Genome Size in the Arenaria ciliata Species Complex (Caryophyllaceae), with Special Focus on A. ciliata subsp. bernensis, a Narrow Endemic of the Swiss Northern Alps
The genus Arenaria (Caryophyllaceae) comprises approximately 300 species worldwide; however, to date, just six of these taxa have been investigated in terms of their genome size. The main subject of the present study is the A. ciliata species complex, with special focus on A. ciliata subsp. bernensi...
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ftmdpi:oai:mdpi.com:/2223-7747/11/24/3489/ 2023-08-20T04:04:53+02:00 Genome Size in the Arenaria ciliata Species Complex (Caryophyllaceae), with Special Focus on A. ciliata subsp. bernensis, a Narrow Endemic of the Swiss Northern Alps Gregor Kozlowski Yann Fragnière Benoît Clément Conor Meade agris 2022-12-13 application/pdf https://doi.org/10.3390/plants11243489 EN eng Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute Plant Ecology https://dx.doi.org/10.3390/plants11243489 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Plants; Volume 11; Issue 24; Pages: 3489 arctic-alpine plants disjunctions flow cytometry narrow endemism polyploidy Text 2022 ftmdpi https://doi.org/10.3390/plants11243489 2023-08-01T07:46:49Z The genus Arenaria (Caryophyllaceae) comprises approximately 300 species worldwide; however, to date, just six of these taxa have been investigated in terms of their genome size. The main subject of the present study is the A. ciliata species complex, with special focus on A. ciliata subsp. bernensis, an endemic plant occurring in the Swiss Northern Alps. Altogether, 16 populations and 77 individuals of the A. ciliata complex have been sampled and their genome sizes were estimated using flow cytometry, including A. ciliata subsp. bernensis, A. ciliata s.str., A. multicaulis, and A. gothica. The Arenaria ciliata subsp. bernensis shows the highest 2c-value of 6.91 pg of DNA, while A. gothica showed 2c = 3.69 pg, A. ciliata s.str. 2c = 1.71 pg, and A. multicaulis 2c = 1.57 pg. These results confirm the very high ploidy level of A. ciliata subsp. bernensis (2n = 20x = 200) compared to other taxa in the complex, as detected by our chromosome counting and previously documented by earlier work. The genome size and, thus, also the ploidy level, is stable across the whole distribution area of this taxon. The present study delivers additional support for the taxonomic distinctiveness of the high alpine endemic A. ciliata subsp. bernensis, which strongly aligns with other differences in morphology, phylogeny, phenology, ecology, and plant communities, described previously. In affirming these differences, further support now exists to re-consider the species status of this taxon. Upgrading to full species rank would significantly improve the conservation prospects for this taxon, as, because of its precise ecological adaptation to alpine summit habitats, the A. ciliata subsp. bernensis faces acute threats from accelerated climate warming. Text Arctic MDPI Open Access Publishing Arctic Plants 11 24 3489 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
MDPI Open Access Publishing |
op_collection_id |
ftmdpi |
language |
English |
topic |
arctic-alpine plants disjunctions flow cytometry narrow endemism polyploidy |
spellingShingle |
arctic-alpine plants disjunctions flow cytometry narrow endemism polyploidy Gregor Kozlowski Yann Fragnière Benoît Clément Conor Meade Genome Size in the Arenaria ciliata Species Complex (Caryophyllaceae), with Special Focus on A. ciliata subsp. bernensis, a Narrow Endemic of the Swiss Northern Alps |
topic_facet |
arctic-alpine plants disjunctions flow cytometry narrow endemism polyploidy |
description |
The genus Arenaria (Caryophyllaceae) comprises approximately 300 species worldwide; however, to date, just six of these taxa have been investigated in terms of their genome size. The main subject of the present study is the A. ciliata species complex, with special focus on A. ciliata subsp. bernensis, an endemic plant occurring in the Swiss Northern Alps. Altogether, 16 populations and 77 individuals of the A. ciliata complex have been sampled and their genome sizes were estimated using flow cytometry, including A. ciliata subsp. bernensis, A. ciliata s.str., A. multicaulis, and A. gothica. The Arenaria ciliata subsp. bernensis shows the highest 2c-value of 6.91 pg of DNA, while A. gothica showed 2c = 3.69 pg, A. ciliata s.str. 2c = 1.71 pg, and A. multicaulis 2c = 1.57 pg. These results confirm the very high ploidy level of A. ciliata subsp. bernensis (2n = 20x = 200) compared to other taxa in the complex, as detected by our chromosome counting and previously documented by earlier work. The genome size and, thus, also the ploidy level, is stable across the whole distribution area of this taxon. The present study delivers additional support for the taxonomic distinctiveness of the high alpine endemic A. ciliata subsp. bernensis, which strongly aligns with other differences in morphology, phylogeny, phenology, ecology, and plant communities, described previously. In affirming these differences, further support now exists to re-consider the species status of this taxon. Upgrading to full species rank would significantly improve the conservation prospects for this taxon, as, because of its precise ecological adaptation to alpine summit habitats, the A. ciliata subsp. bernensis faces acute threats from accelerated climate warming. |
format |
Text |
author |
Gregor Kozlowski Yann Fragnière Benoît Clément Conor Meade |
author_facet |
Gregor Kozlowski Yann Fragnière Benoît Clément Conor Meade |
author_sort |
Gregor Kozlowski |
title |
Genome Size in the Arenaria ciliata Species Complex (Caryophyllaceae), with Special Focus on A. ciliata subsp. bernensis, a Narrow Endemic of the Swiss Northern Alps |
title_short |
Genome Size in the Arenaria ciliata Species Complex (Caryophyllaceae), with Special Focus on A. ciliata subsp. bernensis, a Narrow Endemic of the Swiss Northern Alps |
title_full |
Genome Size in the Arenaria ciliata Species Complex (Caryophyllaceae), with Special Focus on A. ciliata subsp. bernensis, a Narrow Endemic of the Swiss Northern Alps |
title_fullStr |
Genome Size in the Arenaria ciliata Species Complex (Caryophyllaceae), with Special Focus on A. ciliata subsp. bernensis, a Narrow Endemic of the Swiss Northern Alps |
title_full_unstemmed |
Genome Size in the Arenaria ciliata Species Complex (Caryophyllaceae), with Special Focus on A. ciliata subsp. bernensis, a Narrow Endemic of the Swiss Northern Alps |
title_sort |
genome size in the arenaria ciliata species complex (caryophyllaceae), with special focus on a. ciliata subsp. bernensis, a narrow endemic of the swiss northern alps |
publisher |
Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.3390/plants11243489 |
op_coverage |
agris |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic |
genre_facet |
Arctic |
op_source |
Plants; Volume 11; Issue 24; Pages: 3489 |
op_relation |
Plant Ecology https://dx.doi.org/10.3390/plants11243489 |
op_rights |
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3390/plants11243489 |
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Plants |
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11 |
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