No abstract

Abstract. Sarmiento-Tomalá G, Santos-Ordóñez E, Miranda-Martínez M, Pacheco-Coello R, Scull-Lizama R, Gutiérrez-Gaitén Y, Delgado-Hernández R. 2020. Short Communication: Molecular barcode and morphology analysis of Malva pseudolavatera Webb & Berthel and Malva sylvestris L from Ecuador. Biodiversitas 21: 3554-3560. In Ecuador, several plant species are used in traditional medicine without a criterion of family, genera, or chemical composition. The species of the genus Malva (Malva pseudolavatera Webb & Berthel and Malva sylvestris L), introduced in Ecuador, are widely used by the population; however, unlike the species M. sylvestris, for M. pseudolavatera there is no information about its composition and properties. Plant material was collected in the province of Chimborazo in Ecuador and taxonomic classification was performed. Histological study was performed in leaves and powder drug. Molecular barcodes were generated using the ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase large chain (rbcL), maturase K (matK), internal transcribed spacer 1 (ITS1) and ITS2 sequences. Micro-morphological analysis revealed that no major structural differences were observed between the two species. Sequence analysis of molecular barcodes revealed that samples of the different species showed a close relation to each other due to the high percentage of similarity. The ITS sequences showed that the two samples correspond to different species of Malva; while for the rbcL and matK, interspecies differentiation could not be detected. Therefore, ITS could be used for interspecific analysis.

No abstract

The use of environmental-friendly agricultural inputs to increase yield in crops could reduce environmental contamination and alleviate (a)biotic stress. In this study, we applied a foliar liquid biostimulant to banana plants, which was developed from the anaerobic fermentation of microorganisms with organic remains (manure and plant waste) and minerals to use as environmental-friendly product. To determine the effect of this biostimulant in the plants, a Suppression Subtractive Hybridization (SSH) library was developed from banana leaves in greenhouse conditions. Furthermore, salicylic and jasmonic pathways activation was evaluated by gene expression analysis. First, the application of the biostimulant to banana leaves increased the membrane stability index (MSI), which is directly related to a higher CO2 exchange and assimilation rate. Additionally, the total chlorophyll content increased in plants in comparison with the control plants. In addition, the SSH analysis revealed around 300 expressed sequence tags (ESTs). Several induced genes associated with different molecular pathways, including photosynthesis, anthocyanins production, and plant defense, among others, were encountered after bioinformatic analysis. Upregulated gene expression was demonstrated in different time points, after biostimulant application. Furthermore, induced expression of genes related to the jasmonic acid pathway was observed, which may prove beneficial to the plant under stress conditions.