Betty Millán

Alkaloids and diterpenoids from Werneria decora

Abstract Chemical investigation of the aerial parts and bark of Werneria decora gave the pyrrolizidine alkaloids N -oxoretrorsine and N -oxoretronecine, as well as the diterpenes, kaur-16-en-19-oic acid, kauran-16α-ol and isatinecic acid.

Lamelloporus americanus (Fungi: Polyporales): a new record for Peru

Lamelloporus americanus , collected in the vicinity of the community of Vitobamba in the Department of Cusco in southeastern Peru, is reported as new to the country, besides expanding its geographical distribution to the Southern Hemisphere. Description and comments about the apparent distribution pattern of the species are presented.

Genetic structuring in a Neotropical palm analyzed through an Andean orogenesis-scenario

Abstract Andean orogenesis has driven the development of very high plant diversity in the Neotropics through its impact on landscape evolution and climate. The analysis of the intraspecific patterns of genetic structure in plants would permit inferring the effects of Andean uplift on the evolution and diversification of Neotropical flora. In this study, using microsatellite markers and Bayesian clustering analyses, we report the presence of four genetic clusters for the palm Oenocarpus bataua var. bataua which are located within four biogeographic regions in northwestern South America: (a) Chocó rain forest, (b) Amotape‐Huancabamba Zone, (c) northwestern Amazonian rain forest, and (d) southwestern Amazonian rain forest. We hypothesize that these clusters developed following three genetic diversification events mainly promoted by Andean orogenic events. Additionally, the distinct current climate dynamics among northwestern and southwestern Amazonia may maintain the genetic diversification detected in the western Amazon basin. Genetic exchange was identified between the clusters, including across the Andes region, discarding the possibility of any cluster to diversify as a distinct intraspecific variety. We identified a hot spot of genetic diversity in the northern Peruvian Amazon around the locality of Iquitos. We also detected a decrease in diversity with distance from this area in westward and southward direction within the Amazon basin and the eastern Andean foothills. Additionally, we confirmed the existence and divergence of O. bataua var. bataua from var. oligocarpus in northern South America, possibly expanding the distributional range of the latter variety beyond eastern Venezuela, to the central and eastern Andean cordilleras of Colombia. Based on our results, we suggest that Andean orogenesis is the main driver of genetic structuring and diversification in O. bataua within northwestern South America.

Oscar Tovar Serpa Doctor en Ciencias Biológicas (1923 – 2009)

El maestro de las gramíneas (poáceas) del Perú, Dr. Oscar Tovar, nació el 25 de octubre de 1923 en el pueblo de Conaica (Huancavelica) y falleció en la ciudad de Lima el 27 de octubre de 2009. Sus vivencias en el Ande peruano sirvieron para motivar sus estudios universitarios de biología en la Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, gracias a los cuales exploró y estudió metódicamente la flora peruana.