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Qing-feng Wang - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Distribution pattern and habitat preference for Lobelia species (Campanulaceae) in five countries of East Africa.
PhytoKeys, 2020Co-Authors: John K. Muchuku, Ling Yun Chen, Shu Ying Zhao, Andrew W. Gichira, Jin-ming Chen, Qing-feng WangAbstract:East Africa is one of the centres of distribution and diversity for Lobelia L. (Campanulaceae, sub-family Lobelioideae). Lobelia habitats in East Africa have been facing habitat fragmentation and loss, which are recognised as a major threat to biodiversity. However, previous plant conservation studies in East Africa only focused on protected areas and ignored unprotected areas. Future conservation strategies of plants, such as Lobelia, will depend on knowledge of their distribution patterns and habitat preference in East Africa. To understand the distribution pattern and the habitat preference of Lobelia in five countries (Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi) of East Africa, we conducted a literature review in the seven major vegetation regions (afro-alpine, afro-montane forest, drier savannah, grasslands, wetter savannah, Zambezian woodland and semi-desert and desert). We also employed meander and patterned searches, which allowed greater opportunities for recording Lobelia species. Our results showed that the genus is distributed in all of the seven regions of the five countries with 54 taxa. The afro-montane forest region, with 41 taxa, is the richest in species diversity, followed by the Zambezian woodland region with 18 taxa. The semi-desert and desert region has the lowest number with only four taxa. The afro-alpine region has 15 taxa, although the region is the smallest by area. The herbaceous type was found in all regions, while the giant type has a clear preference for the afro-alpine and afro-montane forest regions. Future conservation for Lobelia should consider its habitat preference by, for example, focusing on the afro-alpine and afro-montane forest regions. This study will facilitate the setting of future conservation strategies for Lobelia.
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Lobelia hongiana (Campanulaceae), a new species from Guangxi, China.
PhytoKeys, 2018Co-Authors: Neng Wei, Jin-ming Chen, Yan Liu, Qing-feng WangAbstract:Lobelia hongiana, a new species of Campanulaceae from Guangxi, South China, is described and illustrated here. This new species is most similar to L. chinensis and L. loochooensis, but differs by its elliptic-obovate or oblanceolate leaf, 2.5-3 mm long greenish-carmine hypanthium, 5 or 6 calyx lobes, purplish-white corolla, with yellowish-green blotches at the base of lower lobes, glabrous filaments, 7-8 mm long broadly obconic capsule. Molecular phylogenetic analysis has been conducted based on ITS and two chloroplast sequences (atpB and rbcL) and 14 taxa in Lobelia are included. L. hongiana is well supported as a new species by the evidence from both morphology and molecular phylogeny.
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East Asian Lobelioideae and ancient divergence of a giant rosette Lobelia in Himalayan Bhutan
Taxon, 2016Co-Authors: Ling Yun Chen, Qing-feng Wang, Susanne S. RennerAbstract:Lobelioideae comprise about 1200 species in 30 genera worldwide and include famous cases of parallel evolution in the "giant rosette" Lobelias occurring in East Africa, Hawaii, and Bhutan. To date, no phylogeny has included the Himalayan giant Lobelia, and its age and phylogenetic distance from the Hawaiian and African giant species (the latter in the same section as the Bhutan species) are therefore unknown. Asian Lobelioideae in general have received little attention, partly because of the difficult access to material. Here we use nuclear and plastid markers of Lobelioideae (with worldwide sampling) to test the monophyly of the section that includes most Asian Lobelias, and we then use a reduced concatenated matrix to resolve the position of Lobelia nubigena from Bhutan and of the likewise cold-adapted lowland species L. sessilifolia. Most sequences come from herbarium material. Lobelia nubigena diverged from its Asian lowland relatives 13.8 (12.6-15) million years ago (about the time of the Bhutan Himalaya orogeny), and in an unexpected twist, L. sessilifolia is the sister species to a huge Glade (ca. 265 species) that comprises African, South American, Asian, and the entire Hawaiian Lobelioideae radiation. The African and Hawaiian high-elevation Lobelias in our sample are younger than L. nubigena, although the time when gigantism evolved in this species cannot be precisely inferred. Our results support the previously hypothesized Asian origin of (1) the Hawaiian Lobelioideae, (2) Southeast Asian islands Lobelias, and (3) the African Lobelia-Rynchopetalum group, which also reached South America.
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Genetic Adaptation of Giant Lobelias (Lobelia aberdarica and Lobelia telekii) to Different Altitudes in East African Mountains
Frontiers in plant science, 2016Co-Authors: Shu Ying Zhao, Ling Yun Chen, John K. Muchuku, Qing-feng WangAbstract:The giant Lobelias in East African mountains are good models for studying molecular mechanisms of adaptation to different altitudes. In this study, we generated RNA-seq data of a middle-altitude species Lobelia aberdarica and a high-altitude species L. telekii, followed by selective pressure estimation of their orthologous genes. Our aim was to explore the important genes potentially involved in adaptation to different altitudes. About 9.3 Gb of clean nucleotides, 167,929 – 170,534 unigenes with total lengths of 159,762,099 – 171,138,936 bp for each of the two species were generated. OrthoMCL method identified 3,049 1:1 orthologous genes (each species was represented by one ortholog). Estimations of non-synonymous to synonymous rate were performed using an approximate method and a maximum likelihood method in PAML. 85 orthologous genes were under positive selection. At least 8 of these genes are possibly involved in DNA repair, response to DNA damage and temperature stimulus, and regulation of gene expression, which hints on how giant Lobelias adapt to high altitudinal environment that characterised by cold, low oxygen and strong ultraviolet radiation. The negatively selected genes are over-represented in Gene ontology terms of hydrolase, macromolecular complex assembly among others. This study sheds light on understanding the molecular mechanism of adaptation to different altitudes, and provides genomic resources for further studies of giant Lobelias.
Piotr Klimaszyk - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Soft-Water Lobelia Lakes in Poland
Polish River Basins and Lakes – Part I, 2020Co-Authors: Dariusz Borowiak, Kamil Nowiński, Ryszard Piotrowicz, Piotr KlimaszykAbstract:The Lobelia lakes, unique and rare in Poland, are located mainly in northern part of country in moraine plateaus of Bytów and Kashubian Lakelands and outwash plains of Tuchola Forest and Charzykowy. In the middle of the twentieth century, there were over 190 Lobelia lakes in Poland. Lobelia lakes are classified as so-called soft-water lakes due to low concentrations of calcium and magnesium. Their waters are weakly buffered and usually have acid reaction and also small amount of biogenic elements. Lobelia lakes are overgrown by specific plant species – isoetids – adapted to the poor habitat: Lobelia dortmanna , Isöetes lacustris , Littorella uniflora and several other accompanying species. The Lobelia lakes in Poland are prone to degradation and loss of their unique values. The most serious threats include acidification, humification deposition, alkalinization, eutrophication by agricultural activities or recreational use and lowering of water level induced by climate changes.
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the reappearance of an extremely rare and critically endangered nitella translucens charophyceae in poland
Journal of Phycology, 2019Co-Authors: Joanna Rosinska, Ryszard Piotrowicz, Konrad Celinski, Miroslawa Dabert, Piotr Rzymski, Piotr KlimaszykAbstract:We report the reappearance of the rare charophyte Nitella translucens in Poland. It was identified in the soft-water Lobelian Lake Jelen (North Poland) during 2013 and 2018 phytolittoral surveys. This species is considered critically endangered in various European countries and was previously classified as extinct in Poland. Its occurrence was confirmed using morphological and molecular data (ITS1-18S, ITS2-28S, rDNA, and rbcL). The N. translucens occupied ~20% of the lake bottom, at depths of 1.5-6.5 m, water pH 7.5-8.6, conductivity of 59-66 muS . cm(-1) , and total nitrogen and phosphorus during growing season in the range of 1.1-1.4 mg . L(-1) and 0.07-0.1 mg . L(-1) , respectively. It co-occurred mainly with plant species typical for Lobelia lakes: Isoetes lacustris, Littorella uniflora, and Myriophyllum alterniflorum, as well as Ceratophyllum demersum and Elodea canadensis, which are characteristic for eutrophicated waters. It appears that N. translucens may thrive in Lobelia lakes during their transformation to more eutrophic states.
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Anthropogenic changes in properties of the water and spatial structure of the vegetation of the Lobelia lake Lake Modre in the Bytów Lakeland
Oceanological and Hydrobiological Studies, 2013Co-Authors: Marek Kraska, Piotr Klimaszyk, Ryszard PiotrowiczAbstract:Lake Modre is a Lobelia lake. Numerous typical plant species occur here, including Lobelia dortmanna, Littorella uniflora, Isoetes lacustris, and Sphagnum denticulatum. They develop the following associations: Lobelietum dortmannae (Oswald 1923) Tx. ap. Dierss. 1972, Isoetetum lacustris Szankowski et Klosowski 1996 n.n., and a community with Sphagnum denticulatum Brid.
Eric B. Knox - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Lobelia claviflora (Campanulaceae:Lobelioideae), a new species from northern New South Wales, Australia
Telopea, 2018Co-Authors: David E. Albrecht, Neville G. Walsh, Richard W. Jobson, Eric B. KnoxAbstract:Lobelia claviflora Albr. & R.W.Jobson sp. nov. is described and illustrated, with notes on distribution, habitat, conservation status and features distinguishing it from closely related species of Lobelia and Isotoma.
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CHROMOSOME NUMBERS OF THE EAST AFRICAN GIANT SENECIOS AND GIANT LobeliaS AND THEIR EVOLUTIONARY SIGNIFICANCE
American Journal of Botany, 1993Co-Authors: Eric B. Knox, Robert R. KowalAbstract:The gametophytic chromosome number for the giant senecios (Asteraceae, Senecioneae, Dendrosenecio) is n = 50, and for the giant Lobelias (Lobeliaceae, Lobelia subgenus Tupa section Rhynchopetalum) it is n = 14. Previous sporophytic counts are generally verified, but earlier reports for the giant senecios of 2n = 20 and ca. 80, the bases for claims of intraspecific polyploidy, are unsubstantiated. The 14 new counts for the giant senecios and the ten new counts for the giant Lobelias are the first gametophytic records for these plants and include the first reports for six and four taxa, respectively, for the two groups. Only five of the 11 species of giant senecio and three of the 21 species of giant Lobelia from eastern Africa remain uncounted. Although both groups are polyploid, the former presumably decaploid and the latter more certainly tetraploid, their adaptive radiations involved no further change in chromosome number. The cytological uniformity within each group, while providing circumstantial evidence of monophyly and simplifying interpretations of cladistic analyses, provides neither positive nor negative support for a possible role of polyploidy in evolving the giant-rosette growth-form.
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Chloroplast genome rearrangements and the evolution of giant Lobelias from herbaceous ancestors
Molecular Biology and Evolution, 1993Co-Authors: Eric B. Knox, Stephen R. Downie, Jeffrey D. PalmerAbstract:Phylogenetic relationships among 16 species of Lobelia and single representatives of Monopsis and Sclerotheca (Lobeliaceae) were assessed by mapping restriction sites and major structural rearrangements (deletions and inversions) in the large single-copy region of the chloroplast genome. Eleven inversions and five different gene arrangements were found. A deletion involving 0RF5 12 is associated with many of the inversions, and all inversion endpoints are located in intergenic spacer regions. Analysis of 132 phylogenetically informative restriction sites produced three equally parsimonious trees of 2 19 steps, with a consistency index of 0.60. The restriction-site and inversion data yield congruent trees, indicating that the giant Lobelias from around the world are derived from diploid herbaceous ancestors. The giant Lobelias consist of a Chilean hexaploid group and a pantropical tetraploid group. The woody genus Sclerotheca is clearly derived from a giant Lobelia ancestor, while the herbaceous Monopsis is probably derived from herbaceous Lobelias. The giant Lobelias from eastern Africa are weakly supported as monophyletic with the inclusion of the Brazilian L. organensis. Relationships among the Pacific and Asian giant Lobelias are not fully resolved and await more detailed study.
Thomas G. Lammers - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Revision of the Infrageneric Classification of Lobelia L. (Campanulaceae: Lobelioideae)
Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden, 2011Co-Authors: Thomas G. LammersAbstract:Abstract The infrageneric classification of the cosmopolitan genus Lobelia L. (Campanulaceae) is revised via synthesis of diverse phenotypic data. The 415 species are divided among 18 sections (numbers of included species are given in parentheses): Lobelia sect. Delostemon (E. Wimm.) J. Murata (44); Lobelia sect. Holopogon Benth. (14); Lobelia sect. Colensoa (Hook. f.) J. Murata (1); Lobelia sect. Cryptostemon (E. Wimm.) J. Murata (10); Lobelia sect. Stenotium (C. Presl) Lammers (144); Lobelia sect. Lobelia (22); Lobelia sect. Hypsela (C. Presl) Lammers (43); Lobelia sect. Mezleriopsis Lammers, sect. nov. (7); Lobelia sect. Jasionopsis Lammers, sect. nov. (1); Lobelia sect. Tylomium (C. Presl) Benth. (38); Lobelia sect. Homochilus A. DC. (5); Lobelia sect. Tupa (G. Don) Benth. (4); Lobelia sect. Trimeris (C. Presl) A. DC. (1); Lobelia sect. Speirema (Hook. f. & Thomson) Lammers (5); Lobelia sect. Plagiobotrys Lammers (1); Lobelia sect. Rhynchopetalum (Fresen.) Benth. (61); Lobelia sect. Revolutella E. Wim...
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Lobelia vivaldii (Campanulaceae: Lobelioideae), a remarkable new species of sect. Tylomium from Isla de Mona, Puerto rico
Brittonia, 1994Co-Authors: Thomas G. Lammers, George R. ProctorAbstract:A new species of Lobelia (Campanulaceae: Lobelioideae) is described from Isla de Mona, a Caribbean island not previously known to harbor the genus. The small woody rosette-plants were collected in 1988 and 1992 at the northeastern corner of the island, where they grew from crevices in the vertical limestone cliffs, approximately 60 m above the sea. The new species, Lobelia vivaldii , belongs to sect. Tylomium , a group of approximately 36 suffruticose and woody species endemic to the Caribbean basin. Within that section, it is most similar to and apparently derived from L. cirsiifolia , a less woody rain forest species found at higher elevations on several islands in the Lesser Antilles.
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CHROMOSOME NUMBERS OF CAMPANULACEAE. II. THE Lobelia TUPA COMPLEX OF CHILE
American Journal of Botany, 1992Co-Authors: Thomas G. Lammers, Nancy HensoldAbstract:Gametic chromosome numbers are reported for 27 collections representing the four species of the Lobelia tupa complex (Campanulaceae, Lobelioideae) in Chile; all are n = 21. This represents the first report of chromosome numbers for L. bridgesii Hook. & Am., L. excelsa Bonpl., and L. polyphylla Hook. & Am., and confirms previous reports of this number in L. tupa L. As the basic chromosome number of Lobelioideae is x = 7, these species are interpreted as hexaploids. Higher polyploids are extremely rare among Lobelioideae; most of those previously reported have been either sporadic individuals or populations within an otherwise diploid or tetraploid species, or occasional species within an otherwise diploid and tetraploid lineage. This is the first report of an entire complex of lobelioid species that is uniformly hexaploid. This suggests that the Chilean endemics are relatively derived within Lobelia, and offers some support for the monophyly of the complex. This series of papers is intended to increase knowledge of chromosome numbers among Lobelioideae (Campanulaceae), a group in which such data appear to be useful for answering a variety of taxonomic and evolutionary questions (Lammers, 1987, 1988). The present entry documents numbers in 27 collections representing the four species of Lobelia L. sect. Tupa (G. Don) Endl. endemic to Chile. Lobelia tupa L. is the only member of this group for which chromosome numbers had been reported previously. De Vilmorin and Simonet (1927) reported n = 21 from plants cultivated at Verrieres-le-Buisson, France. Spooner et al. (1987) found this same number in indig
Ling Yun Chen - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Distribution pattern and habitat preference for Lobelia species (Campanulaceae) in five countries of East Africa.
PhytoKeys, 2020Co-Authors: John K. Muchuku, Ling Yun Chen, Shu Ying Zhao, Andrew W. Gichira, Jin-ming Chen, Qing-feng WangAbstract:East Africa is one of the centres of distribution and diversity for Lobelia L. (Campanulaceae, sub-family Lobelioideae). Lobelia habitats in East Africa have been facing habitat fragmentation and loss, which are recognised as a major threat to biodiversity. However, previous plant conservation studies in East Africa only focused on protected areas and ignored unprotected areas. Future conservation strategies of plants, such as Lobelia, will depend on knowledge of their distribution patterns and habitat preference in East Africa. To understand the distribution pattern and the habitat preference of Lobelia in five countries (Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi) of East Africa, we conducted a literature review in the seven major vegetation regions (afro-alpine, afro-montane forest, drier savannah, grasslands, wetter savannah, Zambezian woodland and semi-desert and desert). We also employed meander and patterned searches, which allowed greater opportunities for recording Lobelia species. Our results showed that the genus is distributed in all of the seven regions of the five countries with 54 taxa. The afro-montane forest region, with 41 taxa, is the richest in species diversity, followed by the Zambezian woodland region with 18 taxa. The semi-desert and desert region has the lowest number with only four taxa. The afro-alpine region has 15 taxa, although the region is the smallest by area. The herbaceous type was found in all regions, while the giant type has a clear preference for the afro-alpine and afro-montane forest regions. Future conservation for Lobelia should consider its habitat preference by, for example, focusing on the afro-alpine and afro-montane forest regions. This study will facilitate the setting of future conservation strategies for Lobelia.
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East Asian Lobelioideae and ancient divergence of a giant rosette Lobelia in Himalayan Bhutan
Taxon, 2016Co-Authors: Ling Yun Chen, Qing-feng Wang, Susanne S. RennerAbstract:Lobelioideae comprise about 1200 species in 30 genera worldwide and include famous cases of parallel evolution in the "giant rosette" Lobelias occurring in East Africa, Hawaii, and Bhutan. To date, no phylogeny has included the Himalayan giant Lobelia, and its age and phylogenetic distance from the Hawaiian and African giant species (the latter in the same section as the Bhutan species) are therefore unknown. Asian Lobelioideae in general have received little attention, partly because of the difficult access to material. Here we use nuclear and plastid markers of Lobelioideae (with worldwide sampling) to test the monophyly of the section that includes most Asian Lobelias, and we then use a reduced concatenated matrix to resolve the position of Lobelia nubigena from Bhutan and of the likewise cold-adapted lowland species L. sessilifolia. Most sequences come from herbarium material. Lobelia nubigena diverged from its Asian lowland relatives 13.8 (12.6-15) million years ago (about the time of the Bhutan Himalaya orogeny), and in an unexpected twist, L. sessilifolia is the sister species to a huge Glade (ca. 265 species) that comprises African, South American, Asian, and the entire Hawaiian Lobelioideae radiation. The African and Hawaiian high-elevation Lobelias in our sample are younger than L. nubigena, although the time when gigantism evolved in this species cannot be precisely inferred. Our results support the previously hypothesized Asian origin of (1) the Hawaiian Lobelioideae, (2) Southeast Asian islands Lobelias, and (3) the African Lobelia-Rynchopetalum group, which also reached South America.
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Genetic Adaptation of Giant Lobelias (Lobelia aberdarica and Lobelia telekii) to Different Altitudes in East African Mountains
Frontiers in plant science, 2016Co-Authors: Shu Ying Zhao, Ling Yun Chen, John K. Muchuku, Qing-feng WangAbstract:The giant Lobelias in East African mountains are good models for studying molecular mechanisms of adaptation to different altitudes. In this study, we generated RNA-seq data of a middle-altitude species Lobelia aberdarica and a high-altitude species L. telekii, followed by selective pressure estimation of their orthologous genes. Our aim was to explore the important genes potentially involved in adaptation to different altitudes. About 9.3 Gb of clean nucleotides, 167,929 – 170,534 unigenes with total lengths of 159,762,099 – 171,138,936 bp for each of the two species were generated. OrthoMCL method identified 3,049 1:1 orthologous genes (each species was represented by one ortholog). Estimations of non-synonymous to synonymous rate were performed using an approximate method and a maximum likelihood method in PAML. 85 orthologous genes were under positive selection. At least 8 of these genes are possibly involved in DNA repair, response to DNA damage and temperature stimulus, and regulation of gene expression, which hints on how giant Lobelias adapt to high altitudinal environment that characterised by cold, low oxygen and strong ultraviolet radiation. The negatively selected genes are over-represented in Gene ontology terms of hydrolase, macromolecular complex assembly among others. This study sheds light on understanding the molecular mechanism of adaptation to different altitudes, and provides genomic resources for further studies of giant Lobelias.