No abstract

No abstract

Background Oxytropis almaatensis Bajt. is a rare, narrow endemic species of the Trans-Ili Alatau mountains in Kazakhstan. Up to now, no studies regarding the taxonomy and variation of key morphological traits of O. almaatensis were undertaken. The purpose of this analysis was to evaluate phenotypic variation of O. almaatensis and assess the position of the species within the genus based on nucleotide sequences of the nuclear ribosomal DNA internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region.ResultsTwo populations of O. almaatensis were collected in neighboring gorges of the Trans-Ili Alatau Mountains. The ITS sequences from the samples of two populations of O. almaatensis were identical. The phylogenetic analysis indicated that O. almaatensis is within Oxytropis genetically close to O. glabra as these species formed a separate subclade. The phenotypic variation of populations was assessed using nine morphological traits and compared to descriptions of O. glabra. The range of variation for the traits between two populations was established. A clear morphological difference of O. almaatensis and O. glabra was found in peduncle length to leaf length ratio. This was in O. almaatensis 1.56, while in O. glabra, it was 1.0. ConclusionsThe study provides the first phenotypic description and phylogenetic placement of the rare endemic species O. almaatensis. The morphological traits in two O. almaatensis populations showed a high level of phenotypic variability. Although clearly different from O. glabra, the ITS phylogeny grouped these species in a subclade within the genus.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12870-017-1128-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Lonicera iliensis Pojark. (Caprifoliaceae) is a rare and almost endemic species placed into the Red Book of Kazakhstan [1]. The constituent compositions and biological activities of essential oils (EO) from L. caprifolium L., L. japonica Thunb., and L. nummulariifolia Jaub. & Spach were reported [2][3][4][5][6].The goal of the present work was to study the chemical composition and enantiomeric ratios of several constituents of EO obtained from three natural populations of L. iliensis growing in Kazakhstan (Almaty District). This is the first report on the composition of volatile constituents from L. iliensis. EO obtained by steam distillation from various parts of L. iliensis was characteristically light-yellow with a mild specific aroma. The quantitative yield of EO varied from 0.003 to 0.012 wt% and did not differ significantly among the studied populations and samples. GC analysis (GC-FID and GC/MS) on HP-Innowax columns was performed using the previously described conditions [7]. A total of 47 constituents making up 67.4-89.4% of the total EO volume were identified (Table 1). Differences in the EO constituent composition were found between populations and samples. Thus, high alkane contents (17.1-44.5%) were detected in all studied plant parts of the first population from the Ili River bottom. In contrast with the first population, the principal classes of EO chemical compounds from the populations on the Chilik and Charyn Rivers were fatty acids (FA) and their esters (31.2-75.1%).Flowers of L. iliensis from all three populations typically had significant amounts of the sesquiterpenoid hexahydrofarnesylacetone and FA with hexadecanoic acid as the main representative.Volatile constituents of leaves during flowering of all three populations had high contents of the diterpene phytol and monoterpenoids. The contents of alkanes and aldehydes differed among the populations.EO isolated from leaves during fruiting of all three populations were characterized by high contents of FA and their esters, aldehydes, monoterpenoids, and the diterpene phytol. The populations differed in alkane contents. Thus, EO from the first population (Ili River) was dominated by nonacosane (28.4%) whereas its content was 6.6% in the population from the Charyn River and it was not detected in the Chilik River population. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (3.8 and 4.7%) and sesquiterpenoids (3.1 and 4.4%) were identified in the second and third populations, in contrast with the first.FA and their esters with the principal representatives hexadecanoic and (Z)-9-hexadecenoic acids prevailed among volatile constituents of fruit from all populations. Nonacosane (17.1%) was observed only in plants from the first population.Chiral separation of several enantiomers using Lipodex G columns showed that linalool in L. iliensis EO was practically a racemic mixture whereas the (-)-enantiomers prevailed for D-and E-pinenes. Sabinene and limonene were found primarily as the (+)-enantiomers (Table 2).

The central Asian narrow endemic species Oxytropis almaatensis is a highly endangered plant with a very restricted distribution in the Tian Shan Mountains. In this study, we present the basic conservation genetic characteristics of this species based on a DNA fingerprinting approach in order to provide yardsticks for official conservation agencies to develop an informed conservation strategy. The three currently known populations with two allopatric subpopulations at each site were sampled in the Trans-Ili Alatau Mountains (S Kazakhstan) and subject to AFLP analysis using four primer combinations. This was supplemented by flow cytometry of plants with remarkably different body sizes to check for possible ploidy differences. The presence or absence of AFLP bands was used in downstream analyses utilising various population genetic approaches. Genetic diversity of O. almaatensis was found to be on the upper end of the spectrum typical for other outcrossing species of similar life-history characteristics. Most of the genetic variation was attributable to within (sub) population variance, and we also found a remarkable gene flow between the populations. However, the geographically closer populations were found to be more close to each other genetically, and population differentiation showed the same pattern with a significant isolation by distance. Similar patterns were not found for subpopulations of the geographically more close populations, and the subpopulations living along the same river valley were found to be genetically more cohesive. Flow cytometry did not reveal any difference in DNA content between the small and large forms of the species. All these results suggest the presence of two separate populations at the three localities of this species. Conservation efforts should focus on these two populations, and, given the relatively high genetic diversity within each population, both ex situ and in situ conservation measures can be effectively carried out based on the currently known populations of this narrow endemic species.