Sweet chestnut (Castaneasativa Mill.) is a species that has been cultivated and propagated throug... more Sweet chestnut (Castaneasativa Mill.) is a species that has been cultivated and propagated through grafting for a long time in Italy and Southern European countries. The genetic variability within and among different varieties was analyzed by means of starch gel electrophoresis. Twenty cultivated varieties originating from three different areas located in northern, central, and southern Italy, were analyzed at six polymorphic enzyme gene loci. Our results show a relatively high degree of homogeneity both among individuals of the same variety and among varieties of the same area; on the other hand, high values of genetic distance were found among different geographic areas. The agamic propagation method of this species may have caused a reduction of the genetic diversity within varieties. The causes and consequences of the loss of genetic variation in these varieties are discussed.
Canadian Journal of Forest Research-revue Canadienne De Recherche Forestiere, 1994
Sweet chestnut (Castanea sativa Mill.) is a species that has been cultivated and propagated throu... more Sweet chestnut (Castanea sativa Mill.) is a species that has been cultivated and propagated through grafting for a long time in Italy and Southern European countries. The genetic variability within and among different varieties was analyzed by means of starch gel electrophoresis. Twenty cultivated varieties originating from three different areas located in northern, central, and southern Italy, were analyzed at six polymorphic enzyme gene loci. Our results show a relatively high degree of homogeneity both among individuals of the same variety and among varieties of the same area; on the other hand, high values of genetic distance were found among different geographic areas. The agamic propagation method of this species may have caused a reduction of the genetic diversity within varieties. The causes and consequences of the loss of genetic variation in these varieties are discussed.
DNA barcoding has rapidly become a useful complementary tool in floristic investigations particul... more DNA barcoding has rapidly become a useful complementary tool in floristic investigations particularly for identifying specimens that lack diagnostic characters. Here, we assess the capability of three DNA barcode markers (chloroplast rpoB, accD and nuclear ITS) for correct species assignment in a floristic survey on the Caucasus. We focused on two herbal groups with potential for ornamental applications, namely orchids and asterids. On these two plant groups, we tested whether our selection of barcode markers allows identification of the “barcoding gap” in sequence identity and to distinguish between monophyletic species when employing distance-based methods. All markers successfully amplified most specimens, but we found that the rate of species-level resolution amongst selected markers largely varied in the two plant groups. Overall, for both lineages, plastid markers had a species-level assignment success rate lower than the nuclear ITS marker. The latter confirmed, in orchids, b...
Journal of the American Society for Horticultural Science
Twenty populations of the species aggregate Rubus fruticosus were collected throughout European n... more Twenty populations of the species aggregate Rubus fruticosus were collected throughout European natural forests and analyzed by chloroplast microsatellites (SSR). Results showed high genetic diversity (hT = 0.73) and haplotipic richness (17 haplotypes were detected), and the presence of several unique alleles. The value of genetic differentiation between populations was low for unordered alleles (GST = 0.29) and for ordered alleles (NST = 0.30), revealing the absence of phylogeographic structure of the haplotypic diversity. This can be mainly ascribed to the mechanisms of seed dispersal, mostly mediated by animal ingestion, which are responsible for a efficient gene flow through seeds. Rubus L. species are characterized by the ability to colonizing disturbed, but also intact forest communities, rapidly propagating though suckering and hybridizing with native species. Our results suggest that efficient seed dispersal can counterbalance the effects of vegetative propagation, maintaini...
The trade-off between defence and reproduction has been investigated in some detail, but little i... more The trade-off between defence and reproduction has been investigated in some detail, but little is known about how herbivores affect floral signalling and related pollinator attraction. Here we investigated the effect of foliar herbivory by the invasive African Cotton Leafworm (Spodoptera littoralis) on floral signalling and fruit set in the White Campion (Silene latifolia). We found no effects of herbivory on floral traits involved in visual signalling to pollinators (flowering time, corolla diameter, calyx length, petals length) and amount of nectar produced both in male and female plants. Only male infested plants produced less flowers than control plants. However, Spodoptera-infested plants emitted higher amounts of the two floral volatiles, (Z)-3-hexenyl acetate and β-ocimene than control plants. Open pollinated, infested plants were also found to produce more fruits than control plants, but only with nocturnal pollinators. Experimental addition of the two induced floral volati...
This chapter describes the many applications for neutral genetic markers from the perspectives of... more This chapter describes the many applications for neutral genetic markers from the perspectives of population and conservation genetics, phylogeography and gene flow studies of conifers and includes a comprehensive review of the studies performed in these research fields. The chapter starts with a review of the different kinds of neutral genetic markers most frequently used in conifers in the recent literature. In a second part, it describes how variation is organized within and among natural populations at the three conifer genomes (chloroplast, mitochondrial and nuclear). In a third part, it highlights how stochastic processes have shaped this organization focusing on two large areas of investigation in population genetics: phylogeography and gene flow. Finally, it demonstrates that neutral genetic markers and the information they generate are fundamental for the conservation and management of genetic resources. This chapter is addressed to plant molecular geneticists as well as pl...
Sweet chestnut (Castaneasativa Mill.) is a species that has been cultivated and propagated throug... more Sweet chestnut (Castaneasativa Mill.) is a species that has been cultivated and propagated through grafting for a long time in Italy and Southern European countries. The genetic variability within and among different varieties was analyzed by means of starch gel electrophoresis. Twenty cultivated varieties originating from three different areas located in northern, central, and southern Italy, were analyzed at six polymorphic enzyme gene loci. Our results show a relatively high degree of homogeneity both among individuals of the same variety and among varieties of the same area; on the other hand, high values of genetic distance were found among different geographic areas. The agamic propagation method of this species may have caused a reduction of the genetic diversity within varieties. The causes and consequences of the loss of genetic variation in these varieties are discussed.
Canadian Journal of Forest Research-revue Canadienne De Recherche Forestiere, 1994
Sweet chestnut (Castanea sativa Mill.) is a species that has been cultivated and propagated throu... more Sweet chestnut (Castanea sativa Mill.) is a species that has been cultivated and propagated through grafting for a long time in Italy and Southern European countries. The genetic variability within and among different varieties was analyzed by means of starch gel electrophoresis. Twenty cultivated varieties originating from three different areas located in northern, central, and southern Italy, were analyzed at six polymorphic enzyme gene loci. Our results show a relatively high degree of homogeneity both among individuals of the same variety and among varieties of the same area; on the other hand, high values of genetic distance were found among different geographic areas. The agamic propagation method of this species may have caused a reduction of the genetic diversity within varieties. The causes and consequences of the loss of genetic variation in these varieties are discussed.
DNA barcoding has rapidly become a useful complementary tool in floristic investigations particul... more DNA barcoding has rapidly become a useful complementary tool in floristic investigations particularly for identifying specimens that lack diagnostic characters. Here, we assess the capability of three DNA barcode markers (chloroplast rpoB, accD and nuclear ITS) for correct species assignment in a floristic survey on the Caucasus. We focused on two herbal groups with potential for ornamental applications, namely orchids and asterids. On these two plant groups, we tested whether our selection of barcode markers allows identification of the “barcoding gap” in sequence identity and to distinguish between monophyletic species when employing distance-based methods. All markers successfully amplified most specimens, but we found that the rate of species-level resolution amongst selected markers largely varied in the two plant groups. Overall, for both lineages, plastid markers had a species-level assignment success rate lower than the nuclear ITS marker. The latter confirmed, in orchids, b...
Journal of the American Society for Horticultural Science
Twenty populations of the species aggregate Rubus fruticosus were collected throughout European n... more Twenty populations of the species aggregate Rubus fruticosus were collected throughout European natural forests and analyzed by chloroplast microsatellites (SSR). Results showed high genetic diversity (hT = 0.73) and haplotipic richness (17 haplotypes were detected), and the presence of several unique alleles. The value of genetic differentiation between populations was low for unordered alleles (GST = 0.29) and for ordered alleles (NST = 0.30), revealing the absence of phylogeographic structure of the haplotypic diversity. This can be mainly ascribed to the mechanisms of seed dispersal, mostly mediated by animal ingestion, which are responsible for a efficient gene flow through seeds. Rubus L. species are characterized by the ability to colonizing disturbed, but also intact forest communities, rapidly propagating though suckering and hybridizing with native species. Our results suggest that efficient seed dispersal can counterbalance the effects of vegetative propagation, maintaini...
The trade-off between defence and reproduction has been investigated in some detail, but little i... more The trade-off between defence and reproduction has been investigated in some detail, but little is known about how herbivores affect floral signalling and related pollinator attraction. Here we investigated the effect of foliar herbivory by the invasive African Cotton Leafworm (Spodoptera littoralis) on floral signalling and fruit set in the White Campion (Silene latifolia). We found no effects of herbivory on floral traits involved in visual signalling to pollinators (flowering time, corolla diameter, calyx length, petals length) and amount of nectar produced both in male and female plants. Only male infested plants produced less flowers than control plants. However, Spodoptera-infested plants emitted higher amounts of the two floral volatiles, (Z)-3-hexenyl acetate and β-ocimene than control plants. Open pollinated, infested plants were also found to produce more fruits than control plants, but only with nocturnal pollinators. Experimental addition of the two induced floral volati...
This chapter describes the many applications for neutral genetic markers from the perspectives of... more This chapter describes the many applications for neutral genetic markers from the perspectives of population and conservation genetics, phylogeography and gene flow studies of conifers and includes a comprehensive review of the studies performed in these research fields. The chapter starts with a review of the different kinds of neutral genetic markers most frequently used in conifers in the recent literature. In a second part, it describes how variation is organized within and among natural populations at the three conifer genomes (chloroplast, mitochondrial and nuclear). In a third part, it highlights how stochastic processes have shaped this organization focusing on two large areas of investigation in population genetics: phylogeography and gene flow. Finally, it demonstrates that neutral genetic markers and the information they generate are fundamental for the conservation and management of genetic resources. This chapter is addressed to plant molecular geneticists as well as pl...
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Papers by Silvia Fineschi