Speciation mechanisms, including the role of interspecific gene flow and introgression in the emergence of new species, are the major focus of evolutionary studies. Inference of taxonomic relationship between closely related species may... more
Speciation mechanisms, including the role of interspecific gene flow and introgression in the emergence of new species, are the major focus of evolutionary studies. Inference of taxonomic relationship between closely related species may be challenged by past hybridization events, but at the same time, it may provide new knowledge about mechanisms responsible for the maintenance of species integrity despite interspecific gene flow. Here, using nucleotide sequence variation and utilizing a coalescent modeling framework, we tested the role of hybridization and introgression in the evolutionary history of closely related pine taxa from the Pinus mugo complex and P. sylvestris. We compared the patterns of polymorphism and divergence between taxa and found a great overlap of neutral variation within the P. mugo complex. Our phylogeny reconstruction indicated multiple instances of reticulation events in the past, suggesting an important role of interspecific gene flow in the species diverg...
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Hybridization and introgression are important processes influencing the genetic diversity and evolution of species. These processes are of particular importance in protected areas, where they can lead to the formation of hybrids between... more
Hybridization and introgression are important processes influencing the genetic diversity and evolution of species. These processes are of particular importance in protected areas, where they can lead to the formation of hybrids between native and foreign species and may ultimately result in the loss of parental species from their natural range. Despite their importance, the contribution of hybridization and introgression to genetic diversity in Sorbus genus remains not fully recognized. We analysed the genetic and morphological variability of several Sorbus species including native (Sorbus aria), foreign (S. intermedia) and potentially hybrid (S. carpatica) individuals from the Polish Carpathian range. Patterns of variation at 13 nuclear microsatellite loci show hybridization between the tested species and confirm the existence of the hybrid form S. carpatica. Biometric analysis on leaves, based of 10 metric features and three parameters, identified several characters for prelimina...
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Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) and the taxa from the P. mugo complex can hybridize in the contact zones and produce fertile hybrids. A unique example of an early Holocene relict population of P. sylvestris and P. uliginosa (a taxon from... more
Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) and the taxa from the P. mugo complex can hybridize in the contact zones and produce fertile hybrids. A unique example of an early Holocene relict population of P. sylvestris and P. uliginosa (a taxon from the P. mugo complex) growing on the tops of Jurassic sandstone rocks is located in Błędne Skały (Sudetes). Phenotypically, there are trees resembling P. sylvestris, P. uliginosa and intermediate forms between them. We expected that some of P. sylvestris and/or P. uliginosa-like trees could be in fact cryptic hybrids resembling one of the parental phenotypes. To address this question, we examined randomly sampled individuals, using a set of plastid (cpDNA), nuclear (nDNA) and mitochondrial (mtDNA) markers as well as biometric characteristics of needles and cones. The results were compared to the same measurements of allopatric reference populations of the P. sylvestris and the P. mugo complex (Pinus mugo s.s, P. uncinata and P. uliginosa). We detect...
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Closely related taxa occupying different environments are valuable systems for studying evolution. In this study, we examined differences in early phenology (bud set, bud burst) and early growth in a common garden trial of closely related... more
Closely related taxa occupying different environments are valuable systems for studying evolution. In this study, we examined differences in early phenology (bud set, bud burst) and early growth in a common garden trial of closely related pine species: Pinus sylvestris, P. mugo, and P. uncinata. Seeds for the trial were sourced from populations across the ranges of each species in Europe. Over first 4 years of development, clear differences were observed between species, while the most significant intraspecific differentiation was observed among plants from P. sylvestris populations from continental European locations. Trait differences within P. sylvestris were highly correlated with altitude and latitude of the site of origin. Meanwhile, P. mugo populations from the Carpathians had the earliest bud set and bud flush compared to other populations of the species. Overall, populations from the P. mugo complex from heterogeneous mountain environments and P. sylvestris from the Scottis...
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The Białowiez·a Primeval Forest is located northeastern Poland. It is one of Europe’s most precious old growth forests in terms of abundance and richness of vegetation, retaining features of a primeval lowland forest which cannot be found... more
The Białowiez·a Primeval Forest is located northeastern Poland. It is one of Europe’s most precious old growth forests in terms of abundance and richness of vegetation, retaining features of a primeval lowland forest which cannot be found anywhere else on the European continent. The aim of the study was to assess the genetic heterogeneity of the naturally regenerated Picea abies population using five chloroplast microsatellite markers. In total, 290 trees representing five age classes were studied. Clear patterns of genetic differentiation in relation to demographic substructuring were found within the population. The class of embryos exhibited the greatest genetic richness as evident from the highest number of alleles and haplotypes, the highest mean number of private alleles and haplotypes and the highest haplotype diversity. In the subsequent age classes, a significant decrease in the level of genetic variation was observed. Our data demonstrate that long-lived, highly outcrossin...
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Whole-genome-shotgun (WGS) sequencing of total genomic DNA was used to recover ~1 Mbp of novel mitochondrial (mtDNA) sequence from Pinus sylvestris (L.) and three members of the closely-related Pinus mugo species complex. DNA was... more
Whole-genome-shotgun (WGS) sequencing of total genomic DNA was used to recover ~1 Mbp of novel mitochondrial (mtDNA) sequence from Pinus sylvestris (L.) and three members of the closely-related Pinus mugo species complex. DNA was extracted from megagametophyte tissue from six mother trees from locations across Europe and 100 bp paired-end sequencing was performed on the Illumina HiSeq platform. Candidate mtDNA sequences were identified by their size and coverage characteristics, and by comparison with published plant mitochondrial genomes. Novel variants were identified, and primers targeting these loci were trialled on a set of 28 individuals from across Europe. In total, 31 SNP loci were successfully resequenced, characterising 15 unique haplotypes. This approach offers a cost effective means of developing marker resources for mitochondrial genomes in other plant species where reference sequences are unavailable. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
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The genetic structure of 19 populations of two species of the genus Ptilidium - P. pulcherrimum and P. ciliare from Poland and Slovakia was studied. Nine putative loci in nine enzyme systems were resolved. Two loci (Got and Me) were... more
The genetic structure of 19 populations of two species of the genus Ptilidium - P. pulcherrimum and P. ciliare from Poland and Slovakia was studied. Nine putative loci in nine enzyme systems were resolved. Two loci (Got and Me) were monomorphic at the genus level. Both species were fixed for alternative alleles at three loci (Acp, Idh and Prx-A) that can be used as diagnostic markers for these two species. Both species proved to be polymorphic: P. ciliare for three (Gdh, Pgm and Sdh), and P. pulcherrimum for four loci (Gdh, Pgm, Sdh and Pgd). Gene diversity statistics show a lower total gene diversity (H T ) of asexually reproducing P. ciliare (0.299 ′ 0.089) as compared to sexually reproducing P. pulcherrimum (0.379 ′ 0.044). The G S T in P. ciliare was 0.263, in P. pulcherrimum 0.374. In both species a relation between the allele numbers and allele frequencies with geographical regions was observed. Montane populations of P. ciliare displayed a lower number of alleles than the populations derived from the lowlands, whereas in P. pulcherrimum no genetic differentiation between both geographical regions was observed.
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Four cpDNA regions were analyzed with the use of PCR-RFLP technique and nucleotide sequences of two mtDNA regions were characterized in order to find P. sylvestris and P. mugo species specific markers useful for studies of the species... more
Four cpDNA regions were analyzed with the use of PCR-RFLP technique and nucleotide sequences of two mtDNA regions were characterized in order to find P. sylvestris and P. mugo species specific markers useful for studies of the species hybridization. The difference in the restriction fragment patterns of trnV-rbcL region after digestion with MvaI endonuclease was detected. The analyses of the species representatives from various geographic regions revealed that the observed polymorphism is species specific. No differences have been disclosed in the analyzed trnS-trnT, trnK1-trnK2, trnC-trnD cpDNA regions. The P. sylvestris and P.mugo mtDNA sequences of orf25 and coxI regions proved to be identical.
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A species-specific marker of cpDNA (paternally inherited in pines) was used to verify the hybrid origin of seedlings from controlled reciprocal crosses between Pinus sylvestris and P. mugo. A very low degree of compatibility between those... more
A species-specific marker of cpDNA (paternally inherited in pines) was used to verify the hybrid origin of seedlings from controlled reciprocal crosses between Pinus sylvestris and P. mugo. A very low degree of compatibility between those two species has been revealed. In the three consecutive years of experiments, no filled seeds were obtained in the combination with P. mugo as the seed parent. From P. sylvestris as the seed parent and P. mugo as the pollen donor, we succeeded to obtain four filled seeds (about 1 %), but only in one year. The seedling obtained from the seeds had cpDNA haplotypes specific to P. mugo, which proves their hybrid origin. This method enables verification of the result of controlled crosses. The importance of the results has been discussed in the aspect of postulated natural hybridisation in sympatric populations of the two species.
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Research Interests: Principal Component Analysis, Biology, Transcriptome, Biological Sciences, Microbiology and Molecular Biology, and 9 moreEurope, Ecology and Environment, Pinus, Genotype, Single Nucleotide Polymorphism, Quantitative Trait Loci, Genetic Markers, Comparative Genomic Hybridization, and Medical and Health Sciences
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Research Interests: Genetics, Gene Flow, Biology, Endangered Species, Medicine, and 15 moreGenetic Diversity, Biological Sciences, Genetic Structure, Evolutionary History, Genetic Differentiation, Ecosystem, Environmental Conditions, Inbreeding, Isoenzymes, Genetic Similarity, Peat Bog, Genetic Variability, Genetic distance, Allele Frequency, and Conservation strategies
Research Interests: Evolutionary Biology, Genetics, Geography, Demography, Biology, and 15 moreMedicine, Heredity, Genetic Diversity, Computer Simulation, Environmental Gradient, Pinus sylvestris, Linkage Disequilibrium, Genetic variation, Demographic History, Base Sequence, Nucleotide Polymorphism, Allele Frequency, Nucleotides, Molecular Sequence Data, and Gene frequency
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PCR-RFLP technique has been used to detect species-specific mutations of organelles DNA for closely related dwarf mountain pine (<em>Pinus mugo</em>) and Scots pine (<em>P. sylvestris</em>). Restriction fragment... more
PCR-RFLP technique has been used to detect species-specific mutations of organelles DNA for closely related dwarf mountain pine (<em>Pinus mugo</em>) and Scots pine (<em>P. sylvestris</em>). Restriction fragment patterns have been compared of amplification products for <em>trn</em>L-<em>trn</em>F cpDNA and for <em>cox</em>I and <em>orf</em>25 genes of mtDNA. The difference has been found in the Dral and Hinfl restriction patterns of the amplification products for <em>trn</em>L-<em>trn</em>F region of cpDNA with two haplotypes detected. The haplotype M is characteristic for <em>P. mugo</em> and the haplotype S for <em>P. sylvestris</em>. These markers may be useful for the analysis of the natural hybridisation and introgression between these species postulated for some sympatric populations on the basis of morphological analysis. No differences have been disclosed i...
Research Interests: Plant Biology and Biology
Peat-bog pine <em>Pinus uliginosa</em> Neumann has become extinct or rare in many parts of Europe. We have investigated the levels of genetic variation and inbreeding in seeds collected from a highly endangered reserve of this... more
Peat-bog pine <em>Pinus uliginosa</em> Neumann has become extinct or rare in many parts of Europe. We have investigated the levels of genetic variation and inbreeding in seeds collected from a highly endangered reserve of this species in Poland, using allozymes as genetic markers. Generally, a high level of genetic variation was observed. The mean expected heterozygosity was 0.376, while average (Na) and effective (Ne) numbers of alleles per locus were 2.45 and 1.67, respectively. Nevertheless, we have detected relatively low levels of outcrossing, and potential biparental inbreeding. The population-wide multilocus outcrossing rate was estimated to be 0.706 (±0.091), while the minimum variance mean of single-locus estimates was distinctly lower (ts=0.611). The estimates of outcrossing calculated for individual trees ranged widely from 0.051 to 1.017, indicating the complexity of outcrossing patterns. The investigated population of <em>P. uliginasa</em> from W...
Research Interests: Plant Biology and Biology
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The Białowieża Primeval Forest is located in northeastern Poland, in one of Europe’s most precious old growth forests in terms of abundance and richness of vegetation. It has retained features of a primeval lowland forest which cannot be... more
The Białowieża Primeval Forest is located in northeastern Poland, in one of Europe’s most precious old growth forests in terms of abundance and richness of vegetation. It has retained features of a primeval lowland forest which cannot be found anywhere else on the European continent. The aim of the study was to assess the genetic structure at a narrow spatial scale of the naturally regenerated Picea abies population from that area with the use of five chloroplast microsatellite markers. In total, 290 trees representing five age classes were studied. Clear patterns of genetic differentiation in relation to demographic substructuring were found within the population. The class of embryos exhibited the greatest genetic richness as evident from the highest number of alleles and haplotypes, the highest mean number of private alleles and haplotypes and the highest haplotype diversity. In the subsequent age classes, a significant decrease in genetic variation level was observed Overall, na...