico. The results showed significant variations in outcrossing and selfing rates between the two populations, with Mapimi population favoring outcrossing and Canada Moreno population favoring selfing. Additionally, the study found a relationship between inbreeding depression and primary selfing rate in the Canada Moreno population.
Article
Plant Sciences
Austin M. M. Lynn, Lauren L. L. Sullivan, Candace Galen
Summary: The mentor effect, where compatible heterospecific pollen transfer induces self-pollen germination in self-incompatible plants, has been found to be rare in natural populations of Taraxacum ceratophorum due to the prevalence of inbreeding depression, outcrossing, and ovule usurpation by heterospecific pollen.
Article
Plant Sciences
M. L. Buide, J. C. Del Valle, A. Prado-Comesana, E. Narbona
Summary: This study found that S. littorea is mainly pollinated by bees and butterflies, with pollinators showing a preference for visiting pink flowers. White flowers exhibited pollinator limitation in fruit set and higher levels of florivory. Both flower colour morphs can reproduce in the absence of pollinators through autonomous selfing, but white flowers mainly produce fruits through autogamy.
Article
Fisheries
J. Barros, F. M. Winkler, L. A. Velasco
Summary: Inbreeding can cause bias in estimating quantitative genetic parameters, affecting the selection response in species with both hermaphroditism and self-fertilization. This study assessed the biases caused by self-fertilization on heritability estimates for productive traits in the tropical hermaphrodite pectinid Argopecten nucleus. The study found that self-fertilization resulted in inbreeding depression and an overestimation of h2 for productive traits, but did not affect estimates of genetic correlations or genotype-environment interactions.
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Motohide Nishio, Keiichi Inoue, Shinichiro Ogawa, Kasumi Ichinoseki, Aisaku Arakawa, Yo Fukuzawa, Toshihiro Okamura, Eiji Kobayashi, Masaaki Taniguchi, Mika Oe, Kazuo Ishii
Summary: The use of genomic data allows for more accurate assessment of inbreeding level and depression. Genome-based inbreeding coefficients show stronger correlations with pedigree-based inbreeding coefficients, particularly those based on runs of homozygosity (ROH) segments and heterozygosity by descent segments (HBD). Genome-based inbreeding coefficients have more significant effects on reproductive traits compared to pedigree-based inbreeding coefficients.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Oscar J. Rocha, Elizabeth Braker
Summary: OTS has been instrumental in advancing our understanding of tropical ecosystems, particularly in the areas of plant reproductive ecology and genetics. Their research has inspired other tropical biologists and highlighted the importance of studying critical topics in tropical systems to slow down biodiversity loss and prevent the spread of zoonotic diseases.
BIOLOGICAL CONSERVATION
(2021)
Article
Plant Sciences
Tobias M. Sandner, Birgit Gemeinholzer, Julia Lemmer, Diethart Matthies, Andreas Ensslin
Summary: This study investigated the molecular genetic variation of Digitalis lutea in a botanic garden population cultivated for 30 years, a frozen seed bank, and two wild populations. The results showed that high levels of inbreeding during ex situ cultivation can influence reproductive traits and interactions with pollinators.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BOTANY
(2022)
Article
Forestry
Son Le, Rod A. Griffin, Christopher E. Harwood, Rene E. Vaillancourt, Jane L. Harbard, Aina Price, Chi Quynh Nghiem, Anthony Koutoulis, Kien Duc Nguyen
Summary: The study found that compared to their corresponding diploid cytotypes, allotetraploid clones of hybrid acacia flowered slightly later but more intensely, produced larger seeds per pod, and showed reduced levels of outcrossing. Inbreeding depression was lower in progeny from allotetraploid lines, and the segregation of molecular markers in outcrossed allotetraploid progenies indicated disomic and tetrasomic inheritance. These findings suggest that an open pollinated breeding strategy is a practical option for improving polyploid acacia hybrids.
Article
Computer Science, Software Engineering
A. Loddo, C. Di Ruberto, A. M. P. G. Vale, M. Ucchesu, J. M. Soares, G. Bacchetta
Summary: Image analysis is crucial for studying various topics in life sciences. This study presents software that performs image analysis for seed feature extraction and classification, demonstrating outstanding performance on seed datasets.
Article
Biology
Paola De Giorgi, Antonio Giaco, Giovanni Astuti, Luigi Minuto, Lucia Varaldo, Daniele De Luca, Alessandro De Rosa, Gianluigi Bacchetta, Marco Sarigu, Lorenzo Peruzzi
Summary: This study investigated the taxonomy of plant species Santolina, commonly known as lavender-cotton. It found that two putative species from Corsica and Sardinia are actually very similar and should be reclassified as a single species. The study highlights the importance of integrating different sources of information for reliable taxonomic hypotheses and contributes to our understanding of plant evolution in the Mediterranean Basin.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Maria Silvia Pinna, Donatella Cogoni, Gianluigi Bacchetta, Giuseppe Fenu
Summary: This study assessed the environmental status and vulnerability of coastal dune systems in Sardinia and proposed a potential index for dune restoration. The results indicated that urbanization and changes in plant communities were the main factors contributing to the reduction of dune systems. The study also identified the need for conservation and management actions in certain sites based on the index.
JOURNAL OF COASTAL CONSERVATION
(2022)
Article
Plant Sciences
Mauro Fois, Emmanuele Farris, Giacomo Calvia, Giuliano Campus, Giuseppe Fenu, Marco Porceddu, Gianluigi Bacchetta
Summary: This study provides an updated checklist of vascular plants endemic to Sardinia, including their life forms, distribution, and conservation status. The results show that there are 341 endemic taxa in Sardinia, with 195 taxa exclusive to the island. Most of the endemics are classified as 'Critically Endangered', 'Endangered', or 'Least Concern' by IUCN. This research serves as a valuable resource for future scientific studies and policy-making.
Article
Plant Sciences
Jose Javier Martin-Gomez, Marco Porceddu, Gianluigi Bacchetta, Emilio Cervantes
Summary: Describing and quantifying seed shape using geometric models allows for accurate comparison between different species or populations. In this study, geometric models were applied to the shape quantification of Silene species seeds, resulting in the identification of distinct groups based on geographic origin. This method provides a promising technique for investigating relationships between related species and advancing taxonomy.
Article
Plant Sciences
Pegah Kharazian, Gianluigi Bacchetta, Giovanna Cappai, Martina Piredda, Giovanni De Giudici
Summary: This study investigated the adaptation of Pinus halepensis to heavy metal pollution in Campo Pisano, southwestern Italy. The results showed that P. halepensis can grow in contaminated soils, but its roots have a high metal accumulation capacity and can restrict metal translocation to the aboveground parts.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Pegah Kharazian, Emilia Fernandez-Ondono, Maria Noelia Jimenez, Manuel Sierra Aragon, Antonio Aguirre-Arcos, Gianluigi Bacchetta, Giovanna Cappai, Giovanni De Giudici
Summary: This study evaluated the geochemical fractions and bioavailability of zinc, lead, and cadmium in the soil around the roots of Pinus halepensis grown on heavily contaminated mine tailings in south-western Sardinia, Italy. The results showed that there were lower levels of exchangeable lead and zinc in the soil surrounding the roots of P. halepensis.
Article
Environmental Studies
Saverio Sciandrello, Claudia Angiolini, Gianluigi Bacchetta, Maurizio Cutini, Jeremy Dumoulin, Mauro Fois, Antonio Gabellini, Matilde Gennai, Lorenzo Gianguzzi, Marco Landi, Pietro Minissale, Christophe Panaiotis, Marta Puglisi, Giovanni Spampinato, Gianmarco Tavilla, Valeria Tomaselli, Daniele Viciani, Gianpietro Giusso del Galdo
Summary: This study presents a comparative analysis of riparian vegetation dominated by Alnus glutinosa in Italy and Tyrrhenian islands, based on literature data and unpublished releves. A total of 456 phytosociological releves were analyzed using clustering and ordination methods. The study identified 18 A. glutinosa-riparian wood communities, including two new associations and one new subassociation. The classification of the releves showed two main vegetation groups: Osmundo-Alnion alliance and Ligustro vulgaris-Alnion glutinosae alliance.
Article
Ecology
Mauro Fois, Luca Murgia, Gianluigi Bacchetta
Summary: The 'metalliferous ring' of Iglesiente in Italy, which was once the most important mining district for centuries, has faced a decline in mining activities. Alternative management strategies were proposed to address issues of unemployment and environmental pollution. The study focused on the coastal section of the mining district and evaluated the vegetation development and conservation value of the area. The analysis of 96 vegetation samples revealed three main plant assemblages with 227 vascular plant species and 18 endemics. Herbivory was found to be the most influential variable affecting species composition, negatively impacting species richness and diversity while positively affecting evenness. Elevation and debris/rock flow degree were also influential variables. Other factors influencing vegetation included soil grain size and years of mining inactivity. The identified plant communities, especially those with perennial herbs and small shrubs, can be used for phytostabilization and remediation, providing surrogate habitats for endemic plants.
ECOLOGICAL ENGINEERING
(2023)
Article
Agronomy
Melinda Mandaresu, Ludovica Dessi, Andrea Lallai, Marco Porceddu, Maria Enrica Boi, Gianluigi Bacchetta, Tiziana Pivetta, Raffaela Lussu, Riccardo Ardu, Marika Pinna, Federico Meloni, Enrico Sanjust, Elena Tamburini
Summary: This study aims to combine phytoremediation and the use of suitable amendments to maximize their favorable effects on mitigating petroleum hydrocarbon contaminations in terrestrial ecosystems. The addition of wood chips as an amendment significantly increased the survival rate of the selected Mediterranean shrub and reduced the residual amount of PHCs in the soil.
Article
Plant Sciences
Giacomo Calvia, Paolo Casula, Emmanuele Farris, Giuseppe Fenu, Sergio Fantini, Gianluigi Bacchetta
Summary: The study analyzed the impact of ecological and anthropic factors on the recruitment of the common yew in Sardinia, Italy. Through research and field surveys, 232 sites were discovered where yew grows in Sardinia. The results showed that shrub cover and soil moisture positively correlated with yew recruitment, while browsing from livestock and wild animals had a negative effect.
Article
Plant Sciences
Manuel Tiburtini, Gianluigi Bacchetta, Marco Sarigu, Salvatore Cambria, Paolo Caputo, Daniele De Luca, Gianniantonio Domina, Alessia Turini, Lorenzo Peruzzi
Summary: An integrative approach was used to resolve the complex taxonomy and systematics of the genus Armeria in Sardinia and Corsica. The study found that some taxa are no longer supported by new data, leading to a new taxonomic hypothesis that considers only five species endemic to the islands.
Article
Plant Sciences
Pedro Pablo Ferrer Gallego, Javier Fabado, Jaime Guemes, Llorenc Saez
Summary: This study discusses the typification of five names in the Antirrhineae tribe (Plantaginaceae): Antirrhinum crassifolium (= Chaenorhinum crassifolium), Chaenorhinum crassifolium var. parviflorum, C. flexuosum var. hispanicum (= C. crassifolium subsp. cadevallii), C. formenterae, and Linaria serpyllifolia (= C. serpyllifolium). The lectotypes of the names were identified using specimens from MA, LAU, COI, LY, and C, respectively.
MEDITERRANEAN BOTANY
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
Jacopo Franzoni, Giovanni Astuti, Gianluigi Bacchetta, Giulio Barone, Fabrizio Bartolucci, Liliana Bernardo, Angelino Carta, Fabio Conti, Gianniantonio Domina, Bozo Frajman, Gianpietro Giusso del Galdo, Duilio Iamonico, Mauro Iberite, Luigi Minuto, Marco Sarigu, Ana Terlevic, Alessia Turini, Lucia Varaldo, Daniel Volgger, Lorenzo Peruzzi
Summary: This study reevaluates the taxonomy of the Dianthus virgineus L. complex by examining the chromosome number and genome size of wild carnation populations in Italy and Morocco. The results indicate that the differentiation of these taxa is primarily associated with geographical distribution rather than morphological characteristics.
JOURNAL OF SYSTEMATICS AND EVOLUTION
(2023)
Article
Agriculture, Multidisciplinary
Adriana dos Santos Ferreira, Caio Cesar Pereira Leal, Moadir de Sousa Leite, Clarisse Pereira Benedito, Alek Sandro Dutra, Charline Zaratin Alves, Elis Regina Costa de Morais, Marcio Dias Pereira, Marco Porceddu, Gianluigi Bacchetta, Salvador Barros Torres
Summary: The objective of this study was to evaluate the morphophysiological and biochemical changes in Enterolobium contortisiliquum seedlings subjected to water and salt stresses. The results showed that both salt and water stresses compromised the development of E. contortisiliquum seedlings, with the damage becoming more severe from an electrical conductivity of irrigation water of 2 dS m-1 and four days without irrigation. The survival mechanism of E. contortisiliquum to abiotic stresses involves reduction in growth and quality of seedlings, accompanied by the activation of biochemical defense mechanisms of the species.
REVISTA CIENCIA AGRONOMICA
(2023)