The main goal of this work was to examine interpopulational needle traits variability of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) from four mountain, one foothill and three lowland, natural populations located in Poland. This choice of locations was motivated by the presumed different origins of mountainous populations and the necessity to demonstrate how closely they are related to lowland populations.Variation in the studied populations was determined using seven morphological traits of needles: 1 -needle length, 2 -number of stomatal rows on the flat side of a needle, 3 -number of stomata per 2 mm of needle length on the flat side, 4 -number of stomatal rows on the convex side of a needle, 5 -number of stomata per 2 mm of needle length on the convex side, 6 -number of serrations per 2 mm of the needle length on the left side and 7 -number of serrations per 2 mm of the needle length on the right side.Biometric data were analysed statistically, and it was found that (i) needle traits differentiate studied populations; (ii) the postulated division of the population into two groups is reflected in the obtained results; and (iii) a particularly strong relationship was found between two relict pine populations from the Pieniny (Sokolica, Kazalnica, Czertezik) and Tatra Mts. (Wielke Koryciska), which may be the result of the common origins and history of these two populations.

Abstract:The aims of this study were 1) to determine the variability in the flowering phenology of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) clones in a seed orchard and 2) to compare the genetic structure and genetic markers (13 isozyme loci and 5 chloroplast and 3 nuclear DNA microsatellite loci) among groups of clones that are differentiated by flowering phenology. Using the timing of male inflorescence development, 57 plus trees represented by their clones in a seed orchard were classified into three phenological groups: early-, intermediate-, and late-flowering. The microsatellites showed no significant differences in the genetic structure of the analyzed phenological groups. However, the frequency of allele 2 at the shikimate dehydrogenase A locus (ShDH A 2) differed significantly between the groups of early-and late-flowering trees and between the groups of intermediate-and late-flowering trees. In addition, a significant difference in the frequencies of the genotype ShDH A 11 was observed between the intermediate-and late-flowering groups. Nei's genetic distance indicated that the late-flowering group was the most genetically distant among the phenological groups. These results suggest that the ShDH A locus might be considered as isoenzymatic marker that differentiates these flowering groups of Scots pine clones. At several isozyme and DNA loci, the presence of private alleles in each group of pines was observed. However, these alleles cannot serve as markers of Scots pine flowering time because of their low frequencies.

The fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster is a model species used for a wide range of studies. Contamination of Drosophila cultures with bacterial infection is common and is readily eradicated by antibiotics. Neomycin antibiotics can cause stress to D. melanogaster’s larvae and imagoes, which may affect the interpretation of the results of research using culture from neomycin-based medium. In the present study, fluctuating asymmetry (FA), one of the important bioindicators of stress, was measured. Larvae and imagoes of a wild-type D. melanogaster strain were exposed to various concentrations of neomycin. The size of anal papillae and selected wing veins were measured using scanning electron and light microscopy, respectively. Next, the FA was checked. The values obtained for larval anal papillae appeared to be concentration-dependant; the FA indices increased with the concentration of neomycin. The wing FA presented a large but variable correlation, depending on the measured vein. However, the mean length of veins was the highest for the control group, with neomycin-exposed groups showing lower values. The research showed that neomycin may cause sublethal stress in D. melanogaster, which manifests in increased FA indices. This suggests that neomycin can cause physiological and developmental stress in insects, which should be taken into account when interpreting the results of studies using these model organisms.

The phenotypic and genetic relationships among five Pinus sylvestris populations in the western part of the Carpathian Mountains were analyzed based on seven morphological needle traits and 67 loci using 10 RAPD primers. Three of the studied populations were on the western side (Macelowa Góra, Czubatka, Łazowa Skałka) and two were located in the central part (Sokolica, Zamkowa Góra) of the Pieniny National Park. The examined populations had short needles, which is characteristic for mountain habitats of the Scots pine. The populations from the Pieniny Mts. had fewer rows of stomata on both sides of the needles than others studied stands of Eurosiberian Scots pine. The number of stomata on both flat and convex sides of the needles was similar to the values observed for populations growing on the nearby Tatra Mountains. Moreover, when these two traits are considered, the populations from Sokolica and Łazowa Skałka share the highest degree of similarity.. Nei's genetic distances and genetic identities between the populations were calculated on the basis of RAPD loci. The results show that the lowest Nei's distance exists between the populations from the western part of the Pieniny Mts.-Macelowa Góra and Czubatka, and its central part-Sokolica and Zamkowa Góra, with the highest values recorded between the populations of Zamkowa Góra and Czubatka, and Łazowa Skałka and Czubatka. A similar pattern of phenotypic and genetic relations that was observed between the populations in both regions of the Pieniny Mountains could be the result of planting-seed material sourced from the central Pieniny Mts. in the area of western Pieniny Mts.