Studying the relationships between major crops and the secondary genepools of related species that are more resistant to climate challenges, Mina-Vargas et al. employ nuclear and chloroplast genetic markers to carry out...
Tag - hybridization
botanyone
Intrinsic post-zygotic barriers play a key role in maintaining species boundaries in Eucalyptus
Larcombe et al. present a 20-year assessment of reproductive isolation in a forest tree system. They show that intermediate inheritance of floral morphology results in the loss of strong mechanical barriers to zygote...
Genomic architecture of phenotypic divergence between two hybridizing plant species along an elevational gradient
Hybrid zones that occur across environmental gradients provide excellent opportunities for studying the maintenance of divergent adaptations in the presence of gene flow. They also provide insight into the biodiversity...
AoBPLANTS
Phylogeny and genome sizes of Betula
The genus Betula (birches) is widely distributed in the northern hemisphere from the arctic to the tropics. Its woody species are an important component of many ecosystems, and of economic value. The genus was recently...
Introgression, genetic and morphological variation in sympatric oaks at the edge of their range
Historical and ongoing hybridization between the oak species Quercus petraea and Q. robur leads to difficulty in identifying the taxonomic status of individual trees. Despite this, Beatty et al. using genetic and...
Seagrasses cheat on sex!
Survival at geographic range edges, where organisms are often at the limits of their physiological tolerances, can trigger unusual responses in reproduction. Sinclair et al. describe the first observations of...
250 years of hybridization between two biennial herb species without speciation
In 1759, Linnaeus convinced his followers that plants could hybridize by crossing flowers in the daisy family and producing intermediate offspring. These hybrids, between Tragopogon pratensis and T. porrifolius, exist...
DNA barcodes from four loci provide poor resolution of taxonomic groups in the genus Crataegus
The leaves and fruits of some of the approximately 230 species of hawthorn (Crataegus) yield natural health products with significant therapeutic effects on symptoms of cardiovascular disease. DNA barcoding could be a...
Floral colour evolution in Nicotiana polyploids
Do floral colour shifts accompany allopolyploidy (interspecific hybridization and genome multiplication) in the genus Nicotiana (Solanaceae)?
Genetic structure and gene flow patterns in Ulmus
Bertolasi et al. investigate pollen dispersal patterns in a relic U. minor stand surrounded by U. minor and U. pumila trees scattered across 80 km2.
Molecular phylogenetics of the orchid Himantoglossum
The first comprehensive molecular phylogeny for Lizard orchids (Himantoglossum), sampling all known taxa across the whole distribution area of the genus.
Ongoing gene flow among Australian alpine Poa
Recently radiated groups pose a taxonomic challenge even with extensive molecular data, as they may be genetically differentiated only at small and/or patchy regions of the genome. Griffin and Hoffmann investigate...
Maintenance of plant species cohesion despite ongoing hybridization
When species cohesion is maintained despite ongoing natural hybridisation.
AJ Cann
Reproduction and invasiveness in St. John’s wort
Invasiveness is not correlated with the genome variability and reproductive variability that characterize St. John's wort.
