Morphologicalversusgenetic diversity ofViola reichenbachianaandV. riviniana(sect.Viola,Violaceae) from soils differing in heavy metal content

Abstract

Morphological characters, AFLP markers and flow cytometry were used to investigate the morphological and genetic variability and differentiation of Viola reichenbachiana and V. riviniana in non-metallicolous (NM) and metallicolous (M) populations. The aims were to clarify the taxonomic status of plants occurring in ore-bearing areas, to determine any relationship in V. reichenbachiana and V. riviniana from sites not polluted with heavy metals, and to examine the genetic variability and differentiation of M and NM populations of both species. Multivariate analyses based on morphological characters showed significant differences between V. reichenbachiana and V. riviniana from non-polluted sites, high levels of intra- and inter-population variability, and the occurrence of inter-specific hybrids. Plants from M populations showed hybrid characters but also fell within the range of V. riviniana or V. reichenbachiana. There were no significant differences in relative genome size between plants from polluted areas and V. riviniana from NM populations. Bayesian analysis of population genetic structure based on AFLP markers distinguished two main groups: V. reichenbachiana and V. riviniana together with the M populations. That analysis also revealed the occurrence of populations of inter-specific hybrids from non-polluted areas. Further Bayesian analysis of V. riviniana including NM and M populations separated all the studied M populations from NM populations. We conclude that plants forming the M populations are well adapted to a metal-polluted environment, and could be considered as stabilised introgressive forms resulting from unidirectional (asymmetric) introgression toward V. riviniana.

Cleistogamy and phylogenetic position ofViola uliginosa(Violaceae) re-examined

“…Hence, CH flowers may appear also in autumn in some species, such as V. canadensis (Culley, ), V. reichenbachiana Jord. ex Boreau (Kuta et al ., ) and V . odorata L. (Olsen‐Gisel, ), and also after cold spells early in the growing season, for example V .…”

Low Genetic Diversity of Declining Viola uliginosa (Violaceae) at its Southern Range Limits in Poland

“…e.g., a review by Reisch and BernhardtRömermann, 2014), comparable to V. grayi, a rare, endemic Pacific island species (Hirai et al, 2012), and lower than in other endangered (V. pumila, V. stagnina, V. elatior;Eckstein et al, 2006;Buldrini et al, 2013) as well as common violets (V. riviniana, V. striata, V. grahamii, V. tricolor;Cortes-Palomec et al, 2006;Słomka et al, 2011;Kuta et al, 2014;Migdałek, 2015). The mean gene diversity within all populations (H S ), being much lower than gene diversity among populations (G ST ) (0.020 versus 0.583, respectively), strongly supported domination of clonal reproduction and propagation of the species.…”

“…calaminaria, V. pubescens, V. riviniana, V. reichenbachiana, V. striata, V. grahamii, V. tricolor) differentiation among populations is weaker because it is balanced by the existing gene flow (Auge et al, 2001;Culley and Wolfe, 2001;CortesPalomec et al, 2006;Bizoux et al, 2008;Słomka et al, 2011;Kuta et al, 2014;Cánovas et al, 2015;Migdałek, 2015). The Mantel test performed on V. uliginosa populations revealed a significant correlation between genetic and geographical distances, showing, that gene flow vectors (pollination and diaspore dispersal) are weak even on such relatively short distances.…”

Microevolution on Anthropogenically Changed Areas on the Example of Biscutella laevigata Plants from Calamine Waste Heap in Poland

“…We can mention here: ability to detoxify metals in protoplast or cell wall, as well as development of "r" reproductive strategies in some species of plants from the metal-bearing areas (formation of plants with a shortened life cycle and rapid entry into the generative phase). Numerous studies show that there are significant differences between populations in heavily contaminated areas and uncontaminated areas, which suggests the emergence of new ecotypes and even new subspecies [1,4,[8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18].…”