Dataset Information

Festuca drakensbergensis (Poaceae): A common new species in the F. caprina complex from the Drakensberg Mountain Centre of Floristic Endemism, southern Africa, with key and notes on taxa in the complex including the overlooked F. exaristata.

ABSTRACT: We present taxonomic notes on the Festuca caprina complex from southern Africa that includes description and illustration of the new species F. drakensbergensis from the Drakensberg Mountain Centre of Floristic Endemism of South Africa and Lesotho. Festuca drakensbergensis can be differentiated from F. caprina s.l. by forming lax short tufts with extravaginally-branching tillers and lateral-tending cataphyllous shoots or rhizomes present, basal foliage reaching < ½ the length of the culms, with generally shorter leaves and shorter anthers, 0.8-1.6(-1.8) mm long. The species also differs from the overlooked species F. exaristata - currently known from two collections from Lesotho - by its fibrous basal sheaths, usually sharp, keel-like leaf blade midrib, drooping panicle with lightly to densely scabrous pendent panicle branches, longer lemmas, 4.5-5.8 mm long, with awns usually present, 0.5-3 mm long, ovary apices sparsely to densely hairy and anthers 0.8-1.6(-1.8) mm long. Taxonomic notes on the different taxa of the F. caprina complex in southern Africa are also provided, including images, key, and lectotypification of F. caprina var. curvula. This research adds a further two endemic species (F. drakensbergensis and F. exaristata) and two endemic varieties (F. caprina var. irrasa and F. caprina var. macra) to the Drakensberg Mountain Centre of Floristic Endemism.

SUBMITTER: Sylvester SP

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7557330 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Festuca drakensbergensis (Poaceae): A common new species in the F. caprina complex from the Drakensberg Mountain Centre of Floristic Endemism, southern Africa, with key and notes on taxa in the complex including the overlooked F. exaristata.

Sylvester Steven P SP Soreng Robert J RJ Sylvester Mitsy D P V MDPV Clark Vincent Ralph VR

PhytoKeys 20201007

We present taxonomic notes on the Festuca caprina complex from southern Africa that includes description and illustration of the new species F. drakensbergensis from the Drakensberg Mountain Centre of Floristic Endemism of South Africa and Lesotho. Festuca drakensbergensis can be differentiated from F. caprina s.l. by forming lax short tufts with extravaginally-branching tillers and lateral-tending cataphyllous shoots or rhizomes present, basal foliage reaching < ½ th ...[more]

PMID: 33110384

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Project description:Mountain regions are centers of biodiversity endemism at a global scale but the role of arid-zone mountain ranges in shaping biodiversity patterns is poorly understood. Focusing on three guilds of taxa from a desert upland refugium in Australia, we sought to determine: (a) the relative extent to which climate, terrain or geological substrate predict endemism, and (b) whether patterns of endemism are complimentary across broad taxonomic guilds. We mapped regional endemism for plants, land snails, and vertebrates using combined Species Distribution Models (SDMs) for all endemic taxa (n = 82). We then modelled predictors of endemism using Generalised Additive Models (GAMs) and geology, terrain, and climate variables. We tested for the presence of inter- and intraguild hotspots of endemism. Many individual plant and land snail taxa were tightly linked with geology, corresponding to small distributions. Conversely, most vertebrate taxa were not constrained to specific geological substrates and occurred over larger areas. However, across all three guilds climate was the strongest predictor of regional endemism, particularly for plants wherein discrete hotspots of endemism were buffered from extreme summer temperatures. Land snail and vertebrate endemism peaked in areas with highest precipitation in the driest times of the year. Hotspots of endemism within each guild poorly predicted endemism in other guilds. We found an overarching signal that climatic gradients play a dominant role in the persistence of endemic taxa in an arid-zone mountain range system. An association with higher rainfall and cooler temperatures indicates that continuing trends toward hotter and drier climates may lead to range contractions in this, and potentially other, arid-zone mountain biotas. Contrasting patterns of endemism across guilds highlight the need to couple comprehensive regional planning for the protection of climate refugia, with targeted management of more localized and habitat specialist taxa.

Project description:BackgroundMicrosatellite loci, or single sequence repeats (SSR), are widely used as powerful markers in population genetics. They represent an attractive tool for studying plants such as grasses, whose evolution is driven by hybridisation and polyploidization. However, the development of microsatellite markers has been challenging and time-consuming, especially for non-model organisms lacking available genome-wide sequence data. One straightforward and low-cost approach is to transfer the SSR loci developed for one species, or complex, to another closely-related one. This work evaluates the transferability of microsatellite loci from homoploid to allopolyploid complexes of fine-leaved Festuca species and to assess their use in two new species. The studied complex (F. amethystina-F. tatrae) is a useful model for research on the local adaptability of grasses with different ploidy levels. Since both species can be considered as rare or threatened (F. tatrae-as a mountain and narrow endemic species and F. amethystina-a mountain species with relict lowland populations), any tool enabling studies on genetic diversity and population genetics, such as SSR markers, could also be very useful in a conservation context.MethodsThe ploidy level within populations was estimated using flow cytometry. One diploid and one tetraploid population of F. amethystina and a diploid population of F. tatrae were chosen to test the transferability of SSR loci. Because our work describes the transfer of SSR nuclear markers designed originally for F. gautieri, a phylogenetic tree was prepared based on the ITS marker to assess the genetic distance between the studied complexes. The PCR products were separated on a high-resolution agarose gel, intended for SSR marker analysis. Appropriate solutions for the allotetraploid population and whole mixed-ploidy complex were implemented.ResultsFlow cytometry confirmed earlier data regarding DNA content in the investigated species and cytotypes. The phylogenetic ITS tree indicated a small genetic distance between F. gautieri complexes and the studied species. Ten microsatellite markers were successfully transferred. All markers were polymorphic. In total, 163 different alleles were scored from the 10 SSR loci. PCoA of accessions revealed well-separated groups corresponding to studied populations. Over 60% of the total variance is explained by differentiation within populations and one third among them.ConclusionsThe transferred markers are valid tools for the study of population genetics and inheritance relationships within cytotypes and species and between them. The presented markers can be used to study inbreeding depression in the Festuca species, and variations in the degrees of genetic diversity between different cytotypes in mountain and lowland areas. Our findings can also be applied to study conservation strategies for ensuring biodiversity at the genetic level in polyploid complexes.

Dataset Information

Festuca drakensbergensis (Poaceae): A common new species in the F. caprina complex from the Drakensberg Mountain Centre of Floristic Endemism, southern Africa, with key and notes on taxa in the complex including the overlooked F. exaristata.

Publications

<i>Festuca drakensbergensis</i> (Poaceae): A common new species in the <i>F. caprina</i> complex from the Drakensberg Mountain Centre of Floristic Endemism, southern Africa, with key and notes on taxa in the complex including the overlooked <i>F. exaristata</i>.

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