Article
Evolutionary Biology
Ran Wei, Jie Yang, Li-Juan He, Hong-Mei Liu, Jia-Yu Hu, Si-Qi Liang, Xue-Ping Wei, Cun-Feng Zhao, Xian-Chun Zhang
Summary: This study investigated the deep phylogenetic relationships within Polypodiaceae by utilizing 81 plastid genomes, improving the resolution of backbone phylogeny. The research identified potential phylogenetic artefacts affecting the incongruence of phylogenetic inferences and provided a robust framework for future subfamilial taxonomy within Polypodiaceae.
Article
Infectious Diseases
Kadidia Tounkara, Olivier Kwiatek, Cheick Abou Kounta Sidibe, Amadou Sery, Marthin Dakouo, Habib Salami, Modou Moustapha Lo, Aminata Ba, Mariame Diop, Mamadou Niang, Genevieve Libeau, Arnaud Bataille
Summary: Peste des petits ruminants (PPR) is a highly contagious disease, with the discovery of the IV lineage in Mali marking the furthest West the virus has been detected in West Africa. Surprisingly, the supposedly extinct I lineage was found to persist in Mali. The study suggests an important movement of the virus between Senegal and Mali, highlighting the necessity of understanding animal movement for effective control strategies against the disease.
TRANSBOUNDARY AND EMERGING DISEASES
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Lucas Vieira Lima, Alexandre Salino, Michael Kessler, Germinal Rouhan, Weston L. Testo, Caio Suzart Argolo, Thais Elias Almeida
Summary: In this study, we investigated the monophyly of genera in the Gleicheniaceae family using extended sampling and genomic data. The results confirmed the monophyly of most genera, except for Sticherus. We also found that while most Gleicheniaceae genera originated during the Mesozoic, some genera showed diversification in the Neogene and Quaternary periods. Our findings suggest the importance of reticulation and polyploidy in this diversification process, and identify Rouxopteris and Stromatopteris as evolutionary relics.
MOLECULAR PHYLOGENETICS AND EVOLUTION
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
Joel H. Nitta, Eric Schuettpelz, Santiago Ramirez-Barahona, Wataru Iwasaki
Summary: This study introduces an automated pipeline for creating a continuously updated fern tree of life (FTOL) using DNA sequence data from GenBank. The pipeline combines whole plastomes and commonly sequenced plastid regions to obtain a high-resolution global fern phylogeny. By resolving synonyms using a curated reference taxonomy, the FTOL includes about 40% more species than previous global fern phylogenies. The FTOL and its associated datasets are available through a web portal and R packages, providing immediate access to the most up-to-date and comprehensive fern phylogeny.
FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Marine & Freshwater Biology
Kathryn L. Dawkins, James M. Furse, Jane M. Hughes
Summary: Research on the biogeographic history of mesic Australian fauna with Gondwanan origins is limited. This study focused on the burrowing clade of Australian freshwater crayfish to analyze their origin, distribution, and diversification patterns. The results suggest that the clade originated during the early fragmentation of Gondwana in southern Australia, with divergence between extant taxa likely a result of both short- and long-distance dispersal events, influenced by fluctuating sea levels and changing climate into the Eocene.
Article
Plant Sciences
Kiyotaka Hori, Phyo Kay Khine, Tao Fujiwara, Thant Shin, Harald Schneider
Summary: This study describes a new species of Thylacopteris, called Thylacopteris minuta, discovered in Shan State, Myanmar. Compared to other Thylacopteris species, this new species is small in size and has sclerenchyma strands in the rhizome. It also differs from the only other Thylacopteris species with molecular data available, T. papillosa, in the plastid rbcL phylogeny of the Polypodiaceae family. This discovery suggests that the Thylacopteris genus is being overlooked in Southeast Asia.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Rui Bento Elias, Fernando Pereira
Summary: The endangered fern species Grammitis azorica was found on three islands in the Azores, expanding its distribution range. The study highlights the importance of montane forests and woodlands as biodiversity hotspots in the Azores.
BIODIVERSITY DATA JOURNAL
(2022)
Article
Anatomy & Morphology
Alexey V. Vaganov
Summary: The study utilized SEM to characterize spore morphology of 24 taxa in the subfamily Pteridoideae and projected standardized data onto the phylogenetic tree, exploring the evolution of characteristics and relationships within the Pteridaceae family.
MICROSCOPY RESEARCH AND TECHNIQUE
(2022)
Article
Plant Sciences
Van The Pham, Shu-Han Li, Shi-Yong Dong
Summary: This study describes a new fern species, Tectaria danangensis, from Vietnam, which was previously misidentified as T. crenata. Through morphological characteristics and phylogenetic analysis, it is found that T. danangensis has a close affinity to T. harlandii and is an intermediate species between T. harlandii and T. poilanei.
Article
Genetics & Heredity
Hongbin Chen, Yuyao Yin, Lucy van Dorp, Liam P. Shaw, Hua Gao, Mislav Acman, Jizhen Yuan, Fengning Chen, Shijun Sun, Xiaojuan Wang, Shuguang Li, Yawei Zhang, Rhys A. Farrer, Hui Wang, Francois Balloux
Summary: The study reveals that in China, the community-associated MRSA strain ST59 is gradually replacing the healthcare-associated strain ST239, mainly due to its higher virulence potential rather than antibiotic resistance or biofilm production. The chemotaxis inhibitory protein (chp) carried by ST59 may be a significant factor contributing to its increased virulence.
Article
Plant Sciences
Chi-Chuan Chen, Ho-Yih Liu, Cheng-Wei Chen, Harald Schneider, Jaakko Hyvonen
Summary: Microsoroideae is the third largest subfamily of Polypodiaceae, with over 180 species distributed widely in tropical and subtropical regions. Research shows that spore ornamentation can be used to distinguish different clades of microsoroid ferns, with Lecanoptereae exhibiting the most diversity in spore surface ornamentation.
JOURNAL OF PLANT RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Microbiology
Elisa Garrido-Huescar, Elena Gonzalez-Burgos, Paul M. Kirika, Joel Boustie, Solenn Ferron, M. Pilar Gomez-Serranillos, Helge Thorsten Lumbsch, Pradeep K. Divakar
Summary: This study used molecular data to address species delineation in the parmelioid genus Canoparmelia and identified two clades with distinct pharmacological properties. The phylogenetic analysis supported the separation of these two clades as distinct species, with the proposal of a new species C. kakamegaensis. This study highlights the importance of using molecular data to detect potential species with overlooked pharmacological properties.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Xue-Ping Fan, Ngan Thi Lu, Chun-Xiang Li, Ralf Knapp, Hai He, Xin-Mao Zhou, Xia Wan, Liang Zhang, Xin-Fen Gao, Li-Bing Zhang
Summary: This study conducted phylogenetic analyses of the family Hypodematiaceae, supporting its monophyly. It found that Leucostegia consists of two clades, while Hypodematium includes seven strongly supported clades or single-accession clades. The study also inferred the evolution of important morphological characters and proposed the latest Jurassic-earliest Cretaceous origin of the family and the Upper Cretaceous origin of the two genera, with Hypodematiaceae originating from East Asia.
MOLECULAR PHYLOGENETICS AND EVOLUTION
(2022)
Article
Genetics & Heredity
Shantanu Kundu, Manokaran Kamalakannan, Ah Ran Kim, Vishwanath D. Hegde, Dhriti Banerjee, Won-Kyo Jung, Young-Mog Kim, Hyun-Woo Kim
Summary: The current study reevaluates the systematic status of Suncus niger from its original distribution in Southern India using morphology and mitochondrial genetic data. It confirms S. niger as a distinct species and adds new range extension and elevation records in the Western Ghats biodiversity hotspot. The study highlights the importance of further genomic studies to understand the evolutionary trend of Soricomorphs.
Article
Plant Sciences
Kiyotaka Hori, Atsushi Ebihara, Noriaki Murakami
Summary: A molecular phylogenetic analysis of the Japanese apogamous fern Dryopteris yakusilvicola and related species revealed that its origin is not a hybrid between D. sparsa var. sparsa and D. sabaei, but likely involves undetected species closely related to D. melanocarpa var. elegans and D. sabaei. Further analysis of additional species in the D. sparsa complex and more nuclear markers are needed to clarify the relationships within this complex.
