Ahmet Emre Yaprak

A taxonomic nightmare comes true: phylogeny and biogeography of glassworts (Salicornia L., Chenopodiaceae)

In this study we analysed ETS sequence data of 164 accessions belonging to 31 taxa of Salicornia, a widespread, hygrohalophytic genus of succulent, annual herbs of Chenopodiaceae subfam. Salicornioideae, to investigate phylogenetic and biogeographical patterns and hypothesise about the processes that shaped them. Furthermore, our aim was to understand the reasons for the notorious taxonomic difficulties in Salicornia. Salicornia probably originated during the Miocene somewhere between the Mediterranean and Central Asia from within the perennial Sarcocornia and started to diversify during Late Pliocene/Early Pleistocene. The climatic deterioration and landscape-evolution caused by orogenetic processes probably favoured the evolution and initial diversification of this annual, strongly inbreeding lineage from the perennial Sarcocornia that shows only very limited frost tolerance. The further diversification of Salicornia was promoted by at least five intercontinental dispersal events (2 x to South Africa, at least 3 x to North America) and at least two independent polyploidization events resulting in rapidly expanding tetraploid lineages, both of which are able to grow in lower belts of the saltmarshes than their diploid relatives. The diploid lineages of Salicornia also show rapid and effective range expansion resulting in both widespread genotypes and multiple genotypes in a given area. Reproductive isolation through geographical isolation after dispersal, inbreeding, and comparatively young age might be responsible for the large number of only weakly differentiated lineages. The sequence data show that the taxonomic confusion in Salicornia has two major reasons: (1) in the absence of a global revision and the presence of high phenotypic plasticity, the same widespread genotypes having been given different names in different regions, and (2) striking morphological parallelism and weak morphological differentiation led to the misapplication of the same name to different genotypes in one region.

Analysis of taxonomic and geographic patterns of Turkish Veronica orientalis using nuclear and plastid DNA and morphological data

Veronica orientalis and related species form one of the taxonomically most challenging subgroups within the genus Veronica. Hybridization and polyploidization on the one hand and convergent character evolution on the other have made delimitation of species difficult. Amplified fragment length polymorphisms and plastid DNA markers were used in conjunction with 54 morphological characters to study relationships among 35 accessions of V. orientalis Mill. as well as other closely related species of Veronica occurring in Turkey and adjacent areas of Georgia and Armenia. In addition, ploidy levels were estimated for 15 accessions using flow cytometry. Diploid to hexaploid individuals were detected in V. orientalis. Analysis of DNA markers demonstrated the non-monophyly of V. orientalis, especially with regard to V. fuhsii and V. multifida from Eastern Turkey, but nuclear and plastid DNA markers are largely incongruent. Neither demonstrates a clear biogeographic pattern. The morphological analysis reveals the distinction of V. orientalis subsp. carduchorum, which is weakly retrieved in some molecular analyses and some clustering according to geography. V. multifida is not monophyletic likely due to parallel evolution of pinnatifid leaves east and west of the Anatolian diagonal.

Salicornia freitagii (Chenopodiaceae), a New Species from Turkey

Salicornia freitagii Yaprak & Yurdakulol sp. nova (Chenopodiaceae) is described as a new species from Central Anatolia, Turkey. It is characterised by having a fastigiate habit, an acuminate leaf apex and short terminal spikes. It is considered to belong to section Dolichostachyae. Contrary to other members of the section, it is distributed in inland salt lake shores at relatively high altitudes.

Glassworts as Possible Anticancer Agents Against Human Colorectal Adenocarcinoma Cells with their Nutritive, Antioxidant and Phytochemical Profiles

In this study, the possible uses of glassworts as potential food ingredients and their antiproliferative activity against colorectal adenocarcinoma cells together with their antioxidant and phytochemical profiles were investigated for the first time. MeOH extracts of five different taxa collected from different localities were screened for their antioxidant capacities by DPPH (IC50 2.91 – 5.49 mg/ml) and ABTS (24.4 – 38.5 μmol TE/g extract) assays. Salicornia freitagii exhibited the highest DPPH radical scavenging activity. LC/MS/MS analysis displayed that vanillic acid and p‐coumaric acid were two main phenolic compounds in the extract. Salicornia freitagii extracts also exhibited high antiproliferative activity against HT‐29 (IC50 1.67 mg/ml) and Caco‐2 (IC50 3.03 mg/ml) cells for 72 h. Mineral analysis indicated that all the species with different proportions of elemental components contained high amount of cations. These results indicate that investigated glassworts, with their high phenolic and mineral contents and also notable antioxidant and cytotoxic properties, may be utilized as a promising source of therapeutics.

Profiling of proteasome activity in Alyssum species on serpentine soils in Turkey reveals possible insight into nickel tolerance and accumulation

In crops and most plants, nickel induces oxidative stress resulting in oxidized and misfolded proteins. Proteasomes maintain cellular homeostasis during stress by removing these damaged proteins. Although mild stress tolerance is mediated by proteasomal proteolysis of misfolded and oxidized proteins, previous studies have observed that severe nickel stress decreases proteasome activity in nickel-sensitive plants. Whether or not proteasome function is impaired in nickel-tolerant plants is not know. Therefore, we tested the hypothesis that proteasome activity is elevated in nickel-tolerant Alyssum species capable of accumulating nickel to unusually high levels. Our field studies examined Alyssum sibiricum and Alyssum caricum, a moderate nickel accumulator and hyper-accumulator respectively, growing on their native serpentine soil in Turkey. A. sibiricum had higher proteasome activity on serpentine soil compared to non-serpentine soil; these plants also had elevated levels of nickel accumulation and higher proteasome activity compared to other low accumulating plants in the genus Festuca or Astragalus. In A. caricum, proteasome activity was very weakly correlated with nickel soil bioavailability or accumulation in leaf tissue, suggesting that proteasome function was not impaired in plants that accumulated the highest concentration of nickel. We discuss if maintained proteasome activity might underpin nickel tolerance and the unique ecophysiology of nickel hyper-accumulation in plants.

A Little-Known and a Little-Consumed Natural Resource: Salicornia

A sustainable conservation and knowledge of genetic resources from our natural wealth is very important for future research. Within this scope, Salicornia has emerged as an important cash crop halophyte for seawater irrigation, because of its high salt tolerance. It is capable of growing under hypersaline conditions and a promising resource to cultivate under extreme climatic conditions in the arid-desert regions. The fleshy Salicornia plants have been historically used for both edible and nonedible purposes. Usage of the plant as a source of soda (sodium carbonate) for glassmaking dates back to centuries. Oriental pharmacopeia reports its medicinal uses. This genus is also well known for its applications as additive in the production of glass and soap, as medicinal herbs and also in some applications as a diet for human consumption and for domestic animals. The fleshy plants are eaten as a green vegetable raw or pickled very much in the coastal belt of the Mediterranean basin and commands a high price in gourmet food markets in Europe and the USA. This review highlights the latest information about the Salicornia genus with an emphasis on its morphological features, taxonomic status, ecophysiological characteristics, cultivation, nutritional features (as human and animal food), and other economical uses.

Halophytes of Southwest Asia

In general, saline and arid environments are poor in species. A total of 728 taxa of halophytes are recorded for SW Asia belonging to 68 families (compared to 117 plant families worldwide). The majority of halophytes belong to the families Chenopodiaceae, Poaceae, Leguminosae (Papiliondeae), Asteraceae and Cyperaceae. Chenopodiaceae has the largest number of species and genera of all families only exceeded by Poaceae which has more genera but fewer species. These numbers are in accordance with those found for halophytes of the world. From the data available, Turkey has the most halophytes (±600 taxa), followed by Pakistan (±361 taxa), Iran ± 350 taxa), Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Oman and Yemen (±120 taxa). Halophytes in SW Asia constitute about half the number of halophyte taxa (and families) recorded for the world.