Dataset Information

Viola kauaensis var. hosakae (Violaceae), a new variety of endemic Hawaiian violet.

ABSTRACT: The Hawaiian endemic Viola kauaensis A. Gray has a broad distribution in bogs of Kaua`i and a limited distribution on mesic ridges in the Ko`olau Mountains of O`ahu. Based on differences in scale, the O`ahu populations of Viola kauaensis had previously been described as a distinct taxon. The taxonomic status of the O`ahu populations was reevaluated through a morphometric analysis of all varieties of Viola kauaensis and the morphologically similar Viola vanroyenii. Morphological features of historic and freshly collected specimens of all varieties of Viola kauaensis were analyzed with a principal components analysis. Populations from O`ahu represent a distinct cluster that slightly overlaps with Viola kauaensis var. kauaensis. Lamina width, apex angle, and base angles contribute to the separation of the O`ahu populations from other varieties of Viola kauaensis. Due to differences in scale, the O`ahu populations are described as Viola kauaensis var. hosakae, a new critically endangered taxon.

SUBMITTER: Havran JC

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4152890 | biostudies-other | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other

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Viola kauaensis var. hosakae (Violaceae), a new variety of endemic Hawaiian violet.

Havran J Christopher JC Harbin Susan Ching SC Portner Talia T

PhytoKeys 20140623 39

The Hawaiian endemic Viola kauaensis A. Gray has a broad distribution in bogs of Kaua`i and a limited distribution on mesic ridges in the Ko`olau Mountains of O`ahu. Based on differences in scale, the O`ahu populations of Viola kauaensis had previously been described as a distinct taxon. The taxonomic status of the O`ahu populations was reevaluated through a morphometric analysis of all varieties of Viola kauaensis and the morphologically similar Viola vanroyenii. Morphological features of histo ...[more]

PMID: 25197224

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Project description:Background"Explosive" adaptive radiations on islands remain one of the most puzzling evolutionary phenomena. The rate of phenotypic and ecological adaptations is extremely fast during such events, suggesting that many genes may be under fairly strong selection. However, no evidence for adaptation at the level of protein coding genes was found, so it has been suggested that selection may work mainly on regulatory elements. Here we report the first evidence that positive selection does operate at the level of protein coding genes during rapid adaptive radiations. We studied molecular adaptation in Hawaiian endemic plant genus Schiedea (Caryophyllaceae), which includes closely related species with a striking range of morphological and ecological forms, varying from rainforest vines to woody shrubs growing in desert-like conditions on cliffs. Given the remarkable difference in photosynthetic performance between Schiedea species from different habitats, we focused on the "photosynthetic" Rubisco enzyme, the efficiency of which is known to be a limiting step in plant photosynthesis.ResultsWe demonstrate that the chloroplast rbcL gene, encoding the large subunit of Rubisco enzyme, evolved under strong positive selection in Schiedea. Adaptive amino acid changes occurred in functionally important regions of Rubisco that interact with Rubisco activase, a chaperone which promotes and maintains the catalytic activity of Rubisco. Interestingly, positive selection acting on the rbcL might have caused favorable cytotypes to spread across several Schiedea species.SignificanceWe report the first evidence for adaptive changes at the DNA and protein sequence level that may have been associated with the evolution of photosynthetic performance and colonization of new habitats during a recent adaptive radiation in an island plant genus. This illustrates how small changes at the molecular level may change ecological species performance and helps us to understand the molecular bases of extremely fast rate of adaptation during island adaptive radiations.

Dataset Information

Viola kauaensis var. hosakae (Violaceae), a new variety of endemic Hawaiian violet.

Publications

Viola kauaensis var. hosakae (Violaceae), a new variety of endemic Hawaiian violet.

Similar Datasets

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